An Evening Educational Program of Sustainability Week

On September 7, Morning Edition on National Public Radio announced that more than 200 medical journals are urging world leaders to cut heat-trapping emissions to avoid "catastrophic harm to health that will be impossible to reverse," in a joint statement,

Hotter temperatures, hurricanes, flash flooding, wildfires, heat waves, infectious diseases... in our previous educational program with Doug Pierce, RELi & Resiliency, we were shown and heard stories of such catastrophes...

The New England Journal of Medicine editorial reads we, "must intervene to support the redesign of transport systems, cities, production and distribution of food, markets for financial investments, healthy systems, and much more." With a call to action published, as your U.S. Green Building Council Chapter we are calling for proposals that execute on that objective,

USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter 2022 Educational Program Proposals are due by Monday, September 20, 2021 at 11:59 PM CST. Share this opportunity using the URL, bit.ly/USGBC2022proposal.

The 2021 James Harrison Steedman Fellowship in Architecture, research competition, "Disruption" is inviting early-career architects from around the globe to travel and research how architecture can help address today's most pressing global challenges, winning $75,000.

Mary Ann Lazarus, 2021 Steedman jury chair, who developed this year's theme, Disruption, states, "pivoting from current trajectories will require urgent disruption... radical solutions are required at all scales and systems.

How can architecture have a measurable impact? What are the disruptions to define the next decade and how will they redefine design?"

2021 Steedman Fellowship Proposals are due November 15, 2021. For more information, visit steedmanfellowship.wustl.edu.

Read, watch or listen how The Center for Green Schools is helping school districts use federal COVID-19 relief funds to advance green schools.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act); the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA); and the American Rescue Plan (ARP), combined, allocate a total of $176 billion in emergency relief funds for K–12 schools. Within the funding, there are opportunities to advance the objectives of green schools.

Download the resource Five Guiding Principles, to find research, ideas and resources to help you advocate to your school district leadership on using COVID relief funds to ensure healthy, green schools.

With the help of a Green Schools Quest Mentor your K-12 school will embark on a project-based challenge to devise and implement, the most creative, effective and no- or low-cost sustainable practices for your school.

Join us as we work toward the vision: Green Schools for all within this generation. REGISTER your school for the 2021-2022 Green Schools Quest!

State-wide, Every School Can Be a Green School, Missouri Green Schools Informational Session, TODAY @ 4:30 pm. REGISTER for the Info Session.

"700 Market, Spire's Headquarters ...I found it very rewarding to revitalize a long-vacant building into a modern collaborative workspace, keeping a major employer in the urban core instead of building new office space outside of the city center."

Julie Villa, LEED AP BD+C, NCARB, Architect, Ittner Architects

Sustainability passion: Green school design: as an educational planner and architect, I have the opportunity to create healthy and inspiring environments designed to be tools to teach sustainability to our next generation of learners. From early childhood through adults, green schools can be a hands-on method of incorporating important sustainability principles into the curriculum, in addition to being great spaces to learn.

Most meaningful experience with USGBC: As the chair of the Higher Education and Emerging Professionals committee, I've helped organize a lot of great events and volunteer opportunities, but my favorite are our recurring Community Garden Workdays at Fresh Starts Community Garden in the Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood. This month's volunteer day will be our fourth workday there, and it will be great to see what's growing in the beds we prepped in the spring. It's always rewarding to get my hands dirty!

What will most impact the future of green building: I believe local cities and municipalities requiring improvements to the existing building stock will serve as a major push to reduce overall energy consumption and make our neighborhoods healthier places. It's now easier than ever to design a new energy efficient building, but unless we make improvements to our existing buildings to make every building a green building, we won't be able to make real strides. I'm so proud of our Chapter's work in getting the City's BEPS ordinance passed!

Favorite LEED Project: I helped design the tenant finish for 700 Market, the historic mid-century Philip Johnson building, now Spire's headquarters, which was certified LEED Gold. It was my first ID+C project, and I found it very rewarding to revitalize a long-vacant building into a modern collaborative workspace, keeping a major employer in the urban core instead of building new office space outside of the city center.

As far as other LEED projects that I admire, the East End transformation of Washington University's campus is a truly innovative re-envisioning of that iconic end of campus. As a graduate, I'm proud to say it exceeds every expectation I had for the transformation, and I expect it to set new standards for future campus improvements.

Favorite place in the St. Louis region: The Green Rock trail at Rockwood Reservation. Hiking trails are my happy place, and this is a favorite in the region - rocky, hilly, and so very green!