Bay Tree Design's EcoSchool Design®
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Green Building and Ecological DesignThe fields of green building and ecological design have much to offer to those who are seeking to improve the ecological impact of schools and school grounds. These well established disciplines are particularly useful to existing schools considering renovations to make them more energy, water, and resource efficient as well as healthier places to work and play. Green building and ecological design principles and techniques are also very effective, of course, if incorporated into the design for brand new school buildings. The list of green building and ecological design resources below are just a fraction of what is on the internet, but they are a good place to start. The list of case studies below includes examples of schools around the world that include significant ecological design elements in their classroom buildings. Please contact the webmaster if you know of additional resources or case studies that should be added to this page. Thanks! sharon@ecoschools.com Resources for Green Building and Ecological Design
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School Name | Project Description | Location |
Boyne River Natural Science School | Facility used by schools in the Toronto, Ontario area for outdoor and science education. Living machine processes some of the site's blackwater from the toilet system. | Shelburne, Ontario, Canada |
Cassop Primary School | Elementary school with large wind turbine that produces more energy than the school uses each year. Good information about their wind turbine. | County Durham, England |
Cool Schools, Los Angeles Unified School District and the Department of Water and Power | This innovative organization is a partnership between the Los Angeles Unified School District and the local Department of Water and Power. The Cool Schools program seeks to improve the energy and water efficiency of schools in Los Angeles by removing asphalt, planting trees, and testing new energy efficiency technologies and site designs. | Los Angeles, California, USA |
Crenshaw High School | Project proposal for extensive water system retrofits for this school. Proposal written by an organization called TreePeople. Ambitious proposal includes several cisterns, shower graywater system, pervious paving, vegetated swales, vertical gardening. Description also includes cost/benefit analysis. | Los Angeles, California, USA |
John T. Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona | One of the first examples of "ecological school grounds" at the university level. Excellent model of educational and functional renewable energy systems. | Pomona, California, USA |
Montgomery High School | The schoolyard Native Plants Garden makes extensive and artful use of recycled building materials. | San Diego, California, USA |
Darrow High School | Residential school for 90 students in the Berkshire Mountains that replaced their sewage septic system with a Living Machine®. | New Lebanon, New York, USA |
Durant Middle School | School saves energy through the use of daylighting (sky lights and windows) in its classrooms and cafeteria. | Raleigh, North Carolina, USA |
Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies, Oberlin College |
The design of the A.J. Lewis Center for Environmental Studies embodies the principles that are taught at this school. The building is extremely energy efficient, and is a net energy producer. Recycled products were used in the building's construction. A living machine processes waste products from the building's toilet system. University students were extensively involved in the research and design phases of the building's construction, and now continue to monitor the building's eco-effectiveness. |
Oberlin, Ohio, USA |
ERB Memorial "Solar" Student Union, University of Oregon | A student-led project to add solar panels to the roof of the student union building on the campus of the University of Oregon | Eugene, Oregon, USA |