|
Green Building Seminar Looks at ‘Building With Trees’
Editor's Note: The National Arbor Day Foundation has cancelled the “Building With Trees” pre-conference seminar that was planned for the NAHB National Green Building Conference in St. Louis on March 24. The seminar was cancelled after this issue of Nation's Building News was published and initially distributed.
Representatives from the foundation will attend the conference and be available to answer questions about their programs.
For information about future Building With Trees seminars, visit the conferences and seminars section of the National Arbor Day Foundation Web site by clicking here.
NAHB and the National Arbor Day Foundation are working together to educate builders and developers on saving trees while building new homes. The foundation’s “Building With Trees” seminar will be featured at the National Green Building Conference in St. Louis as a pre-conference course on Saturday, March 24.
The seminar, offered by noted arborist Charles Stewart of Urban Forest Management Inc., teaches participants how to determine which trees to protect — and then how to make sure they remain healthy during each phase of the development and construction process.
The “Building With Trees” partnership between the foundation and NAHB also provides recognition of industry efforts to preserve trees. Since 1998, builders and developers have been honored for exemplary projects during the annual Awards of Excellence at the Lied Lodge & Conference Center in Nebraska City, near the foundation's headquarters in Lincoln, Neb. This year’s award winners will be recognized at the NAHB Green Building Conference at a special press event.
Last year, the Langston Development Company in Westfield, Ind. was honored for incorporating 900 mature trees into the design of its Brookside community. The Grande Dunes Development Company, LLC of Myrtle Beach, S.C. won for a transplantation and maintenance program developed for its new coastal community. And Woodlands Edge, developed by Rocket Properties, LLC of Little Rock, Ark., was honored for being able to keep 95% of its 460 acres forested.
The “Building With Trees” seminar also can be offered by home building associations for their members or by individual companies for their employees and subcontractors — a one-stop shopping educational opportunity for environmentally sensitive development.
The Arbor Day Foundation provides the instructor, a workbook and snacks — for a set per-person fee. The HBA provides the students, and can charge participants or get a sponsor to pay for the seminar.
The seminars and the awards program provide an excellent public relations tool for builders and HBAs because they demonstrate the industry's commitment to the community and environmental stewardship, says Debra Bassert, NAHB's assistant staff vice president for land use policy. "Builders want to protect existing trees during the construction process because they add value to the finished development. The ‘Building With Trees’ program provides both education and recognition when they accomplish that goal," she said.
The seminar also is a good forum to bring HBA members together with local building officials and elected leaders, Bassert said. "Good development takes good planning, and good planning takes a positive relationship between the public and private sectors. ‘Building With Trees’ helps promote that relationship."
For more information, e-mail Calli Schmidt, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8132.
 Free NAHB Environmental Stewardship Brochure Available
“Stewardship: The NAHB Environmental Issues Committee at Work” is a free, new brochure available from NAHB that outlines the environmental issues the committee — working with NAHB’s environmental, regulatory and legal staff — has faced and what the committee did to help preserve needed environmental balance.
The committee’s work is central to the NAHB mission as federal, state and local agencies enact myriad rules and regulations that erode housing affordability while providing dubious benefit.
By developing, implementing and completing research strategies, NAHB has created and reinforced its role of advising and directing regulators’ activities and pursuing reform.
Bulk copies of the brochure are available free to environmental committees and others interested in learning more about the home building industry's environmental stewardship efforts.
Click here to view the brochure. To order free copies, e-mail Delecia Jenkins at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8163.
 Save the Date for 2007 National Green Building Conference
Mark your calendar for March 25-27 for the National Green Building Conference.
Click here for conference information, or visit www.nahb.org/greenbuilding on the NAHB Web site to learn more about green building.
|
