By Jon Gambrell
Enquirer contributor

OXFORD - At the shady end of North Beech Street, a two-story wood-sided house has become an experiment in living for five Miami University students.

The "Sustainable Living House" was started a year ago by ecology-minded students. Its residents are trying to have as little effect on the environment as possible. By recycling, growing some of their own food and purchasing organic produce, the students are trying to practice what they preach, said resident Samantha Tessel.

"It is a matter of lifestyle difference," said the 21-year-old botany and environmental science major from Blue Ash. "By doing something like this, you become more aware of what you've consumed and what you've disposed of."

The household has a compost heap for food scraps, and also recycles. The housemates shower with biodegradable products so their run-off water can run outside and water a garden.

The residents follow a mostly vegan diet, buying foods from local organic co-ops and sometimes supplementing with what they grow in their own small garden. With their living room featuring an eclectic mix of second-hand furniture and their house full of unplugged appliances to conserve energy, the house contrasts with other student housing around the small college town.

"Sustainability is about the mindset," said housemate Ryan Hottle, 20, a junior philosophy and environmental science major from Granville, Ohio. "Even if you read things on sustainability, you need to put them into practice, like we are in this experience."

The university does get in on the act in its own way. Housemate Susan Johnson, a 21-year-old senior political science and sociology major from Indianapolis, said the university's recycling program on campus and in residence halls was helpful.

"When you are around other people who are doing it, it makes you try harder," she said.

However, the residents caution they are not the ideal examples of sustainability, since they don't have solar panels and use city water. Over the next few weeks, their major project is winterizing the drafty house and its single-pane windows.

"This is challenging, especially as full-time students trying to get this going," Hottle said. "We're not totally sustainable, but we are getting there."

E-mail jgambrell@fuse.net