New school to be Evergreen

Friday, Aug. 31, 2007

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff Photo by Jesse Yeatman Loretta Durdock, energy manager for St. Mary’s public schools, and Kim Howe, supervisor of capital planning, study the new green roof grid that will make up part of Evergreen Elementary School’s roof. The school, which is set to open in 2009, will be green-certified. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

The board of education approved the name Wednesday based on a recommendation from a naming committee that has met over the course of the last two years.

With dozens of proposed names, Evergreen made the final cut because of its environmental connotations.

‘‘I think the name is perfect. It captures the whole essence of the school,” board vice chair Gary Kessler said at Wednesday’s board meeting.

Evergreen Elementary is set to open in the fall of 2009 in the Wildewood community with a capacity of 646 students.

‘‘The building name should reflect the program that’s going to be there,” said Brad Clements, chief operating officer. He said the naming committee felt that Evergreen represented the focuses on renewable energy, sustainability and the environmental education programs that will be a part of the new school.

A section of the roof at Evergreen Elementary School will be covered with containers of plants, which help reduce heating costs by absorbing sun, cut back on rain runoff and reduce the sound level within the building by as much as 10 decibels, said Kim Howe, supervisor of capital planning.

The containers will have a variety of plants, including the threatened species round-leaved fame flower.

Other green features include the use of solar energy and geothermal heating, water conservation through the use of rain barrels, dual-flush toilets, waterless urinals and an energy kiosk that will allow students to monitor the energy usage of the building.

The environmentally friendly features will come at a cost of about $1.5 million. On average, green buildings generally can amount to savings of $100,000 a year, Clements said. He expects the new elementary school will save even more than that.

At least five general contractors have submitted construction bids; bidding closes Sept. 19. Because of the neighboring wetlands, Maryland Department of Natural Resources is working with the school system to create curriculum to teach students about the importance of preserving such wetlands and the flora and fauna that come with them. The bulk of the school site will remain wooded.

St. Mary’s County Department of Land Use and Growth Management is currently working with the Maryland Department of the Environment to resolve issues over connecting the school site to public water and sewer, Clements said. The site is not located in the Lexington Park Development District.

The naming committee was co-chaired by Howe and Jennifer Johnson. Some of the factors the committee considered were the ability to integrate the name into the educational curriculum, consideration of possible school nicknames and the ability to preserve and promote historical heritage.

The committee did receive several nominations for St. Mary’s citizens killed while serving in the military. The committee recommendation said no one name could be singled out for consideration over another. In the end, the environmental focus and green features of the school led to a list of about 15 names, of which Evergreen was the final choice.

‘‘I absolutely love the name,” said Superintendent Michael Martirano. ‘‘And it recognizes the programs and sustainability in the school.”

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings.

According to the U.S. Green Building Council, the LEED system offers four levels of accomplishment: certified, silver, gold, and platinum. The buildings are rated according to how well they perform on a checklist that includes such areas as sustainable sites; water efficiency; energy and atmosphere; materials and resources; and indoor environmental quality.

The new elementary school received a silver rating, with particularly high marks for water efficiency and indoor environmental quality.

E-mail Jesse Yeatman at jyeatman@somdnews.com.