Photo by Amel Saleh
“We can talk and teach sustainability; however, we must live it and learn how to make it happen,“ says Meghan Danaher, Moraine Valley’s Southwest Education Center Coordinator.
On _______ the Southwest Education Center (SWEC) received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certification. This is the highest level of certification a green building can obtain. The Southwest Education Center met all the LEED prerequisites and met the performance goals within each Environmental category including: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality in order to score the appropriate points to achieve Platinum status/certification.
The purpose of LEED is to offer building owners and operators a definite structure for finding and maintaining a practical means of building design, construction and maintenance. In other words, helping people build a better environment through encouragement. The $10.5 million building was the last project built with the funds from a 2006 bond referendum that raised $89 million for the college’s capital projects, both at the Palos Hills campus and in Tinley Park, as mentioned from Tinley Park’s October issue of “The Local Trib.”
This outstanding certification may not seem of a great deal of interest to students but it significantly impacts not just the community, but also the world. “Students can take responsibility and be accountable for making even the littlest changes, that, in turn, can generate even bigger positive changes. They can also learn and understand how to reduce their environmental footprint. Small accomplishments add up quick and everyone can help save the environment,” Danaher explains.
If you’ve ever visited the campus then you’ll surely understand why it deserved the recognition. Danaher said, “It’s wonderful to be involved with a college that focuses much importance on making sure we all have and will continue to have the water, materials and resources to protect human health and our environment. Moraine Valley Community College continues to ‘LEED by example’ and maintain environmental integrity, “ Danaher concludes.
The SWEC is located at 17900 S. 94th Ave. You can check the campus and visit the green roof one of the many evidences for environmental sustainability.
