Project Team with Great River Greening is awarded LEED Gold Certification

 Indoor/outdoor relationship fosters a connection between users and site

 

May 18, 2010 

Dear Friends of Great River Greening,

Great River Greening is proud to have partnered with Partners & Sirny Architects and others on the City of Savage’s McColl Pond Environmental Learning Center (ELC), which was awarded a LEED™ Gold Certification from the US Green Building Council. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the nation’s preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.  

“Buildings are a prime example of how human systems integrate with natural systems,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of the U.S. Green Building Council. “The McColl Pond Environmental Learning Center project efficiently uses our natural resources and makes an immediate, positive impact on our planet, which will tremendously benefit future generations to come.”

Among the strategies that were used to mitigate the environmental impact of building and site development of the McColl Pond Environmental Learning Center are:

 

  1. Erosion and sedimentation was controlled to reduce negative impacts on water and air quality through temporary seeding and silt fencing;
  2. Existing natural areas were conserved and damaged areas restored to provide habitat and promote biodiversity by locating the building on a previously impacted area, minimizing the building footprint, and clearly identifying construction boundaries to minimize disturbance of existing site;
  3. Disruption and pollution of natural water flows was limited by managing the rate, quantity and treatment of storm­water runoff by incorporating a vegetated roof, rain gardens, native plantings and pervious surfaces;
  4. Heat islands were reduced through vegetated (green) roof, shading paved surfaces with vegetation and using light-colored paving surfacing.

 Project Team

  1. Owner: City of Savage
  2. Architect: Partners & Sirny
  3. Landscape Architect: Great River Greening
  4. Civil Engineering: City of Savage
  5. Structural Engineer: BKBM Engineers
  6. Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: Engineering Design Initiative (EDI)

 For more information on the ELC, visit: http://bit.ly/9S95NQ

 Also note: Free landowner workshops teach how to manage property for bird conservation 

As part of a larger partnership to restore the forests of the St. Croix Valley, and to complement major restoration on public sites, Audubon Minnesota, Washington Conservation District, Chisago Soil and Water Conservation District, Minnesota DNR and Great River Greening will reach out to private landowners with the goal of developing restoration projects on privately owned lands. Work includes monthly news and press releases, social marketing approaches used to build community support, and workshops and presentations to encourage landowners to restore their woodland resources.  

The partners have held one workshop already at William O’Brien State Park. The next one is at: Afton State Park, Thurs. May 27th, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM. The workshop is free, but please RSVP by calling Shari at 651.275.1136 ext. 27. Space is limited.

The deciduous forests of the Lower St. Croix are a critical north-south migration corridor for a multitude of birds, a linchpin between the Upper Mississippi River to the south, and Canadian/US boreal forests to the north. In addition, the Lower St. Croix Valley provides valuable nesting habitat for a number of migratory bird species of greatest conservation need.   

For more information about Great River Greening, visit our website www.greatrivergreening.org.

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Major operating support for all Great River Greening programs is provided by The McKnight Foundation.