Redwood Empire Chapter Endorses Green Idea House

The USGBC Redwood Empire Chapter is pleased to announce its endorsement of HOW-e, The Green Idea House project.  HOW-e will be a retrofit demonstration home in Sonoma County, displaying green building materials, energy saving appliances, water conserving landscape features and educational items on sustainable lifestyle choices.

Redwood Empire Chapter member and HOW-e Program Director, Rebecca Valentine, LEED AP, has been working with a dedicated group of volunteers on the HOW-e Steering Committee for many months, and is excited to have the support of the local green building community. “The collaboration with the USGBC Chapter promises to be fantastic and very valuable.  There will be many ways that USGBC members can get involved and engaged in this process. We look forward to tapping into the collective expertise for this ambitious undertaking.”

In the last few months, the HOW-e steering committee has identified several potential sites that could serve as a demonstration home. “We are selecting a property that allows us to showcase a variety of green building materials and technologies, so visitors can see a range of choices to help them decide on the best, most energy efficient solutions for their particular households.”

Project staff and volunteers will work with students from different vocational programs to tackle the green remodel. After completion of the retrofit, the HOW-e house will be open for tours to the general public, building industry professionals and school groups. The site will also host classes on green building and organic gardening. “We’re combining a barn-raising with a learning lab, and are reaching out to get the community jazzed about this”, says Program Director Valentine.

HOW-e, The Green Idea House promises to deliver “edu-tainment” to everyone, whether the visitor is five years old or 55. Rebecca says, “We definitely see the benefit of playful displays and appealing to children: if we can get kids excited, they can nudge their parents to consider green retrofit ideas.” LEED AP Lisa Davis, of Sonoma County Builders, has been donating her time over the last year to the project, and sees the value in engaging the younger generation: “We have to get the kids on board: they’re the future and will be working alongside us as we transition to the new Green Economy.”

In addition to the USGBC-REC, the HOW-e team is partnering with numerous organizations and companies, including the Go Local Cooperative, and the Neighborhood Alliance of Santa Rosa. HOW-e has also finalized its nonprofit fiscal sponsorship with Community Action Partnership Sonoma County, allowing the project to apply for grants and accept tax-deductible donations.

We’ll keep REC members posted on the latest developments on the HOW-e project in the Chapter newsletter in coming months.

Anyone with questions or wishing to volunteer, offer materials donations, or make tax-deductible  contributions for the HOW-e project may contact Program Director Rebecca Valentine, at 707-538-8898 or rebeccav@sonic.net 

A Great New Way for USGBC-REC Members to Market Their Services! 

USGBC-REC is offering a great new way for USGBC members to market their services and businesses and share information with others interested in green building. A new feature of the UGBC-REC's bi-monthly membership meetings will be selected presentations by REC members who want to showcase their work in the field of green building. This opportunity to address other members is an excellent way to promote your business while educating others on projects, products and services of interest to the green building community.

If you are interested in offering a presentation, please note that the subject of the presentation must be within one of the five key topic areas of LEED AP and Associate exam preparation, green design and building skills, green business support, and sustainability issues. Proposals must contain the key objective of the presentation, a description of the information the presentation will contain, and a bio for the speaker. If you are interested in offering a presentation, please contact Kim Hilsmann, Chapter Coordinator, at khilsmann@usgbc-rec.org.
 
If your proposal is accepted, the cost of presenting is $50 for a 15-minute presentation and $100 for 30 minutes. It's an inexpensive, but highly targeted way to get the message out about what you have to offer.