This brochure is printed on 100% recycled paper. Please help us reuse this brochure by placing it back in

the rack when you are done.

©2011 Boise Parks & Recreation 04/11

Welcome to the Foothills Learning Center- Let’s Take a Tour!Our tour starts in the lobby. That great mural you see on the walls is by local artist Ward Hooper. It shows

a panoramic view of the foothills with native wildlife and plants. And yes, that is a real stuffed mountain lion. Off the lobby near the front door are the restrooms. We conserve water by using low-flow toilets that use up to 70% less water and low-flow faucets that use as much as 50% less water.

Come See Our ClassroomFrom the lobby, enter the classroom on the east side of the building (toward the front).

We have three walls of high performance windows that let in lots of natural light. They help keep warm air out during the summer and in during the winter. The frames have a thermal break (insulator) between the double panes of glass. They are also glazed with an invisible metal coating that slows absorption of heat. If you look up toward the ceiling, you’ll see the clerestory windows along the south side of the building. These windows

increase the natural daylight year-round, which decreases the need for artificial light. We used dark-colored concrete floors because they soak up heat from the sunlight during the day and release it back into the room at night. This is called thermal

mass, and it helps us conserve energy throughout the year. As you leave the room, check out the light switches. They have a sensor that detects motion in the room and turns the lights on and off automatically. The light switches can also be manually adjusted to increase or decrease the brightness of the lights.

Another one of our features, the zoned heating and cooling system, helps reduce the energy used to maintain a comfortable temperature in each room. Sensors throughout the building and dampers in the ductwork send warm or cool air only where it is needed. This can result in a savings of 30% or more.

Cross the Lobby to Our Conference RoomIn this room, you can see another feature of the passive solar system: the blinds. By opening and closing the blinds, we can control the amount of light and heat entering the room. Look through the windows in the back of the room to see the mechanical room with the air-handling equipment for the Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP). The GSHP is our heating and cooling system. It uses the Earth to help provide heat in the winter and cooling in the summer, using less energy than

standard systems. How? About six feet below the ground, the temperature stays a relatively constant 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year. When the building was constructed, 8,000 feet of pipe was buried at this depth creating a closed-loop system. Liquid circulates through these pipes and through the air-handling system you’re looking at. In summer the building’s heat is dissipated into the ground; in

winter the 50 degree liquid preheats our inside air. The furniture in this room was made locally with very thin-cut wood known as veneer.

By using veneers, the builder was able to use smaller-scale trees, helping to preserve old growth forests. In a veneer, more of the cut lumber is used for the finished product, minimizing the waste.

3188 Sunset Peak RoadBoise, Idaho 83702

208.493.2530Fax: 208.493.2539

TDD/TTY: 800.377.3529www.BoiseEnvironmentalEducation.org

Mailing Address:Foothills Learning Center

1104 Royal Blvd.Boise, Idaho 83706-2840

Living Lighter on the LandA Tour of the

Foothills Learning Center

PartnersThe Foothills Learning Center would not have been built without help from our partners, donors, and friends. The organizations below collaborated with the City of Boise by contributing money, land, time and/or materials to make this building and everything we do inside of it possible.

Ada County Boise Corporation Boise National Forest Bureau of Land Management City of Boise Golden Eagle Audubon Society Idaho Power Intermountain Gas SuperValu/Albertsons Sustainable Housing Innovative Partnership Sustainable Idaho Terravita Landscape The Nature Conservancy United Water Water Furnace International, Inc.

Front Door

FOOT

HILL

S LE

ARNI

NG C

ENTE

R

How it all started...The Foothills Learning Center (FLC) building stands on the site of the McCord house, the last home in Hulls Gulch. Here the City of Boise could realize its vision of creating a facility to teach people about the foothills ecosystem.

That vision began in the early 1990s as an awareness of the value of open space, then expanded into the Save Hulls Gulch campaign; spawned the City’s Foothills Open Space

Management Plan in 2000; led to the passage of the Foothills Levy in 2001; and fueled the partnerships that created the Foothills Learning Center. With 80,000 acres of open space as its backdrop, this Center is a testament to the value that Boise’s citizens and government place on the quality of life that comes from being close to nature. From the beginning, the FLC was a collaborative effort with a commitment to green. The demolition of the McCord house provided inventory for the Second Chance Building Center, a retail outlet for salvaged building materials. Second Chance keeps materials out of the landfill, creates work for local people, and provides affordable construction materials for the community. Earth Day, April 22, 2005, marked the FLC’s grand opening. Today, the building serves as a model for what we can do to conserve energy and natural resources. Ta

ke it

Hom

e!Y

ou

have n

ow

seen

th

e m

an

y f

eatu

res

of

ou

r p

rop

ert

y,

the

bu

ild

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e s

tuff

in

sid

e,

an

d h

ow

we “

live”

in t

he b

uil

din

g.

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ese

featu

res

help

pre

serv

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ur

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es

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rote

ct

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on

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yo

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als

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t h

om

e.

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op

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ter

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on

to

fo

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on

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Link

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ati

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al

scale

:•ConsumerReportsGreenerChoices–greenerchoices.org

•EnergyEducation–energyquest.ca.gov

•EnergyStarPublications–energystar.gov

•EPAEnvironmentalKidsClub–epa.gov/kids

•FirewiseLandscaping–idahofirewise.org

•ForestStewardshipCouncil–fsc.org

•IdahoNativePlantSociety–idahonativeplants.org

•IdahoPower,EnergyEfficiency–idahopower.com

•Recycling-curbit.cityofboise.org

•SolarEnergyResourcesforStudents-solarenergy.org

•U.S.Dept.ofEnergy,EnergyEfficiency&RenewableEnergy-

eere

.en

erg

y.g

ov

•U.S.EnergyInformationAdmin.,EnergyKids-

eia

.do

e.g

ov/

kid

s•U.S.GreenBuildingCouncil,LEED–usgbc.org

Let’

s Lo

ok O

uts

ide

From

the

lobby,

exi

t th

rough t

he

doors

bet

wee

n t

he

clas

sroom

and t

he

confe

rence

room

.

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aight

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Nat

ive

Plan

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arden

. A

ll th

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nts

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dro

ught

tole

rant

and n

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uth

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ativ

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her

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poss

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. W

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nse

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wat

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a drip s

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duce

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wat

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se a

nd

wat

er loss

thro

ugh e

vapora

tion.

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fence

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ive

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den

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get

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r par

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photo

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pan

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gy

gen

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pas

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r des

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FLC e

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et 2

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r pan

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indow

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ssen

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men

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pas

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r des

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Demolition of the McCord house.

Sustainable DesignThe m

ain ro

om

s of th

e FLC

build

ing featu

re passive so

lar desig

n. W

indow

s face south

, takin

g ad

vantag

e of th

e natu

ral heat an

d lig

ht p

rovided

by th

e su

n. T

he overh

angin

g ro

of an

d

clerestory w

indow

s help

man

age

seasonal ch

anges. In

the su

mm

er, w

hen

the su

n is at a h

igher an

gle,

the overh

angin

g ro

of p

rovides

shad

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glare an

d h

eat. In th

e w

inter, w

hen

the su

n is lo

wer in

the

south

ern sky, th

e win

dow

s let in

more d

irect sun rays, w

hich

help

to

heat th

e build

ing. T

his tran

slates into

energ

y savings.

Build

ing m

aterials were ch

osen

with

a com

mitm

ent to

su

stainab

ility and in

clude lu

mber certifi

ed as su

stainab

le by

the Fo

rest Stew

ardsh

ip C

ouncil (FS

C), cellu

lose in

sulatio

n,

and a lo

w-m

ainten

ance stu

cco exterio

r. Cellu

lose in

sulatio

n

is mad

e from

renew

able p

lant m

aterials, so it is an

in

expen

sive and very g

reen w

ay to in

sulate a b

uild

ing an

d

will b

iodeg

rade after d

isposal.

Firewise/Waterwise In addition to our waterwise native landscaping, our storm water system also helps to conserve water. Several low-lying areas called swales collect runoff from the gravel parking lot and the building roof. All the patios and paths (except for the pink sidewalk) are made with decomposed granite, which allows water to soak through the paths and into the ground below. The fire-resistant landscaping helps reduce the risk of severe fires. A firewise landscape includes:• Leaving 30 feet between the building and trees and shrubs• Planting well-irrigated, low-density vegetation• Breaking up vegetation with driveways, sidewalks, paths, and patios• Using fire-retardant materials such as stones, stucco, and metal• Thinning nearby sagebrushThese are great guidelines to follow for anyone who lives in thewildland/urban interface.

The m

aster plan

for th

e FLC

landscap

e inclu

des o

utd

oor

sculp

ture in

the fo

ur card

inal

directio

ns. T

he E

ast node

sculp

ture, A

ero A

goseris,

represen

ts the A

ir elemen

t. It was created

by

Mark B

altes, a Boise artist an

d sig

n m

aker, to

resemble a n

ative mountain

dan

delio

n seed

head

in th

e act of d

ispersal. N

otice th

e seeds

wired

to th

e roof lo

okin

g like th

ey just b

lew in

!

The S

outh

node scu

lptu

re, Cat’s Face R

evival by B

oise artist R

eham

Aarti, w

ill be in

stalled

in 2

011 as p

art of th

e Native G

arden

and w

ill refl

ect the Fire elem

ent. A

s fundin

g b

ecom

es availab

le, nodes w

ill be created

to th

e North

an

d W

est as well, rep

resentin

g th

e Earth

and

Water elem

ents.

Public Art

SummerSun Rays

SummerSun Rays

Winter

Sun Rays

Winter

Sun Rays

WE WALKTHE TALK

As we work and learn in the FLC building, we try to reduce our impact on the environment. Bike racks out front encourage alternative transportation. We use reusable eating utensils to reduce landfill waste. When disposable materials are necessary, we recycle. We also compost. What is composting? It turns that leftover food from your plate and other plant material, like leaves, into rich organic soil. That soil is used in our garden as a perfect fertilizer. Composting is like recycling food and yard garbage, as it reduces landfill waste and helps our garden. You can check out the compost bins in the southeast corner of the garden. As you tour the building inside and outside, take time to appreciate these and other elements that help maximize efficiency and minimize our carbon footprint.