Savannah Country Day School Lower School Receives Silver LEED Certification
(SAVANNAH, GA) The Savannah Country Day School Lower School has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, becoming the first school in the City of Savannah to have a LEED-certified campus building. The 55,000-square-foot Lower School building, which opened its doors to students in grades 1-5 in August 2008, has numerous environmentally conscious features that contributed to the certification.
Awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED certification for schools recognizes buildings that use 33 percent less energy than conventionally designed schools. The certification involves a 69-point development system that awards points based on the energy and water systems, indoor air quality, effectiveness of the design and the handling of the site. The SCDS Lower School building received a Silver LEED certification, which recognizes a higher standard than traditional certification.
“We are proud to be recognized for having the first LEED-certified school building in our area,” says Marcia M. Hull, Head of School. “The building not only provides our students a state-of-the-art learning facility, it teaches them the importance of being good stewards of both our environment and the world.”
Environmentally conscious highlights of the Lower School building include:
• Open spaces around the building featuring native or adapted vegetation
• Plumbing fixtures including low-flow urinals, low-flow bathroom faucets and other low-flow sink faucets that contribute to approximately 80,000 gallons of water being saved per year
• Efficient heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment, more efficient windows and building envelope systems, and more efficient lighting
• Paints, coatings, adhesives, sealants and carpets with low quantities of volatile organic compounds, thus reducing student exposure to chemical contaminants
• Four organic garden plots, a greenhouse and composting area
• A 2,000 gallon rainwater cistern
• Four 250-gallon aquariums with varying salinity and an animal care facility
During construction of the Lower School Building, care was taken to lessen the environmental impact. Approximately 1,065,000 pounds of the waste (80 percent) generated onsite was recycled.
The building was also designed with student learning in mind. Signage in and around the building highlights the energy- and environment-conscious design and construction measures that were integrated into the building.
”The building connects students to how the structures we inhabit use water, energy, atmosphere, sunlight and soil,” explains Lower School Science Specialist Bill Eswine. “They begin to see the connection between our interior spaces and the environment. I believe we must establish within students an awakening ‘sense of the unity of things’ that everything is profoundly connected to, influenced by, and sustained by something else.”
Savannah Country Day School is a pre-k through twelve independent school that seeks to prepare students of academic and personal promise to meet with confidence, imagination, and integrity the challenges of college and of life. In partnership with supportive families, we strive to cultivate in each student the desire and the discipline to grow wise, to lead lives of personal honor, to appreciate beauty, to pursue physical well being, and to serve others with a generous and compassionate spirit. To schedule a media tour of the SCDS Lower School building, please contact Allison Rhodes at 912-961-8823 or rhodes@savcds.org. For more information about Savannah Country Day School, its mission, and its programs, please visit www.savcds.org.
