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CASE STUDY: GREEN BUILDINGS - NW REGION

Students “LEED-ing” Crookston: University ofMinnesota LEED DormitoryBy Chris Waltz and Michelle Vigen, CERTs Coordinators • May 2011

In a changing community, advances in sustainabilityare often the result of key individuals who providethe passion, the motivation, the inspiration, and theguidance to a particular project. Such was the caseon the University of Minnesota – Crookston (UMC)campus when two UMC students discovered thatplans for a new dormitory had incorporated nogreen or sustainable aspects.

In 2007, the campus was in the planning stages of anew dormitory for their growing student community. At that time, the University ofMinnesota system did not have a single LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and EnvironmentalDesign) dormitory on any of its campuses. So whena proposal for a new dorm was delivered for theCrookston campus, the construction methods wereconventional, lacking incorporation of new greenbuilding standards.

Chris Waltz and his roommate at the time, ErickElgin, were typical students at Crookston in the fallof 2008. Both brought a passion for conservation tothe campus community and felt incorporating sustainability into the new building was a necessity.While they had no technical expertise, they knewthey could organize a supportive movement. Waltzand Elgin drafted a petition to urge the Crookstoncampus to incorporate design and construction features to achieve LEED certification. The goal wasto gain support from UMC students, faculty, andstaff to make radical changes to the proposed dorm.Waltz and Elgin met with a variety of clubs, individual students, the Crookston StudentAssociation (CSA)–UMC’s student government–andgathered over 300 signatures, which at the timeaccounted for about one quarter of the student body.

Marshall Johnson, a CSA senator 2007-2008 metWaltz and Elgin at a CSA executive board meetinglater that winter. He recalls, “That was the first timeI heard of LEED, and I supported it instantlybecause I felt it fulfilled the mission of a land grantUniversity.”

Together, Chris and Erick applied for a NW CERTgrant, with the guidance of faculty leaders. Thefunding the student committee received from CERTshelped turn ideas into reality. The guidelines set bythe grant helped the students develop a reasonableplan and provided resources for outreach and education, creating key visibility for the project asthey approached administrators.

Project Snapshot

Purpose: Student-led initiative to incorporate LEED certifi-cation on a new residence hall on a universitycampus

Technology: LEED, or Leadership in Energy and EnvironmentalDesign

Grant:$5,000 NW CERT grant for student education andoutreach

Benefits:Student leadership and organization building,less waste, better interior air quality, demonstration of green design and sustainablevalues

Evergreen Hall on the University of MN Crookston campus

CERTs PARTNERS

University of Minnesota’sRegional SustainableDevelopmentPartnerships

Eureka Recycling

Southwest RegionalDevelopmentCommission

The Minnesota Project

Minnesota Departmentof Commerce, Division of Energy Resources

CERTs FUNDERS

Xcel Energy’s RenewableDevelopment Fund viaDivision of EnergyResources

Bush Foundation

Environment & NaturalResource Trust Fund

In the spring of 2008, Waltz, Elgin, and student supporters presented the petition at a campus assembly. Waltz explained why they felt incorporating sustainability into the planning and construction of the new dormitory was important and afterward the chancellor, Charles Casey, signed the petition showing support to incorporate sustainabledesign into the dormitory to meet LEED certification.

With the request publicly made, active students formed a committee, Crookston Studentsfor Sustainable Development (CSSD). This group was comprised of a unique group of students in important leadership positions who all had a common vision of where UM-Crookston could be in terms of sustainability. This group would be primarily responsible tokeep the effort alive and respond to campus community concerns about whether the dormwould raise tuition or room and board fees.

Some of the students from CSSD visited the Waldsee BioHaus at Concordia LanguageVillages in Bemidji, Minnesota to get an idea of what could be done in terms of sustainabledevelopment in Minnesota. Armed with new information on the possibilities for the newdorm, students attended one of the design meetings with the architect, chancellor, and otherrelevant staff and a student representative. Quickly, the choice was made to move forwardwith a LEED certification.

The architect for the project, Michael J. Burns Architects, LTD, had LEED AccreditedProfessional (AP) and more than qualified to make the necessary changes to the design. The changes were made to the interior design and construction, which was both effectiveand public, but also affordable. The project cost actually ended up below the estimated andbudgeted cost, demonstrating that sustainable design can be cost-effective.

After approval of the final plans, the dorm was completed in the fall of 2008, successfullygaining LEED certification. Evergreen, the name of the dorm, is now the most popularbuilding on campus.

Today, Evergreen Hall stands as a legacy to the work of students to take UMN-Crookston adifferent direction. The petition and achievements of the students represents the first majorenvironmental initiative on the campus, not only resulting in a greener building, but in thecommunity foundations for further projects. The CSA now has a sustainability position toseek out similar opportunities. CSSD is still alive and very active. Also, each year, the freshman class attends an orientation that takes them through Evergreen Hall to becomefamiliar with the sustainability principles and values of the campus.

Clearly, a legacy was created by this student-led project for sustainability on the Universityof Minnesota, Crookston campus. “Being a student you have a lot more sway,” Waltz said.“There is something to be said about 300 students voicing the same opinion.” His advice toothers is to do your homeowrk and then start talking to people, because their success“snowballed out of one idea.”

Linda Kingery, a mentor to both Chris and Erick and UMC staff, sums the project up well:“The UMC project has many specific, concrete accomplishments including the LEED certification of Evergreen Residence Hall, creation of Crookston Students for SustainableDevelopment, but the most important outcome is the trajectory it created for the studentleaders involved and those who have the opportunity to follow in their footsteps. “

For more information, contact Professor Dan Svedarsky at UMC at 218-281-8129 or emaildsvedars@umn.edu.

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What is LEED?

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and EnvironmentalDesign, is an internationally-recognized greenbuilding certification system. Developed by theU.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in March2000, LEED provides building owners and opera-tors with a framework for identifying and imple-menting practical and measurable green buildingdesign, construction, operations and mainte-nance solutions.

Chris Waltz, Marshall Johnson, and Erick Elgin at theEvergreen Hall groundbreaking

Inside Evergreen Hall, lounge and study common area