EPMA Committee hosts USGBC MA's 6th Annual Sustainable Buildings Bike Tour

(Guest Post by Javier Burgos)

On Saturday August 17th, the USGBC chapter gathered for the 6th annual Sustainable Buildings Bike Tour, organized by the EPMA (Emerging Professionals) committee.  It was a gorgeous day for a bike ride.  The ride was a great success, as nearly 30 bike riders traveled along the streets of Cambridge and stopped at different buildings to learn how each one incorporated sustainable building practices.  Several of our riders used the 'Hubway' bike-sharing system with great results! 

The bike tour gathered in Kendall Square and all sorts of bikes were there.

The bike tour started in Kendall Square, went up towards Harvard, and came back towards MIT before ending up at Kendall Square again.  The bike tour included stops and descriptions of:

  - The Broad Institute at MIT

  - The Cambridge Public Library

  - The Blackstone Building at Harvard

  - Maseeh Hall dormitory at MIT

  - New Sloan School buildings at MIT

  - Museum of Science

  - The GenzymeBuilding

Attendees stop along the Esplanade to learn about Harvard's sustainability initiatives. 

In addition, we were fortunate enough to have a representative from the Cambridge Public Library (CPL) speak to us and provide a quick tour, as well as a representative from Harvard's Green Building Services group.  Mike Craig of the CPL provided a great description of the libraries green features, while Joel Mckellar of Harvard rode with the group and provided a long description of all of Harvard building and emissions goals.  A big thank you to both of them!

Joel McKellar of Harvard's Green Building Services group talks about the green buildings on campus as Kristin Malyak (EPMA Bike Tour organizer) listens in.

Javier Burgos (EPMA Bike Tour Organizer) talks about MIT's sustainable building goals and initiatives.

At the end of the tour, a group of riders headed towards a local bar to continue our green building conversations.  We are already looking forward to next years event!

Map of the bike route

List of green buildings visited

USGBCMA on the radio!

Grey Lee spoke with Rick Kaplan and Eric Wilson of the New England Real Estate Journal about the state of the green building industry and the USGBC on their recent NEREJ Radio Program. Take a listen starting at 31:05 - it's about a 14-minute interview.



http://nerej.com/images/radio/archive/__2013/08August/08-03-13/index.html

Department of Education Visits Two Schools in Massachusetts for Their ‘Education Built to Last’ Facilities Best Practice Tour

Special Advisor to the Secretary Donald Yu and U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools Director Andrea Falken visited U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools in Massachusetts on Tuesday, July 30th, to see and discuss the ways school facilities can enhance the conditions for learning.  

A large group of government and state officials, community members, green building professionals, students, teachers, and green school advocates attended tours at Manchester Essex Regional Middle High School and Quincy High School to see how they are incorporating sustainability into the built environment and the educational experience of their school communities. More information about the Green Ribbon Awardees is found below. 

Manchester Essex Regional Middle High School

Manchester Essex Regional Middle High School, a Collaborative for High Performance Schools building, constructed with recycled materials and energy-efficient design principles, is home to a 650 gallon rainwater collection tank and over 100 donated plants and trees.  The school achieved a 90 percent reduction in waste through the installation of a state of the art Lucidomatic waste sorting system and the implementation of a printing limits program through PaperCut software.  Manchester Essex, which has reduced its heating per square foot by nearly 58 percent over three years, meets 5 percent of its energy needs through on-site solar panels.  The edible schoolyard is a community-building and educational tool that offers students and parents the opportunity to work with the garden during the summer to raise awareness about local food and organic gardening.

Manchester Essex Regional School Green Scholars and their mentor Eric Magers

Quincy High School  

At Quincy High School, a career and technical school, the building’s design allows for collaboration among AP biology and environmental science students and their peers who are pursuing Nursing or Applied Medical Technology specialties.  Quincy collaborated with the city’s planning department to participate in the USGBC Center for Green Schools Green Apple Day of Service, which provided real-world instruction about the importance of energy reduction and implemented a National Wildlife Federation Cool Schools Energy Audit.  The school’s STEM wing is home to a greenhouse, where students are actively involved in learning how to grow their own food.  Culinary students are responsible for front- and back-of-house service at the wildly popular President’s Café, where student-grown herbs are used in recipes.  The school was certified by the Massachusetts Collaborative for High Performing Schools in 2009 and EPA ENERGY STAR in 2008.  The school has continued its efforts by retro-commissioning the building to ensure that it performs as intended. Quincy High School was designed by USGBC MA Chapter sponsor SMMA.

QHS's 66Kw Solar Array

Green Schools Update From Steve Muzzy

I've just returned from the Mid-Year Meeting and Green Schools Symposium where I got to meet and learn from sixty other Green Schools peers from across the country. The timing could not have been better as we begin to ramp up our own Green Schools program. Collectively, we are all focused on the 2nd Annual Green Apple Day of Service, with the goal of registering 2500 service projects globally, doubling the number from last year. The MA Chapter Green Schools Committee has been doing outreach and we have a number of big projects in the works - stay tuned for updates and please contact me if you have an idea for a project. 

Another focus of the Symposium was on expanding the Coalition for Green Schools from its current national formation to multiple statewide coalitions. Later this year, the MA Chapter will pilot a Green Schools Coalition and will work closely with the Center for Green Schools to form and facilitate a diverse group of organizations committed to providing every child in America with a green school. 

Finally the Mid-Year Meeting brought together a number of USGBC communities that until now have been operating in isolation of each other. For one day  Green Schools folks, Emerging Professionals, USGBC Student Groups, and the Community Green program were put together and organized by US regions. This provided an opportunity to connect the dots, network, and identify synergies to support each others goals. For MA, some early discussions have shown an opportunity for the Green Schools and Emerging Professional Committees to work together to coordinate more Student Chapters across the state. Thus providing exposure to potential future emerging professionals as well as tying into existing campus sustainability programs that may be able to support such efforts as Green Apple Day of Service.

I am very impressed with USGBC's efforts to support Chapters and build its networks' capacity to advance its mission. The opportunity to connect with other Green Schoolers to share successes, challenges, and resources is invaluable - and will no doubt help the MA Chapter build a comprehensive and successful Green Schools Program.  

Green Buildings for Peace & Prosperity

I wrote a short introductory note to our newsletter yesterday [click on "April Newsletter"] and got a lot of comments in return. My basic thing is that green buildings are examples of reduced violence and can help psychologically reduce violence in our society. Some commented that it was too soon to connect the Marathon Bombings to our industry or any industry. Many said they thought I was right on, though I missed a couple of things. One is the connection of imported energy to human rights abuses, and the other of imported energy to terrorist-sponsoring states. I think both those thoughts merit further exploration.

I hope you will stay energized and alert to improve our building stock and the ecological, health & safety, security and human rights issues relevant to our real estate and built environment. We have a lot of work to do!

[please also see the comment from Ben Myers below, just under the "tags"]

Below is the piece:

It has been an eventful Spring in Massachusetts. We've had award contests, a membership drive, conferences, and state & municipal public policy issues. And of course I can't take the soapbox here without mentioning the Marathon Bombings. We all express our heartfelt condolences to those affected. I have not heard of anyone in our community directly, significantly, affected, though many of us have friends and colleagues who were part of the situation - as victims, helpers, or otherwise.

Let me go out on a limb and point out the relevance of green buildings to reducing dramatic violence. We are part of the solution. Our work helps to ensure that our society takes responsibility for waste products resulting from buildings. Green buildings embody less violence: reduced deleterious health effects, diminished negative effects of materials procurement and manufacturing, and they reduce projected damage estimates from long-term repercussions on the environment. This includes the reduced toxicity of green buildings and their materials, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. 

Call me a peacenik or what you will, but I do believe the embodied negative effects of buildings are diminishing every time we "green" a building. This will have positive psychological implications for everyone. Certainly there wasn't much we could do about the events of 4/15, but over time, green buildings are norming a more peaceful society. Green buildings are better buildings - and we need to ensure strong codes not just for energy efficiency, but also to prevent loss of lives as seen in building failures in the Brazil club fire or more recently the Bangladesh garment factory collapse. I'm glad to be part of this community, all working for the good cause of better buildings.

  

Our community continues to grow and to make a difference in our industry. We recently achieved our goal of bringing on 100 new members before Earth Day - a quick drive at the beginning of the year which has grown our ranks significantly. Thank you to all the new Members, and thank you for participating in our efforts.

Grey Lee

Executive Director

USGBC MA Chapter

Welcome Stephen Muzzy to the USGBC MA Chapter as our new "Green Schools Program Manager"

As recently announced at our Earth Day Celebration, our advocacy work for green buildings has recently become amplified. The Chapter thanks the USGBC for supporting the position with a strategic investment grant. Stephen Muzzy will start in early May, focusing on three things:

• Facilitating a Green School Buildings coalition 
• Implementing LEED Study Groups 
• Creating a LEED Project Assistance Matching Service 

Steve comes to the Chapter having served for 5 years as a program manger at Second Nature, a campus sustainability consulting organization. He most recently has managed the American Colleges & Universities Presidents' Climate Challenge program, helping campuses implement carbon mitigation strategies. He brings green campus experience, program design & delivery skills, and an extensive network at higher ed institutions in Massachusetts.

You are welcome to attend a Green Schools Committee meeting on 5/9/13 where we will be welcoming Steve and making introductions. We are looking forward to promoting green buildings on campuses throughout Massachusetts in the coming months and years!

(Excerpted from USGBC MA's April 2013 Newsletter)