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Green school set for close-up
Tours show off environmental features of Evergreen Elementary
Friday, July 24, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by REID SILVERMAN
Dynard and Benjamin Banneker elementary school media specialists Linda Dicola, left, and Marie Lynch volunteer to fill bookshelves at the Evergreen Elementary School media center this week.
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St. Mary's education officials are showing off their newest, greenest school — Evergreen Elementary, which opens next month.
Superintendent Michael Martirano and his staff have been offering tours of the new building planned for the summer, including one Tuesday for county officials and other local representatives.
"It's an absolutely beautiful school," school board Chair Bill Mattingly told other tour members during the walk-through.
The school will open to about 600 students Aug. 26 and host a bevy of environmental features that the students will use as learning tools. About 90 percent of the water used will be harvested and reused. Windows and light tubes let in natural light in most of the school's rooms. An open area on the roof has a wind turbine, solar panels and plants for the students to study. There is a dual heating system that heats part of the school with geothermal heat and the other with conventional.
"The bottom line is it's about education. We've got to change behaviors along the way," Martirano said.
The school will be certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System, a national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. LEED-certified buildings, such as Evergreen Elementary, are rated according to how well they perform on a checklist that includes such things as sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. Larry Hartwick, supervisor of design and construction, said the school is seeking gold certification, the second highest of four ratings.
The school will cost about $25.4 million, which includes about $1.5 million extra paid for by the county for the green features. Most of those dollars are expected to be offset over time — the school could save more than $100,000 per year through reduced energy costs. "It could save a lot of money down the road," Del. John F. Wood Jr. (D-St. Mary's, Charles) said.
Evergreen Elementary School will serve as a prototype or template for the next several elementary schools planned in St. Mary's, including the next new school slated to be built on the Hayden farm property in Leonardtown acquired by the county earlier this year. "I think it's great. You better start someplace" with building green buildings, Wood said. "I guess somebody had to be the first."
Commissioner Thomas A. Mattingly Sr. (D) said he is looking forward to gauging any paybacks in the green investment, something that has garnered a lot of attention from officials throughout the state. "Everybody's very pleased with the design of the property and the green features put into the property," Mattingly said Thursday.
"We're throwing out a challenge to the students that we want 70 to 80 percent of their waste recycled," Hartwick said. Building crews have managed to recycle 86 percent of building waste during construction, another benchmark to earn LEED certification.
Students and visitors to the school will be able to use an energy kiosk in the lobby that among other things monitors the energy usage of the building in real time and gives tips on conserving energy. "We're going to make a huge difference and it needs to start at this level," Principal Kim Summers said of the environmental focus at the school.
Summers said she brought with her four teachers and one counselor from her old post at Dynard Elementary, but that the rest of the staff will be made of a mix of young and old, new and experienced teachers. "I have an extremely diverse staff," she said.
About 30 parents met last month to hatch out plans for a parent organization at the school. Jennifer McKay will be the first president of the group, which has contact information on the school's Web site.
Tours and information available
Evergreen Elementary will have a tour of the new facility for students and their families on Saturday, Aug. 1, from noon to 2 p.m. There will be an open house on Aug. 25 from 3 to 5 p.m. for Evergreen students and parents to meet their teachers. The school is located at the end of Wildewood Parkway at 43765 Evergreen Way in California. Parents and staff have formed a PTO group for the school. For more information visit schools.smcps.org/ees or call the school at 301-863-4060.
