Halloween Party and Northeastern Energy Conference

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


Coming up just before Halloween we have Northeastern University Energy System Society's (NU-ESS) Energy Conference, which will address the current and future scenario in clean power, entrepreneurship, energy efficiency opportunities in our built environment, the grid of the future and energy policies in an interdisciplinary manner. Registration includes keynote and panel discussions, showcase area, breakfast, lunch, and a late afternoon Halloween Party.

The Annual USGBC Halloween Party 2015 will be held following the Northeastern University Energy Conference, tickets sold separately via this link. Please come dressed in a costume; the optional theme is TRENDS IN GREEN DESIGN. Come celebrate Halloween and network with the next generation of building energy engineers and accomplished panel speakers following this event.

Residential Green Building Meeting: E+

By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager


On October 12th, the RGBC had the pleasure of listening to Shawn Pang, of Urbanica, discuss an E+ High Performance home in the Fort Hill neighborhood of Boston. The project, which is located at 223-232 Highland Street, took 3 years to complete – achieving LEED platinum and Net Positive status! Urbanica, (a developer, designer, and construction firm) teamed up with the BRA, Department of Neighborhood Development, the USGBC, BSA, National Grid, and Eversource to complete this fascinating and innovative project. 

Pang spoke at length of the process Urbanica took in regards to the project, including the fundamental strategy of creating a robust, thermal envelope – and letting the other components fall into face appropriately. Shawn educated the audience on some of the specifications on the building, including bay windows, solar PV, and real time data monitoring to track performance and behavioral data. Other design features included triple glazed windows, a HERS rating of -6 to -9, and a building envelope that included R20, R40, and R60. 


Thanks again to Shawn for an incredible presentation, and being one of the pioneers in transforming the way we think and approach urban building! Download the presentation HERE

Webinars Next Week

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


Coming up next week we have three exciting and informative in-person webinars to check out: Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), California Schools Connect the Drops, and BIMagination: From 3D to 5D.

During the Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) you will learn about how EPDs specify products that have verified improved environmental life cycle impacts, such as reduced global warming, acidification of our lakes and oceans, smog creation and ozone depletion. We'll discuss how it is developed, what information it can convey, and how product disclosures like EPD are recognized in LEED v4. 

To register for this webinar click here!

The California Schools Connect the Drops webinar explores a case study of schools in California that worked towards Net Positive Water through regulatory education and demonstration and raising standards through innovative building and site water management strategies. Collection of rainwater, stormwater, below grade and greywater sources are coupled with restoration, student involvement, and community commitment to achieve progress.

To register for this webinar click here!

In the BIMagination: From 3D to 5D webinar we'll explore Building Information Modeling (BIM), which enables designers and project teams to model various building elements, components, and configurations to achieve optimal energy usage and green building functionality. BIM is likely to become an industry standard for green building in the future, so join to get a comprehensive look at how BIM is being utilized by design, construction, and operations professionals.

To register for this webinar click here!

 

 

Sustain Yourself: A Night of Sustainable, Upscale Dining & Networking

By Derek Newberry, Advocacy Fellow

What could be better than talking about green buildings? Talking about green buildings while eating a delicious (and sustainably-sourced) dinner!

Join us in Cambridge on Thursday, November 12 for our 6th Annual Sustainable Dinner. Hosted by the highly-rated Commonwealth Restaurant, this trendy market serves upscale, locally-sourced American fare. Participants will be treated to a sampling of these dishes from the fantastic menu created by Chef Nookie, as we discuss healthy living in buildings–the theme of this year's event.


Eating sustainably grown food is an important part of leading a green, healthy lifestyle. But our indoor environment also has a major effect on our wellbeing. Making our indoor environment greener and healthier is especially important at this time of year, as we spending increasingly more time inside as the days get colder. Jane Slade of RAB Lighting will speak to our group about one aspect of a healthier indoor environment–how proper lighting can affect your circadian rhythm. That means simply improving your lighting might be the key to feeling rested as you head to work on these dark winter mornings!

Founded nearly 70 years ago, our event sponsor RAB Lighting designs energy-efficient LED lighting and controls. Their high-quality, affordable designs ease the process from distribution to installation to in-home use, which helps more people save energy–and money. Thank you to RAB Lighting for your commitment to the green building movement, and for sponsoring our event.

Please register here for this fun night of great food and green conversations. We're excited to see you there!

  • What: USGBC MA Chapter's 6th Annual Sustainable Dinner
  • When: Thursday, November 12, 6:00-8:00PM
  • Where: Commonwealth Restaurant | 11 Broad Canal Way | Cambridge, MA 02142

Here is the group at last year's Sustainable Dinner:

 


Day of Service – Kelly School

By Alexandra Klove, teacher & project organizer


Contributed by Alexandra Klove, teacher & project organizer

 

The Kelly School all received new recycle bins for plastic. Up until our project, the entire complex (four different elementary schools) only recycled paper. We are the first school to recycle plastic! All of the students participated in a poster contest to show what they learned about recycling. These posters are posted around the school near the recycle bins. In all, about 150 students participated in the poster contest! We see students recycling plastic bottles and encouraging their teachers to recycle their snack containers each day.


The students in my classroom are excited and motivated to recycle. Their favorite book we read was The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle. Their favorite song is The Three R’s by Jack Johnson. We are still recycling in our school today and hope to encourage others to do so!

Special thank you to Re-Stream who funded this project. It seems to be right in line with their mission and we can thank them enough!

 

Green Tax Benefits & Ham: Join us for an Advocacy Breakfast on 10/22

By Derek Newberry, Advocacy Fellow

Of course, the reason we are all dedicated to the green building movement is because we are committed to the important, noble goal of ensuring a sustainable and healthy environment. But sometimes, it's nice to get rewarded for doing the right thing. Next Thursday at our Green Breakfast, you can learn just how to get these rewards–through tax incentives! Our featured presenter, Jerome Garciano, will discuss the great perks of tax incentives for promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

Using a framework of the federal and 50-state compendium of green tax benefits developed by the presenter, this training will explain key features of tax credits and deductions, and what to look for when exploring various tax incentives for your green projects.  We’ll also discuss advocacy strategies for possible new tax incentive legislation in Massachusetts, reviewing and comparing several existing LEED tax incentive programs around the country.

Mr. Garciano will be joined by Jack Keleher, who will describe in greater detail the recent announcement by the Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance (DCAMM) of a more accessible strategy towards IRS Code 179D. As the Deputy General Counsel at DCAMM, Mr. Keleher will explain the agency's new approach to 179D and answer questions about how you can get tax benefits for your project. (Read more about the DCAMM announcement, and its relevance to your green building projects, in our recent blog post).

We're hoping to see both new faces and the same great, dependable crowd for refreshments and refreshing conversation. See you next week!

  • What: Breakfast Presentation about Green Tax Benefits
  • When: Thursday, Oct. 22nd | 8:30-10:00PM
  • Where: USGBC MA Headquarters | 50 Milk St., 17th Floor | Hercules Conference Room

Register for the event here.

About the Speaker

Jerome Garciano is an attorney in Robinson & Cole LLP's Real Estate Group, whose practice focuses on state and federal tax financing incentives that affect the built environment. Mr. Garciano provides tax and finance support for developers, lenders, syndicators, investors, nonprofit sponsors, and government agencies in renewable energy and real estate developments using the Historic, New Markets, Renewable Energy, and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. He is a LEED accredited professional and has advised clients on utilizing energy efficiency and renewable energy tax incentives. He also works on tax policy initiatives promoting green energy and real estate development. Mr. Garciano shares his expertise with the USGBC MA Chapter Advocacy Committee, which continues their efforts to rally support and demand greener, more sustainable communities.

 

Separately, Grey Lee will be the ham at this meeting.

 

Day of Service – Wentworth Institute of Technology

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


On Oct. 13, 2015, Andrew Breiter-Wu, Wentworth’s assistant sustainability coordinator hosted an “Energy Wheel of Fortune” event at the Flanagan Campus Center. Students were engaged by asking them one of five questions related to campus sustainability and energy conservation. Some of the questions included, “What is the most energy efficient building at Wentworth?” and “Energy vampires such as cell phone chargers or HDTVs in standby mode are responsible for what percentage of household electricity use?” Those who answered a question correctly were rewarded by spinning the Energy Wheel of Fortune. Prizes included a solar-powered lantern, smart power strip, solar-powered model car kits, and plenty of “power” bars to help students maintain their own personal focus and energy. Thanks to Eversource for their support with this project. 

The event drew a crowd through their curiosity over the trivia questions, the enthusiasm of those spinning the prize wheel, and the spread of fun energy-themed prizes. Overall, the event engaged the students, faculty, and staff while educating them about the various energy conservation efforts at Wentworth. Results were also recorded to inform future sustainability marketing campaigns on campus.

For additional photos of the Energy Wheel of Fortune and other Wentworth Environmental Collaborative Events, visit their Facebook page.



 

 

 

 

 

 

Day of Service – Boston Arts Academy

By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager


HMFH Architects partnered with Katie Nehmer, a science teacher at Boston Arts Academy (BAA), to lead students in a hands-on green building investigation looking at water and energy usage at their school. HMFH is an architecture firm based in Cambridge, who has been hired to design the new BAA school building. The goal of this green apple energy and water audit was to engage directly with BAA staff and students about the use of their current building and what new, sustainable features should be incorporated into the new school design. 

A total of 40 students participated in the Green Apple events over two environmental science classes. Ms. Nehmer began the water lesson with a background on where Boston's water comes from and asked the students to write down what questions they had and what it was about water that they wanted to learn.
During the hands-on audit, students formed small groups, each one conducting a different activity on water usage. The areas of focus were, how much does a leaky faucet waste, how much water is used to wash hands and how much water is consumed to flush a toilet vs. a urinal. Chin Lin, project architect at HMFH, kicked off the water audit along with Phoebe Beierle, Sustainability Manager at Boston Public Schools. After getting their instructions, students took to the tasks quickly using their timers, calculators, graduated cylinders, buckets and other various tools. After gathering water usage data from bathrooms and sinks from around the school, the class took a survey to determine the average number of times students washed their hands during the school day. Using all of this information, students were shocked when they calculated how much total water was used in their building each year just to wash hands and flush toilets. And a leaky faucet that is left leaking…that can cost the school district a lot of wasted money. The students in these classes will certainly be more conscious of keeping the water off while washing and reporting broken plumbing fixtures from now on! 

The next investigation that the class embarked on was all about phantom power…something the students were very intrigued about. Using kill-a-watt meters, the student groups measured the amount of electricity used by various appliances and electronics in the classroom when they were turned off (phantom power), and when they were powered on. Students also compared the energy consumption of three different types of light bulbs – an incandescent, compact fluorescent (CFL) and LED. Keeping in mind that a kill-a-watt doesn’t mean much to people, the class converted the unit of electricity to pounds of coal, something the students felt was more tangible. It turns out that it will take 1,300 lbs of coal to power Ms. Nehmer’s classroom lights for 7 hours a day, for 180 days.


As a result of these investigations, Ms. Nehmer’s students were shocked to realize how many resources just one school in Boston uses every year. Naturally they asked a lot of questions about what they could do to make a difference and they are excited to work with HMFH to ensure the design of the new Boston Arts Academy building is as efficient and sustainable as possible. 

Day of Service at Lee Academy

By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager

20151007_115706Thanks to the generous grant support form National Grid, through USGBC Massachusetts Chapter's Green Apple Day of Service mini-grant program, first graders at the Lee Academy learned more about simple ways we can reduce energy around the school.  To get students thinking about electricity and energy use, an energy use assessment was taken in their classroom.  They explored the area looking for things that were plugged in and had a discussion about the overhead lights.  The students were excited to share their ideas of just what electricity is and where it comes from, as well as their own experiences at home when the lights went out.

 

After our initial assessment was complete, the students and classroom paraprofessionals took our learning outside to search for electrical wires and poles, where they connected, and what kinds of things run on energy in our own school yard.  We followed wires from poles to school and counted the number of streetlights.

 

Back inside the science room, students observed a fan and pencil sharpener plugged into an outlet, and not plugged in.  This helped generate some ideas of how we can turn things off.  We all acted like robots powering down, copying the sudden stop of the fan and pencil sharpener.  Students enjoyed powering down and it generated lots of conversation about things we can turn off and on at school and home.  

20151007_115936

This discussion naturally led to our final activity.  Students discussed why it was important to “power down” and as a class generated wording for 3 types of signs that we make and place around the school.  Students got to work designing their signs and once they are laminated, they will help hang them up around school.  The hope is that they can show the signs to the K0-K1 students and let them know it is important to “power down” and “turn it off” when we leave rooms.   

 

Day of Service at Brockton High School

By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager


“An amazing initiative, Thank you!”


Thanks to a mini grant from HMFH, through the USGBC MA Chapter, Brockton High School Student, Obinna Igbokwe, was able to create and implement a community action plan within the city of Brockton and Crossroads for Kids.

The school now has bed in which crops during the spring can be cultivated and harvested in order to help the homeless population throughout the city as well as a composter. This inspired the students to re-purpose the food waste that are used in the school. 

This project was inspired by the work of the Envirothon Team and the science club of Brockton High School. This is a initiative that was recognized by the State Environmental Science competition as well as State Science Fair. The Green Apple Day of Service funds were used to plan and implement an expansion in composting in the community. This was done by instituting community gardens that use the re­purposed food waste of one of the largest high schools in America, Brockton High School. Their school produces at least 8.1 tons of food waste annually that can be re­purposed using the city's yard waste to create compost.


This project serves to inspire the conversion of grey space into green space, environmental storm water management, eutrophication, and gives an alternative food source to the homeless. With all the materials and sources planned out, the only impediment to the start of the project was the cost of building the gardens. The money sponsored by HMFH for the Green Apple Day of Service allowed for this effort to succeed. It is incredibly valuable to their community to have these gardens fueled by their own school. The impact of the project will affect their community for longer than a single day and will usher in sustainable way of life. The community is truly thankful and overjoyed by the opportunity to use the funds provided to help combat food waste and educate the public of alternative uses for it.