Fifty seven 8th graders at William H. Lincoln School in Brookline, MA took on the challenge of trying to grow food during the entire year here in New England!
Thanks to a mini grant from HMFH thorugh the USGBC MA Chapter's Green Apple Day of Service program, we were able to put this project together. The students are divided into three classes and each class was assigned an area in the garden to use for this challenge. (Two raised beds and one flat bed). The students researched to learn about possible solutions to help keep plants from freezing while receiving as much solar energy as possible. They designed and conducted experiments to better understand the properties of insulators vs conductors, what makes some substances able to store and slowly release heat and how greenhouses trap infrared radiation to stay warm. They needed to investigate possible materials to use and work within a budget.
Using this information they designed and built temporary greenhouses over their garden spaces which incorporated various insulators, cinder blocks and containers of water painted black to act as thermal masses to keep temperatures above freezing at night. They included different styles of compost methods within the greenhouses to capture the heat produced through that process. Each class designed a unique solution to the space they were assigned.After determining which plants varieties would do best in cold conditions (varieties of Kale, chard, spinach, carrots and lettuce) these were germinated in the classroom and transplanted outside after the greenhouses were completed. The lettuce was harvested and eaten prior to planting outdoors (the kids decided it was at that “perfectly delicious” stage) so lettuce is being started from seed in the greenhouses. Taking a lead from “The Martian”, potatoes have also been planted. (If they could be grown on Mars we should be able to grow them in New England in the winter!)
The 8th graders created presentations posted at the entrance of the school for community education describing the different components of the greenhouse project and how all work together to create a sustainable environment for the plants.
With the greenhouses up and working, the lower grades were invited for garden tours. Nine classes of K-6th graders had the greenhouse workings explained and students were allowed to go in and visit the plants. Harvested plants will be shared with the lower grade classes.
Along the way the 8th graders also became involved with a local gardening organization, Bountiful Brookline. This organization organized a showing of the documentary on food waste called “Just Eat It” and held a panel discussion for the community as part of National Food Day in October. The students were offered an opportunity to do additional fundraising for their garden project by running a bake sale. The students gathered “rescued foods” from the community to use as theingredients. Muffins, breads, and pies were baked using apples, bananas and pumpkins that would otherwise have been thrown out. While selling their baked goods the students spoke to the folks in attendance about their garden project challenge.
Building a greenhouse allowed the students to create a working model of planet Earth. (Earth’s Greenhouse Effect, the moderating effects of ocean thermal masses on climate, water cycle.) The Climate Negotiations in Paris were that much more meaningful as the students found themselves dealing with an unexpected problem. The unusually warm weather we have been experiencing has put our plants at risk of being overheated rather than frozen as temperatures inside the greenhouses have reached over 130˚ F in December!
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.
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.
Thank you to HMFH for their Grove-Level sponsorship of the Green Apple Day of Service!
Our chapter is comprised of many of the best leaders in the sustainability field and we are always excited to see what new strides they have made in their work. Their ingenuity and tireless commitment to sustainability are what make our chapter such a wonderful community of professionals. HMFH has used High Performance as a guiding design principle from their earliest work with passive solar design in the 1970s to 21st century buildings that meet or exceed LEED or CHPS (Collaborative for High Performance Schools) standards. Through a collaborative, integrated design process, they provide their clients with innovative, energy-efficient, high performance buildings and systems.
Energy conservation
HMFH’s comprehensive energy modeling allows owners to systematically explore energy-related design alternatives that can result in significant utility rebates and energy cost savings, such as at the Capuano Early Childhood Center, which saves the owner 40% in energy costs.
Optimal indoor environments
Because people learn and work more readily in effectively day-lit spaces, they develop optimal daylighting strategies that combine enhancement features like light shelves and borrowed lights with classroom dimming sensors to reduce artificial lighting usage and cost. Their research also sets performance guidelines for other environmental characteristics that are critical to effective learning, such as acoustics, indoor air quality, and thermal comfort.
Materials and resources
At HMFH they have long been sensitive to the impacts of building material selection on the overall environment, both in terms of occupant health and well-being, as well as long-term environmental effects. They continually evaluate and incorporate rapidly renewable and recycled materials into the design of our buildings, and have developed detailed specifications and life-cycle analysis to select reliable, economical, and low-maintenance materials and systems.
We especially recognize Chapter Member and regular volunteer Stephanie MacNeil – she has been co-chair of our Emerging Professionals Committee for a few years now and is a Chapter All-Star!
Here are some projects where HMFH has put their sustainability principles into action:
This past Saturday was the international Green Apple Day of Service, but for the Hingham High School Green Team it was just another normal day of sustainability work, albeit with sponsorship by HMFH Architects.
HHS's Green Team is composed of around 50 dedicated students who do everything from energy saving advocacy projects to maintaining a composting program on site. It was their composting program that they focused on during their service day Saturday. The team cleaned out and rotated their 12 compost piles to keep them working efficiently to process the 50 pounds of food waste from the cafeteria that is added during each school day. They took the finished compost to the garden beds near the greenhouse which will soon house spinach seeds.
The Team cleans out and refills the compost bins and transfers the finished compost to wheelbarrows.
Assistant Principal Rick Swanson does some edging work around the garden beds near the greenhouse.
Students fill the garden beds with finished compost in preparation for seed planting.
