We started our day by meeting with Stephen Colley of Palo Alto College. PAC is a part of Alamo Colleges. Colley spoke to us about the green initiatives that he was trying to implement at the school. Here is a list of items that he spoke about:
- Rainwater harvesting
- Solar hot water
- Contractor/sub-contractor education
- Economical viability and profitability
- Mini-splitter a/c systems
- Natural gas drilling related to earthquakes?
- Energy rebates
- Support from HUD and other agencies
We had the opportunity to visit Lamar Elementary's Slow Food Garden. The garden is the first of its kind in San Antonio. The garden must have parent involvement to be successful. Inclusiveness is a theme that the garden portrays. Students are able to visit and work in the garden on a biweekly basis. I was surprised to hear that you are not allowed to grow food on school property and feed it to the children during school hours. However, there are ways of working around it. Funding is an issue due to the size of the organization. Sponsors are carefully selected to avoid conflicts of interest. There are several fundraising events throughout the year to help raise money to keep the program afloat.
Our next visit was to the University of Texas, San Antonio Sustainable Business Program. The purpose of the program is to expand businesses to adapt to sustainable practices. The program currently has 200 clients of various sizes with up to 500 employees. The staff is excited about potential expansion to cover 23 counties in 2012.
The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance is a non-profit organization that promotes advocacy for protection of the Edwards Aquifer. The Aquifer runs north of Austin to Del Rio and is the most environmentally sensitive in the state of Texas. Water quality is an issue because real estate pressures to build into protected areas. The coalition began in 2003. The group lobbies in Austin to initiate legislation.
Build San Antonio Green is San Antonio's residential green building program. BSAG is a non-profit organization. Currently 830 total buildings are certified. Rebates and incentives apply for new as well as existing residences. Also single and multi-family residences apply. KB Homes is building all of their new houses through the program. There are several levels of certification. New construction is eligible for three certification levels. Two site observations are conducted during the building process. However, there is no quantitative data recorded after the house is built. Energy, water, site selection, and indoor air quality are all factors in determining the certification level.
Alamo Architects have been in business since 1984. They employ 45 specialists and incorporate sustainable architectural design into their projects. Their building is an old truck trailer plant and is certified LEED Silver. 95% of the pre-existing structure was recycled by weight. The firm practices accountability and not just familiarity with practicing LEED. Many of the decor and features of the building's exterior are recycled from the previous structure. There is recycled lumber used throughout the building as well as rain water catchment and extensive use of natural lighting.
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