School Goes Green

The Alexander Graham Bell Montessori School, currently located at 2020 E. Camp McDonald Rd. in Mt. Prospect, IL, with the help of Vanderwerff Construction of Libertyville and Gillespie Design of Ringwood, is constructing a new LEED’s certified green building at 9300 Capitol Drive in Wheeling, IL, to be its wonderful new home.

To save energy, the building will have a specially designed heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system that meets LEED’s requirements for energy use, including an energy recovery system that saves heat energy from used air before exhausting it out and special monitoring systems that automatically adjust when rooms are unoccupied, windows are open, etc. We will also save energy via the use of special lighting fixtures known as “Solatubes” that bring in lots of natural light, special monitoring systems that automatically turn off lights when rooms are unoccupied, and a special roof that is highly reflective.

To make our building more healthy for its occupants, our HVAC system includes a fresh air exchange system to provide lots of fresh air for our students and staff and special UV equipment that kills germs and mold before the air is circulated back out into the building. We have also chosen to use building materials that do not emit unhealthy fumes.

We have also designed our green building to include features that will allow us to save water. We will have dual flush toilets, which use less water when less is needed! We are also installing storm water collection and storage systems which collect rainwater into cisterns or “rain barrels” that the students will then use to water the school’s gardens and other landscaping. We are planting “no-mow” grass, which requires little or no watering and no mowing — meaning less greenhouse gas emissions from lawn mowing equipment!

Finally, we are using recycled-content materials, as much as possible, in the building of the school, including our drywall and concrete block. Also, we are doing onsite recycling of all construction waste material. The school has received a $50,000 grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Foundation to help achieve these designs.

We are very excited about moving into our new home next year and providing our students with a firm example of what we can do to help the environment. — Carol Martorano

Got a Green idea or information? Send it to goinggreen@nbc5.com.