For Immediate Release
Contact:  Jason Gerwig
April 4, 2007
630-407-6022

DU PAGE COUNTY SCARCE GREEN BUILDING DESIGN CHALLENGE

WHEATON —SCARCE will hold a design challenge on Tuesday April 10^th for high school student teams to educate students and their teachers about designing and building a green building with a focus on “best management practices” for stormwater management, such as green roofs, native plants, and permeable parking surfaces. 

The high school students will have their models, power point presentations, poster boards, and notebooks on display from nine in the morning to noon in commemoration of Earth Month.

The Green Design models will be showcased outside of the county board office for the County Board meeting, employees and the general public to view.  This green building design showcase event is partially funded by DuPage County through the stormwater and environmental committees. 

High school science, design, and economic teachers attended meetings to learn about green buildings and how careers in product design and services, green construction, chemistry, landscaping, forestry, energy conservation, parking-lot and roadway construction, roofing, plumbing, and lighting are changing to consider environmental impacts.

Last month twenty teachers attended a green building workshop sponsored by SCARCE to learn through experience how “best management practices” are being incorporated into building design to improve stormwater management, energy conservation, cleaner air, recycling and more. Volunteer LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accredited chemists and architects were involved in meetings to plan the green building design event and offered their time to help students and their sponsors with questions and ideas for their displays.  

The high school students were given a challenge to learn about green buildings and then design and create a room, building, or city demonstrating green practices.  Participating students researched products, websites, and publications to find green alternatives for their exhibits and models.  The students displaying their designs will receive certificates of participation by SCARCE.  Forty to fifty students and six teachers are expected to participate in the event.  Six DuPage County High Schools will be partaking in the Green Building Design Challenge.  The six schools participating will be the Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, Wheaton North High School, Wheaton Warrenville South High School, Glenbard South High School in Glen Ellyn, Downers Grove North, and Naperville North High School.

For more information, contact Veronica Valladolid, DuPage County Stormwater Management, at 630.407.6719 or veronica.valladolid@dupageco.org or Kay Mckeen, SCARCE, at 630.545.9710 or ecoed@sbcglobal.net.