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US Green Building Council Central Plains Chapter - Kansas City

A Welcome To Our Newly Redesigned Site From Janet Baker, Executive Director

Janet Baker, Executive Director

Welcome to the Central Plains Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. Through collaborative education,research, outreach, advocacy and networking, we are committed to advancing local planning, design, construction and operations practices to achieve greater sustainability in the built environment. It is our aim to continuously elevate the capacity of our region to plan, design, build and maintain a sustainable quality of life.

Our Focus as a chapter is to improve our understanding of this fast-evolving market through continuing education of sustainability professionals and, through them, the community. We get directly involved with the development and delivery of green collar jobs training, and community transformation. Visit our Strategic Partnerships page to learn about our collaborations.

We see green buildings and communities throughout the region as unique ways to promote a more profitable economy, healthier places to live and work, and growing communities increasingly connected to the natural world. It is our aim to continuously elevate the capacity of our region to plan, design, build and maintain a sustainable quality of life. We value innovation and recreating the truth about sustainable living. R. Buckminister Fuller, architect, designer, inventor once said, "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."

We are proud to be the 43rd Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council - a 501c3 nonprofit, member-based organization that created the LEED certification and accreditation standards and processes for a greener built environment. Based in Kansas City, our chapter serves the region, including the state of Kansas and western Missouri. Today we offer, official LEED™ workshops available only from the USGBC, monthly programming on a variety of subjects related to green buildings and the green econom locally developed and delivered sustainability programming to assist local LEED-APs and other sustainability professionals maintain their credentials.

We e-produce a quarterly newsletter...host a local Emerging Green Builders student program with regional colleges and universities,provide opportunities for our members and sponsors to network and learn from each other and build trusting relationships.

We design and deliver green collar jobs training through our chapter and with our workforce development partners.

We participate in green initiatives, providing best practices in policy and implementation of green strategy.

We perform valuable sustainability activities as volunteer professionals to ongoing community and corporate green initiatives. Through our members and volunteers, we work with neighborhoods, schools, nonprofits, educators, corporations and government to facilitate the ongoing process of sustainable living.

Our Members represent a wide and growing cross-section of professionals and organizations interested in sustainability.

Our Focus as a chapter is to improve our understanding of this fast-evolving market through continuing education of sustainability professionals and, through them, the community. It is our aim to continuously elevate the capacity of our region to plan, design, build and maintain a sustainable quality of life. And our Chapter Sponsors continue to play a vital role in making our monthly programs, educational resources, special events and community outreach possible.

Our chapter mission is to lead the regional transformation of the built environment by promoting ecologically responsible, cost effective, productive and healthy places to live, learn and work. We welcome you to the never ending journey. Enjoy the ride!

Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 October 2009 08:11

New Orleans Spring Greening 2009

Spring Greening is Complete!

Historic Green's 2009 Spring Greening event was a huge success! Thanks to everyone for helping spread the word, and lending your time, talent, and treasure to a cause worth celebrating. We are pulling together the metrics from the event, so stay tuned for more exact numbers as they become available – here is what Historic Green’s leaders have learned so far:

At least 450 volunteers joined us for a total of 1200+ volunteer days, providing at LEAST $500,000 in construction services to the neighborhood. These diverse groups from all around the USA and Canada worked on a startling array of meaningful projects, which were identified and detailed with help from the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association and CSED to do the most good. Bob Berkebile, Rudy Christian, Majora Carter, Pam Dashiell, and Charles Allen III are among the national team of advisors that helped us to decide on a focused area of work that would benefit home owners, job creation, and community-building.

Historic Green accomplished more than 30 separate projects throughout the 9th Ward. All together, the 11-day event had a drastic positive impact on:
20 homes (6 PRC Operation Comeback and 14 owner-occupied)
8 or more small businesses on both sides of Saint Claude
restored the front of the All-Soul’s Church facing the market
continued restoration of the Delery Street playground
constructed 10 rain gardens for homeowners and at the playground
built and organized a library in the Village (children and adults)
Multiple upgrades at the Lower 9th Ward Village
delivered 30 trees
built several raised-bed veggie gardens
provided numerous curb improvements all along St. Claude
helped to install radiant barriers in about 10 homes
improved pathways, seating, and signage at the bayou platform
provided dozens of education events, demonstrations, and workshops open to both residents and volunteers!

Education highlights were Majora Carter’s lecture, participating in the charrette for 5200 Dauphine (slated as the future LEED Platinum home for the HC neighborhood association), and creating new standard insulation techniques for historic homes (this was recorded by the PRC, and should be available on the website shortly).

The next steps for Historic Green are to continue to grow with new excited volunteers, add education programs on the historic green website, and to begin planning more focused events in the Lower 9 for 2009! Thank you to everyone for opening up to our boisterous, sprawling event for the second year in a row. We continue to be amazed at your strength and kindness, and will continue to add to your growing list of world-wide friends, advocates, and neighbors.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 22 September 2009 12:57

Kansas City-area storm-water projects get $3.1M in stimulus money

Seven Kansas City-area storm-water projects will receive nearly $3.1 million combined from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment chose the projects to receive the stimulus money, the agency said in a Wednesday release. Congress requires the projects to be under construction by Feb. 17.

The Kansas City-area projects and estimated costs include:

Lenexa, $1.07 million — The project implements “green,” or environmentally friendly, stormwater management through the bioengineering of a streamway, a constructed wetland, native vegetation plantings and a water-reuse irrigation system.

Johnson County Community College, $867,413 — The project will use green technology to modify part of the campus that contains an extensive parking area to more closely mimic natural hydrology, including constructed wetlands, rain gardens, bioswales, infiltration basins and native landscaping.

For more information, go to Kansas City-area storm-water projects

Source: Kansas City Business Journal, June 4, 2009

Last Updated on Tuesday, 22 September 2009 12:59

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