April 16, 2007 --- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EPA Honors Chartwell School as Environmental Hero
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
CONTACT:
Chartwell School
Douglas Atkins, Executive Director
831.394.3468
April 16, 2007
EPA Honors Chartwell School as Environmental Hero
SAN FRANCISCO -- During the agency's ninth annual Environmental Awards Ceremony in San Francisco today, U.S. EPA Regional Administrator Wayne Nastri presented plaques to over three dozen organizations and individuals throughout the Pacific Southwest in recognition of their efforts to protect and preserve the environment in 2006.
“These organizations and individuals have applied creativity, teamwork and leadership in addressing many of the West's most sensitive and complex environmental challenges,” Nastri said. “Thanks to their efforts, our air, water and land will be cleaner and safer for generations to come. The winners set an example for all of us to follow.”
The Region 9 Environmental Awards program acknowledges commitment and significant contributions to the environment in California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, Pacific Islands and tribal lands. Thirty-eight groups and individuals were selected from 160 nominees received this year from businesses, media, local, government officials, tribes, environmental organizations and citizen activists.
Among this year's winners is Chartwell School. Chartwell School is a 1st-8th grade school for children with dyslexia and other learning differences. The school’s new campus, which opened in 2006 on the reclaimed Fort Ord military base in Seaside, Calif. is a great model of green building innovations. The school’s solar power system will produce more than 53 million watt-hours of renewable electricity per year, offsetting 54,000 pounds of carbon dioxide annually. This energy savings is equivalent to planting 8 acres of trees. Chartwell will also achieve the U.S. Green Building Council Platinum rating for Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design, and is an international model for future green buildings and schools. Chartwell School is currently being used as an example for those competing in the Lifecycle Building Challenge, a national competition for green building ideas, policies, tools, and designs.
In the recent booklet High Performance Design Files published by The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS), Chartwell is featured along side three other schools as “extraordinarily unique places of learning that exceed our (CHPS) high performance requirements.”
“ The execution and integration of the CHPS high performance guidelines in Chartwell School make it an excellent example for other schools to follow and learn from, ” says Charles Eley, CHPS Executive Director. Chartwell School’s innovative campus is open to the community as an educational resource for sustainable building and environmental stewardship. To tour the school and learn more about its design features, call 831.394.3468 or visit www.chartwell.org.
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