The Green Infrastructure Center Inc. (GIC) has partnered with the Richmond Regional Planning District Commission (RRPDC) , the City of Richmond and the firm of E2 Inc. to assess the city’s green infrastructure.  Green infrastructure is the natural building blocks that make cities liveable and healthful.  Green infrastructure includes the tree canopy that keeps the city cooler in summer while cleaning the air; the rivers that provide habitat for fish and recreation for people; and the parks and other greenways that provide respite for people and habitat for birds and other wildlife. 

This new partnership between the GIC, the RRPDC, the city and E2 Inc. will evaluate and map Richmond’s   green resources and seek opportunities to expand it.  Funded by a grant from the Virginia Coastal Zone Program and the Altria Family of Companies, and the Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF), the project will apply a variety of information sources such as satellite imagery, city data and on-the-ground inventories to map existing natural assets.  This work is needed because Richmond, like many older cities, has large expanses of paved areas and older lots that have not yet redeveloped. These paved areas contribute polluted runoff to the James River and its tributaries during rainfall events.  These areas will be evaluated to determine whether they can be re-greened to contribute to the city’s green network by adding more trees, gardens or simply allowing water to percolate into the soil instead of running off into rivers.  The project builds on a successful partnership begun in 2009, between the GIC, the Richmond Regional Planning District Commission (RRPDC) and the Capital Region Land Conservancy to map the region’s green infrastructure.

Read more here.

At a morning news conference Jan. 26 at the State Capitol, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, joined by legislators from both sides of the aisle, introduced his “Jobs and Opportunity Agenda.” Among the highlights of McDonnell’s agenda are measures to double the Governor’s Opportunity Fund, create a state HUB Zone Program, lower the threshold for Virginia’s Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit, provide tax credits for movie production, help veterans open small businesses, direct future royalties and revenue from offshore energy production to transportation and green energy development, and create the Virginia Universities Clean Energy Development and Economic Stimulus Foundation to encourage and facilitate energy research and economic development at Virginia’s universities and in the Commonwealth’s rural areas.
Read more.

StaySpace: 2010 JRGBC GREEN SPACES COMPETITION

This year’s competition challenge is meant to provide real and inspiring solutions to the land-use questions that face the City of Richmond.  Our current development decisions put into play a series of events that dictate the future environmental, social, and economic course of a property for generations to come and far beyond the immediate development impacts and costs. Stay Space is a place that aspires to change the way we look at development. It is a place that looks to the future and aims to provide the support necessary to achieve carbon neutrality on a community scale.

Challenge:
Last year’s Play Space challenge asked entrants to develop a recreational green space solution on the 10 acre Fulton Gas Works parcel to be shared by the surrounding community.  Entrants were asked to consider the existing on-site infrastructure, Richmond culture and climate and to develop a solution that not only conserves natural resources but feeds back into the grid.

Building off of last year’s Play Space challenge, this year’s entrants are asked to look at the remaining 34 +/- acres on the Greater Fulton Gas Works site and develop a plan or design for that land that provides space for living, working, recreation or something entirely different if it feels right.  The site can be designed for residential, commercial, industrial or agricultural development or something different and unexpected.

Students and professionals are invited to enter the competition.  Individuals may enter although interdisciplinary teams are encouraged and may be composed of students and professionals.

The competition entries are due by May 21st, 2010.  Entries will be judged and the results will be announced at the Awards Presentation and Exhibit Opening at Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA on June 4th. 

A community forum will be held at the Robinson Theater on May 27th, prior to the Awards Presentation and Exhibit Opening, where entrants and the Richmond community can meet to view all competition entries and discuss.  In addition, the City of Richmond’s K-12 afterschool programs will compete on the same site to develop alternative transportation solutions for traveling within the area.

Visit the GreenSpaces website to read more
and to register your team today!

Timeline:

1/18/10 Call for entries. Registration opens
5/21/10 Entries due by 4pm. Registration ends.
5/27/10 Forum
5/28/10 Judging
5/31/10 Winners Notified
6/04/10 First Fridays Exhibit Opening and Winner Announcement

The James River Green Building Council (JRGBC) announced the winners of its Fifth Annual Green Building Leadership Awards at an Awards Luncheon and Exhibition on November 18, 2009 at the Virginia Historical Society. The 2009 winners in the categories of non-profit, government, private sector and individual, respectively, are EarthCraft Virginia, Henrico County, Ace Waste Recycling and Bryna Dunn, Vice President of Moseley Architects and Director of Sustainability.

Nearly 150 luncheon attendees heard keynote speaker L. Preston Bryant, Jr., Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources, speak about sustainable building initiatives for the Commonwealth and also visited with green exhibitors from throughout the Central Virginia Region prior to the program.

Every November, the JRGBC honors organizations and their leaders for outstanding contributions to green building in Virginia. This year’s award winners were selected by a panel of judges including the Awards Committee, made up of volunteers for the organization; and guest judges, including: Cynthia Adams, Climate Protection Program Coordinator for the City of Charlottesville’s Department of Public Works; Karl Bren, owner of GreenVisions Consulting and founding Board member of the JRGBC; and Rich Jacobs, News Director and on-air voice talent for a group of four commercial radio stations in Richmond, Virginia.  The awardees this year were:

Non-Profit:

EarthCraft Virginia
EarthCraft Virginia provides a certification process for single family and multifamily projects. It serves as a blueprint for healthy, comfortable homes that reduces utility bills and protects the environment.  Since piloting the program in 2005, EarthCraft Virginia has trained over 1500 building professionals on building science and sustainable construction; certified 381 single-family homes; and certified 1,675 multi-family homes.

Private Sector:

Ace Waste
Ace Waste opened its doors as the economy was crashing, and this company’s success is proof that green jobs can thrive. They recycle over 880 tons of construction and demolition waste per week , and more than 75% of what Ace Waste receives is recycled, bypassing traditional recycling methods by 25%.Ace Waste provides countless jobs to Central Virginia, and they are still expanding into other regions. This company shows that innovative and responsible thinking is still a driving force in business, and can be done with respect to the environment as well.
 
Government:

Henrico County
Henrico County, Virginia has established itself as a leader in the green building and sustainability movement in the Central Virginia area. In 2004 Henrico developed an Energy Management Plan to address important issues such as energy conservation, and renewable energy sources. Henrico County has furthered its vision by publishing an Environmental Policy Statement in 2008 to formalize its commitment to protecting the environment. Henrico is a participant in the Virginia Municipal League’s Go Green Challenge, and became a VML-Certified Green Government in 2008. Henrico County has recently partnered with Ingenco to construct a power plant at the county landfill, which could generate enough energy from methane gas to power thousands of homes. They have set their green goals high, and provide a great example for other Virginia localities to follow.

Individual:
Bryna Dunn

Bryna Dunn is a Vice President of Moseley Architects and serves as the firm’s Director of Sustainability Planning and Design. She works closely with everyone from clients to contractors through all phases of construction to ensure that energy efficient and environmentally responsible solutions are considered and used whenever possible. She currently has 15 LEED-certified projects in her portfolio, including her firm’s own LEED Platinum office building. Bryna was founding Chairperson for the JRGBC, and she also served as the Chair for the USGBC Sustainable Sites Technical Advisory Group and sat on the LEED Steering Committee for six years. Bryna has been a driving force behind the success of the green building movement through her work, and her passion and commitment to conservation, sustainability, and healthy environments is apparent in everything she does.

The James River Green Building Council is proud to announce that K.C. McGurren, EarthCraft Virginia; and Kristin Anderson Meyers, Moseley Architects, will join its Board of Directors in January 2010.

Since 2006 Katherine Carroll (K.C.) McGurren has served first as Director of Operations and in 2008 was promoted to Director of EarthCraft Virginia. Her B.S. degree in Environmental Policy and Planning from Virginia Tech enabled her to evaluate the development process of sustainable housing, communities and workplaces. In her pursuit for a hands-on approach to residential construction she served a fellowship with Southface Energy Institute in Atlanta, Georgia with the EarthCraft House Green Building Program.  While there she became certified by RESNET as a Home Energy Rater to conduct ratings and certify houses within the program.  She also became a LEED accredited professional through U.S. Green Building Council to better understand commercial green building practices.

Ms. McGurren joined EarthCraft Virginia as its first employee and helped pioneer the Commonwealth’s first state-wide green building program.  EarthCraft House Virginia was created by a partnership with the Home Builders Association of Virginia and Southface Energy Institute.  Under her leadership the program has grown to over 200 builder members and 60 low income multifamily projects underway.

Kristin Anderson Meyers is a Sustainability Coordinator, part of Moseley Architects’ Sustainability, Planning, and Design Team.  She manages the LEED design, construction, and application process for projects registered under the LEED rating system.  She is currently serving as the LEED Accredited Professional on 11 LEED® registered projects. In addition, she represents the Richmond office on Moseley Architects’ “Seeds of Green” team, which is working to continually improve Moseley Architects’ corporate sustainability. 

Ms. Meyers received her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy at The College of William & Mary and earned her Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science & Policy at Columbia University.  Prior to joining Moseley Architects, she worked as an Environmental Consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton, becoming the first person at the international company to become a LEED AP in Existing Buildings.  Kristin is also a member of the US Green Building Council’s Government Committee.

Ms. McGurren and Ms. Meyers join thirteen other accomplished green building professionals on the JRGBC’s Board of Directors.  They will each be formally recognized at the JRGBC’s 5th Annual Green Building Leadership Awards Luncheon on November 18th at the Virginia Historical Society.

Governor Timothy M. Kaine on October 6th announced the allocation of $40 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to implement the Virginia State Energy Plan (SEP), a blueprint for funding energy-related initiatives throughout Virginia. The funding will help create jobs, encourage energy conservation, and promote alternative energy generation through rebates to residential and commercial consumers, as well as grants to localities and individual projects.

“Today’s announcement is another positive step forward in improving the high quality of life that Virginia is known and continually recognized for,” Governor Kaine said.

The $40 million in ARRA funding will be allocated to the Virginia Efficiency Rebate Program, the Renewable Energy Rebate Program and for biomass and waste-to-energy projects.

Read more here.

Governor Timothy M. Kaine on September 25th announced the recapitalization of the Commonwealth’s Energy Leasing Program, a loan program to finance energy efficiency projects in state agencies. The Commonwealth has secured $40 million in financing for the projects, including $10 million in capital from Grant Capital Management, a state-certified SWAM vendor. The loans are expected to be repaid by agencies from energy savings generated by the projects. The first loan from the program will be $6.6 million to George Mason University for a series of upgrades at their Fairfax and Prince William campuses, including improvements to lighting, irrigation, metering, and heating and cooling of facilities.

JRGBC is now live on Twitter. We will be posting updates about LEED certification updates, exciting ecological events, and green happenings in Richmond and central Virginia. We are very excited about keeping you informed on these topics and more, and we very much look forward to hearing from you about your tips and ideas!

To follow us, please click here.

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2010 James River Green Building Council Board of Directors and the 2010 JRGBC-CV Branch Governing Council (BGC). 

Nominees should be committed to the JRGBC Mission and able to attend bi-monthly Board or BGC meetings and JRGBC events, as well as be involved in at least one committee. 

Nominees from USGBC Member Organizations are preferred.  All applications will be reviewed by the JRGBC Nominating Committee and all nominees will be contacted.  You may nominate someone whom you think meets the qualifications that the JRGBC is looking for, or you may nominate yourself.  Nominees will be voted on by the JRGBC Membership.

Nominations are due by September 29, 2009.

JRGBC Board of Directors Nomination Form

JRGBC-CV Branch Governing Council Nomination Form