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You are here: Home → News → Newsletters → October 2009

News & Events

October 2009

Certifying Green Schools - Living Building Collective - Green Agent Essentials - LEED Green Associate Exam Prep


O'Brien & Company
Upcoming Classes

Green Agent Essentials
November 10-11
A two-day course designed for real estate agents, appraisers, home inspectors, investors, and homeowners
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LEED Green Associate Exam Prep
December 11
Take a class to get hands-on help studying for the exam.
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Project Spotlight
The Kitsap Home Builders Foundation "Low Impact Development (LID) Guidance Manual" is designed as a “cookbook” for real estate developers, engineers, and community members interested in LID, as well as planning officials providing guidance on LID projects in Kitsap County. Not a regulatory document, the manual has been approved by the WA State Dept. of Ecology and is expected to be adopted by all of the jurisdictions within the County, as well as the County (Poulsbo was the first to do so). Learn more...

Our team recently won Seattle Public Utilities' design-build competition to build the new South Recycling and Disposal Station. Team members include Mortenson, the Miller|Hull Partnership, Reed Wagoner, and Swift and Co. Read the DJC article...

Welcome New Staff
O'Brien & Company welcomes two new talented assistants: Brooke brings considerable experience in interiors and historic preservation. Read Booke's bio...  Audrey has a background in real estate education. Ready Audrey's bio...

Planting Trees
For every person who subscribes to this newsletter, O'Brien & Company staff will plant a tree at our company field day in late October. Please invite your friends and colleagues to sign up.
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 Certifying Green Schools
Existing K-12 Schools Benefit from New Standards

This year’s return to the classroom comes with some exciting new green school programs that focus on improving both the sustainability of operations and maintenance practices and integrating sustainability into the curricula. While there have always been many green school resources, like the nationwide Green Schools Initiative, the new certification options provide an additional benefit: the accountability and the recognition needed to institutionalize green practices.

The oldest of the certification programs for existing schools is the international Eco-Schools program which was developed in 1994. It has been implemented in 43 countries, but comes to the US for the first time this fall as a pilot. The National Wildlife Federation is managing Eco-Schools USA and will be selecting pilot schools in Washington State.

Locally, the new Washington Green Schools program has built on the strength of the many existing programs to provide a certification that is available today. The program has been rapidly adopted: nine schools have achieved the first level of the program and nearly 50 schools have registered, representing 33 school districts and over 18,000 students. The process parallels the EcoSchools model, but provides an online certification website with social networking features that help schools connect and share their accomplishments.

Combined with the legislative mandate for school construction that requires LEED for Schools (Silver level) or the Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol (WSSP), Washington State now offers a well-rounded set of standards to certify both the construction and operation of green schools.

Yvonne Kraus is a Project Manager who leads the Programs, Planning & Policies team at O'Brien & Company.  Her projects include managing the consultant team for the Washington Green Schools program, and providing eco-charrette facilitation for WSSP projects.

The Living Building Collective
Local firms support the Bertschi School's latest project

The Living Building Challenge rating system was created to inspire the design and construction industry to imagine truly sustainable buildings: those that generate all their own energy with renewable resources, and capture and treat all the water they need.

The Living Building Collective is a team of professionals in the Seattle area who are providing pro-bono services to help the Bertschi School build their first living classroom. The school has already built a LEED-NC Gold building, the Bertschi Center, and this small science building provides the school and the pro-bono team an opportunity push the boundaries of green building.

Early ideas for the project include monitoring equipment to help students learn about renewable energy and rainwater harvesting by tracking their use. The team hopes to present the project at the 2010 Living Future conference in Seattle.

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