TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Learning Gate Wants Platinum Distinction

ADVERTISEMENT

By B.C. MANION

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 20, 2008

LUTZ - The crowd let out a whoop when Principal Patti Girard cut a ribbon made of recycled bottles and soda cans Monday at Learning Gate Community School.

The event marked a milestone at the school that hopes to become first in the nation to achieve a platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design designation for its modular buildings. Officials also used the event to thank the Lowe's Charitable Education Foundation for its $250,000 grant for the project.

The public charter school at 16215 Hanna Road recently opened the first of its three ecofriendly modular buildings. The other two will open in the fall.

The buildings are an extension of the school's aim to promote good stewardship of the Earth, Girard said.

Only three schools nationwide have achieved the platinum designation, and none has done it with a modular building, said Rachel Gutter, schools sector manager for the U.S. Green Buildings Council, which awards the designations.

Learning Gate wants to demonstrate that modular buildings can provide safe, healthy, affordable classroom space, said Charles Girard, the project's general contractor and the principal's ex-husband.

The project boasts numerous energy-saving features.

The buildings have soy foam insulation on the ceiling, floor and walls. The soy is biodegradable and doesn't leach volatile organic compounds.

Classroom lights are programmed to go on when someone enters a room and to go off when it's empty. They dim when it's sunny and brighten when it's dark.

The air-cooling system combines cooled and dehumidified air with a constant mix of fresh air. That constant influx of fresh air makes it harder for germs to circulate, improving indoor air quality, Charles Girard said.

The wood for the buildings came from trees specifically grown for construction, said Erin Johnson, a seventh-grader. "You're not knocking down a 100-year-old forest."

The bricks for the patio are leftovers from various construction projects, said MacKenzie Craig, a seventh-grader. The walkway boards are recycled plastic.

Even the carpeting is ecofriendly, said Ashley Long, an eighth-grader. It comes in 2-foot-by-2-foot tiles, making it easy to replace a square if someone spills spaghetti.

Hillsborough County district Superintendent MaryEllen Elia, and Ken Hagan, chairman of the Hillsborough County Commission, came by to celebrate with the school. Both praised Learning Gate's leadership on environmental issues.

"I'm quite sure we could learn a thing or two from Learning Gate," Hagan said.

Reporter B.C. Manion can be reached at (813) 865-1507 or bmanion@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT