Late fall hiking
By Karina | November 3, 2008
This weekend I went for a short hike with some friends - we went up to Sam’s Point in the Shawnangunk Mountain and walked up to see what we could see. This is an area that had roads built in the 1930s, was used as a tourist location after that (there are ICE CAVES!), and has seen rampant development until it was purchased and preserved by the Nature Conservancy.
My friend told me as we pulled into the lot that the new conservation center was a green building. I was excited to grab a pamphlet (yeah, I know, there is an inherent irony in taking paper paraphernalia to talk about on our environmental webpage later… ) that tells me all about the neat efficiency features employed by the architect to create a building certified by the US Green Buildings Council. The architect’s page is here, with some lovely photos.
Some of the efficiency features used include bioswales (to filter water that runs off of the parking area of pollutants), native plantings (including native topsoil), an umbrella roof that provides better shading to passively cool the building in the summer, a thermal mass that collects heat from the warmer daytime and releases it at night, a radiant heating system, and the use of recycled materials in the roofing, wall board, insulation, timber, and other surplus materials in the bathroom.
What a nice surprise to find this green building on top of a hill so totally randomly!
On the hike back to the car, I will also add, I picked up the following and stowed them in my pack for later disposal: one work schedule for a gentleman employed at the nearby outlet mall shopping schedule, one partially soiled paper towel, one soggy and damp gentleman’s handkerchief, and grossest, one cigarette butt. Remember: pick it up, pack it out!
Did you go somewhere green this weekend?
[[Photo of the view from Sam’s Point by me! Isn’t it pretty?]]
Related posts:
- Favorite Green Places: Cooper Union!
- Update on insulation
- We won’t be too late!
- Go Green Big, Empire State Building!
- Easy Peasy Tip: Recycle Your Jeans!
- Measuring what you Conserve
- Tissues Vs. Hankies: Gesundheit!
Topics: General |
I bought greens from a farmers market– does that count?
Of course it counts! not only does that mean you’re cooking from home you’re also supporting local farmers! AND eating greens!
Your last note about picking up the trash you found there had me chuckling. My 1.5 year old toddler daughter has developed the habit of picking up trash wherever she goes! I have an ongoing dilemma about this… She’s too young to know the difference between what’s ok to touch and what’s not, and I can’t always be certain that she won’t try to put something in her mouth, so part of me wants to discourage the behavior altogether. On the other hand, it’s stuff that I wouldn’t normally pick up on my own (cigarette butts, for example) and her handing it to me means that it does actually go in the trash instead of in the sandbox, and I do want to teach her responsible citizenship. For now I’ve just been following her closely and instructing her to hand me any “tash” (as she calls it) that she picks up, but it does still make me nervous.
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Really a fantastic article………………
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