{"id":15357,"date":"2013-04-24T10:55:21","date_gmt":"2013-04-24T14:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=15357"},"modified":"2013-04-25T12:31:31","modified_gmt":"2013-04-25T16:31:31","slug":"earth-day-a-platform-for-environmental-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=15357","title":{"rendered":"Earth Day a platform for environmental award"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stroud Water Research Center building achieves highest green-building honor<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n
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The Moorhead Environmental Complex at the Stroud Water Research Center in Avondale has received the nation\u2019s highest ranking for green building. Photo courtesy of Halkin Mason Photography<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

In keeping with the spirit of Earth Day, the Stroud Water Research Center in Avondale announced a major global-friendly achievement on Monday.<\/p>\n

Its Moorhead Environmental Complex, which opened in the fall, has received the nation\u2019s highest certification for green construction:\u00a0 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum, said a news release from the center.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re delighted to have achieved LEED Platinum, the highest honor in LEED certification,\u201d Bernard W. Sweeney, Stroud\u2019s director and senior research scientist, said in the release. \u201cThe Moorhead Environmental Complex was a huge undertaking. It combined creative, cutting-edge architectural and mechanical design with other innovative environmental approaches like \u2018getting the water right,\u2019 which became our guiding principle in pursuit of a new green building for environmental education and public outreach that would model sustainable practices for managing water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since 1967, the center has been pioneering research in the field of freshwater science; that work has yielded valuable insights into how streams and rivers function and how their health can be impaired as well as restored and preserved. As companions to its research, the center has also developed education and watershed restoration programs to advance knowledge and stewardship of freshwater, the release said.<\/p>\n

While the Moorhead Environmental Complex houses the center\u2019s departments of education, watershed restoration, development, communications, facilities, and administration, it also serves as a teaching tool, providing opportunities for educators to discuss the various features such as wetland treatment of wastewater, rainwater capture, and photovoltaic panels.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe green building movement offers an unprecedented opportunity to respond to the most important challenges of our time, including global climate change, dependence on non-sustainable and expensive sources of energy and threats to human health,\u201d said Rick Fedrizzi, president, chief executive officer and founding chair of the U.S. Green Building Council. \u201cThe work of innovative building projects such as the Moorhead Environmental Complex is a fundamental driving force in the green building movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

LEED certification of the Moorhead Environmental Complex was based on a number of green design and construction features that positively impact the project itself and the broader community, the release said. Some of the green features on site include: storm water management using natural landscaping with porous surfaces, a green roof, composting toilets, a geothermal radiant heating and cooling system, and soy-based, spray-foam insulation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith two new classrooms, educational signage, and the green features that our educators can utilize as teaching tools, school and community groups who come to the center will learn not just about environmental science but also environmental stewardship and how they too can be a part of the solution,\u201d said Susan Gill, education director.<\/p>\n

To learn more about the Stroud Water Research Center, a nonprofit that seeks to advance knowledge and stewardship of freshwater, visit\u00a0http:\/\/www.stroudcenter.org\/mec\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stroud Water Research Center building achieves highest green-building honor In keeping with the spirit of Earth Day, the Stroud Water Research Center in Avondale announced a major global-friendly achievement on Monday. Its Moorhead Environmental Complex, which opened in the fall, has received the nation\u2019s highest certification for green construction:\u00a0 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":15379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,317],"tags":[3244,3245,3246,3247,2095],"class_list":["post-15357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-region","tag-bernard-w-sweeney","tag-leed-leadership-in-energy-and-environmental-design-platinum","tag-moorhead-environmental-complex","tag-rick-fedrizzi","tag-stroud-water-research-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15357\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}