This year USGBC Students took six students to New Orleans during spring break to participate in Historic Green's Spring Greening, a community service project aimed at rebuilding one of New Orleans' historic neighborhoods in the lower ninth ward to be one of the nation's first carbon-neutral communities. It was an enjoyable and rewarding experience and we learned a lot about historic preservation and doing things the right way.
USGC Students took our first annual trip to Fallingwater in early April! This is a tradition which we will be continuring every year, so if you didn't get a chance to go, don't worry, there will be more!
Wondering how you can get involved? Send an e-mail to usgbcsumd@gmail.com and ask to be added to the email list, and we'll give you a heads up about meetings and other activities for the Fall 2011 semester.
Updated 05/14/2011
Get involved!
We took a tour of the LEED Platinum certified Tower Buildling on Monday, February 28. It is a beautiful building which incorporates a variety of passive sustainable practices along with Vedic Architecture principles to create an engaging and enjoyable work environment. See our photos page for pics from the tour! Special thanks to David Borchardt and Eugenia Gregorio of The Tower Companies for showing us around!
Three USGBC Students members recently attended SBIC's annual awards ceremony for high-performance LEED buildilngs and initiatives at Catholic University. If you would like to see videos of the projects presented by Miller Hull or the City of New York, feel free to ask, they're very interesting! Special thanks to Bud DeFlavis for the invite!
This year we will be taking five students to New Orleans during spring break to participate in Historic Green's Spring Greening, a community service project aimed at rebuilding one of New Orleans' neighborhoods as one of the nation's first carbon-neutral communities.
Nick Roldos (Geography) is working on a GIS project involving mapping all of the LEED-certified buildlings in the area. This ia great opportunity to gain experience with GIS and contribute to sustainable awareness. Contact him at nroldos@umd.edu for more information.
USGBC Students is taking a trip to Fallingwater this spring! (Two trips, to be exact). The first tour is on Saturday, April 2 at 4:00pm and will be a day trip. The second tour is TBA. Those who expressed interest, look for e-mails coming your way soon!
A lecture series about sustainability at the University of Maryland. Tuesdays at 5pm in the Architecture lecture hall (room 0204).
Lecture Schedule
Updated 03/01/2011
Is the University of Maryland at Colleg Park really America's greenest campus? There are many things you may not know about sustainable practices taking place on campus right now! Check out this excerpt from The Princeton Review's "Guide to 286 Green Colleges":
"GREEN HIGHLIGHTS
The University of Maryland—College Park has signed the ACUPCC, and
is developing its climate action plan even as it works to integrate sustainability
across the university curriculum and develop a sustainability
ethic in campus culture. Recycling is one measure of the school’s success:
The campus recycling rate increased from 17 percent in 2003 to an
impressive 50 percent in 2008. As a large research university, Maryland
is home to many research centers that give students an opportunity to
get real-world experience in sustainability-oriented issues. The Career
center hosts an annual Green Jobs Fair to help students incorporate sustainability
into their career plans. In October 2009, the university was
named “America’s Greenest Campus” by Climate Culture for having the
largest number of campus community members register to calculate
their carbon footprint, which brought a $5,000 prize to student organizers
to support sustainability on campus. A new University Sustainability
Council is in place to advise the president, the Office of Sustainability,
and the campus community at large about issues related to the integration
of sustainability into campus operations. As a result, many green
practices have been put into place across campus, including: a commitment
to LEED Silver standards for new buildings; energy-conserving
renovations; a green roof; an impressive storm water management system;
low-flow faucets, toilets, and showerheads in dorms; water- and
energy-efficient dishwashers used by dining services; a composting program;
discontinued use of Styrofoam containers in favor of biodegradable
ones; and use of water-conserving grass on the university’s golf course."
Check out the full publication at http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=7076
The University of Maryland is currently competing in the 2011 Solar Decathlon! This year's design, WaterShed, is already well underway. This is an excellent opportunity to get involved in a green building project, spread awareness of sustainable living, and have lots of fun. If interested, contact Prof. Amy Gardner (Arch. Dept.) at turbine@umd.edu
WaterShed info can be found here:
http://2011.solarteam.org/
http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_maryland.cfm
UMCP placed 2nd in the 2007 competition with LEAFHouse (http://2007.solarteam.org/page.php?id=250), took the People's Choice award for the second time in a row, and was featured in a Discovery documentary, "Solar Showdown."
If you are a business or individual who wishes to become a sponsor, please contact Lynn Khuu (M.Arch 2011 - WaterShed Student Fundraising Leader) at lkhuu29@gmail.com.
The University of Maryland - College Park was listed as one of 18 of the greenest campuses in America in The Princeton Review's Green College Honor Roll 2011. Good job Terps!
From http://www.princetonreview.com/green-honor-roll.aspx :
"University of Maryland—College Park’s recycling rate increased from 17 percent in 2003 to an impressive 50 percent in 2008. The Career Center hosts an annual Green Jobs Fair to help students incorporate sustainability into their career plans. In October 2009, the university was named “America’s Greenest Campus” by Climate Culture for having the largest number of campus community members register to calculate their carbon footprint, which brought a $5,000 prize to student organizers to support sustainability on campus.
A new University Sustainability Council is spearheading new green efforts on campus, including a commitment to LEED Silver standards for new buildings, energy-conserving renovations, a green roof, low-flow faucets, toilets, and showerheads in dorms, water- and energy-efficient dishwashers used by dining services, a composting program, discontinued use of styrofoam containers in favor of biodegradable ones, and use of water-conserving grass on the university’s golf course."
The University also won the honor of being America's Greenest Campus in 2009: https://climateculture.com/americas_greenest_campus/.
Next Meeting:
TBA:
Watch your inboxes!