Green Apple Day Of Service

Mark Kurowski (K&W Engineers) and I taking part in the Green Apple Day Of Service

What is the Green Apple Day Of Service?

USGBC and The Center For Green Schools created this annual event to engage people around the world and give them an opportunity to give back to their community.  The goal is to educate children/students about sustainability in their very own backyard.  They have a fantastic website (www.mygreenapple.org) which has tracked, organized and reported on the thousands of service projects that have been going on around the world on September 29, 2012.

Who was involved?

Our local Green Apple Service event was coordinated by The Emerging Professionals Committee of USGBC Central Pennsylvania.  In just a couple of weeks, Sarah Knehr and Justin Kovaleski were able to secure over $1500 in donations for trees/mulch/tools and round up 30+ volunteers to help.  People of all backgrounds came out to chip in… Professional engineers, occupational therapists, construction workers, parents, children and college students.  It was great to see such a positive response to the event and really inspired me to do more projects like this on an ongoing basis.  Penn State Harrisburg and their newly founded USGBC Student Group was there with numerous volunteers.  Penn State Harrisburg also visited with Middletown Area Middle School students this week to teach them about green buildings and the environment.

Penn State Harrisburg USGBC Student Group

What did we accomplish?

We accomplished many things today…  We connected people… We improved City Island by planting 15 trees… We supported a struggling city in need (Harrisburg)… We educated students about giving back… and most of all We Had FUN!  People really do enjoy rolling their sleeves up once in a while and getting dirty.  It was great to see so many smiling faces and people really looking to help each other with this project.  I even got to see a mom teach her two middle school age children how to plant a tree… quite remarkable!

How can you get involved and support future projects like this one?

Become a volunteer with your local chapter of the US Green Building Council… Our website in Central Pennsylvania is www.usgbc-centralpa.org.  Our chapter covers 37 counties throughout Central Pa and includes large areas such as State College, Lancaster, Berks, York, Harrisburg, Carlisle and Chambersburg.  We have many great committees doing good work and fun interactive events on a monthly basis.  Check here for upcoming events!

Donate now… Non-profits like USGBC Central Pa need financial resources in order to continue to provide community service projects, educational programs and to advocate for sustainability to local and state government.  Please consider donating today to ensure this organization can continue to support sustainability in your community for years to come.

Pennsylvania Green Building Advocacy Day = A Success!

Yesterday was a very exciting day for me and 50 other green building advocates as we visited the Pennsylvania State Capitol to promote green buildings and schools.  It just so happened to be the very same day that an important bill was going before the house for a vote, House Bill 193 - High-Performance, State Buildings Standards Act.  This bill would effectively mandate that state buildings over 10,000 square feet must be designed and built to meet high energy performance criteria and certified by a 3rd party.  This bill would inevitably reduce the amount of energy usage, resource depletion and environmental impact of the state and its buildings.

Update: HB 193 passed in the House of Representatives on a vote of 170 – 18.

As a group, we had over 20 appointments with state legislators to educate them on the benefits of high performance green buildings and discuss  upcoming legislature.   We also had students, teachers and administrators from local green schools come along for the ride.  They were able to give first hand accounts of what it’s like to work and learn in a green building environment. 

3rd Grader, Ethan gets to meet Representative DePasquale and Talk about his Green School

A Summary of Key Green Building Initiatives and Legislation at The State Level:

#1 Legislative Initiative for Better State Buildings: HB 193 (Harper) SB 1136 (Rafferty)

State Government must lead the way towards energy efficiency and sustainability in the built environment.  We spend 80-90% of our time indoors and in buildings.  Maintaining the highest quality possible in our built environment positively impacts the environment, our economy, and the health and productivity of our people.  Combined, building construction and operationsare the largestenergy consumersin the United States and the largest source of landfill waste.  Reducing these impacts will preserve our natural resources and protect the environment.  HB 193 and SB 1136 will set modest standards for building construction on certain State-owned construction projects.

 These bills will:

• Reduce annual operating costs compared to conventional buildings;
• Support Pennsylvania’s economy by increasing the market for green building products made in Pennsylvania;
• Provide healthier and more productive work environments for Commonwealth employees;
• Reduce the environmental impacts of building construction and operation on the environment in terms of energy, air quality, water and waste.

 #2 Introducing PACE: Property Assessed Clean Energy HB 1667(Galloway)
PACE is a local government initiative that allows property owners to finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects for their homes and commercial buildings through an assessment on their property taxes for up to 20 years.

• PACE financing is not a government subsidy
• Participation in PACE is voluntary and property owners opt in to the program
• Currently, 27 different states have some form of PACE legislation
• Long-term financing (up to 20 years) eliminates the two greatest impediments to energy efficiency improvements: upfront costs and transferability.

 #3 Support of the Pennsylvania Department of Education Pathways to Green Schools initiative
In late October, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced that it would participate in the pilot year of Green Ribbon Schools. The program, created by the U.S. Department of Education, recognizes schools that will have achieved or made considerable progress toward energy efficient buildings, healthy students and school environment, and the environmental literacy of all graduates.On average, 20% of Americans go to school every day and spend 30% of their waking hours in schools.  Greening schools is one of the most immediate and cost-effective ways to provide healthier environments for children, save and reinvest public funds in every community in our region, and create the next generation of sustainability advocates. Green schools save an average of $100,000 per year, enough to hire a teacher, or purchase many more books or pieces of computer equipment.

Teamwork:

USGBC Central Pennsylvania, Delaware Valley Green Building Council and Green Building Alliance (Pittsburgh) worked as a team to set up displays and hand out educational materials to lawmakers from across the state.  The overall effect of the day was a resounding positive experience for those that were in attendance and a great outcome in the passing of House Bill 193.  Thanks to all that were able to help and to those that support green building nationwide.

 

Campus Square Building Wins National Award

It was truly a pleasure to be involved in the design and construction process of one of the most sustainable buildings in the region. Campus Square is located in Midtown Harrisburg which has undergone a complete revitalization in the last 5 years.  The revitalization has been the vision of GreenWorks Development and their commitment to responsible development has definitely paid off. Campus Square has gone on to win a USGBC Central Pennsylvania Project Of The Year Award, ABC Keystone Chapter Project of The Year Award and most recently an ABC National Pyramid Award. These are all landmark achievements for this project.

Campus Square is a great example of blending high performance technologies, urban revitalization, flexibility and sustainable building products.

Some of the green building aspects of Campus Square include:

• Geothermal (Ground Source) Heating & Cooling – 46 Geothermal Wells Under The Building – Designed & Installed by McClure Company
• 42kw PV Solar Array with battery backup for emergency power - Designed by groSolar and installed by GR Sponaugle
• White TPO Roofing by Carlisle Syntec Roofing installed by Houck Group
• Energy Star Windows provided by Pella installed by Wohlsen Construction
• Over 30% of all the materials used in the building is recycled content
• Over 40% of materials were made within 500 miles
• Over 98% of the construction debris was recycled

The Green Center of Central Pennsylvania is located in Campus Square as well. The Green Center is open to the public and teaches people about the various aspects of sustainability.

Here is a great video which tells the story about the building and the transformation of Midtown Harrisburg:

If you have questions or comments, feel free to post them.

Harrisburg Green Living Fair – April 21, 2011

On April 21, 2011, the Green Center of Central PA will be hosting a Green Living Fair for the public. The fair will include exhibitors from many different companies throughout the region that offer green/sustainable services. General Services Administration (GSA) is helping to put this event together in conjunction with GreenWorks Development, PPL and HACC to promote the new courthouse which is planned for construction in 2012.

GSA has been a true leader in the area of sustainability and has even mandated that all of their new construction projects must be LEED Gold or higher. For more information on their sustainable programs (including a revolutionary sustainable facilities tool) visit: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104462

The federal courthouse to be located at 6th & Riely Streets in Harrisburg will have many sustainable features and will be a great addition to the several green projects which have recently been completed in the area.   It should also give a much needed boost to the economic development in the city of Harrisburg.

The architect for the project is Ennead Architects LLP (formerly Polshek Partnership).

They have a long list of impressive projects including the Frank Sinatra School of The Arts in Queens, NY:

More details for the federal courthouse project can be found here: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/102089

If you are interested in exhibiting at this venue, please contact Julia Knight, Executive Director for The Green Center of Central Pa, at jpknight@hacc.edu.