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Webinar: Hampshire College’s R.W. Kern Center- A Living & Learning Building
March 20, 2019 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm EDT
FreeLocated at the heart of Hampshire College campus, the R.W. Kern Center is a certified Living Building: generating its own energy, capturing and treating its own water, and processing and recycling its waste. But the building’s impact is far greater than it’s small (carbon) footprint. In this session, we’ll share how the project has transformed sustainability at Hampshire, creating a rallying point for positive change on campus and beyond. We’ll talk creative course integrations, engaging community events, and student and faculty research, which anchor the Kern Center in the Hampshire educational experience. On a larger scale, we’ll share how the project has allowed the Hampshire community to demonstrate leadership in sustainable design and create connections across academia, environmental advocacy, design and engineering, municipalities, and businesses.
Join us to learn more about this transformational building, and how to leverage your own projects to support your institution’s institutional goals and values.
For members: Access webinar recording and presentation materials
Presenters
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Sara Draper, R.W. Kern Center Director of Educational Program and Outreach, Hampshire College Sara Draper is the Director of Education and Outreach at Hampshire College’s R.W. Kern Center, a certified Living Building and hub of sustainability culture and engagement. In her role as “building ambassador” Sara works across campus and beyond to make the most of the educational and influential potential of the Kern Center through tours, research and academic partnerships, community events, advocacy, and outreach. Previously a sustainability strategist at Bruner/Cott, Cambridge architectural firm, she is a member of both the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association and Massachusetts Living Building Collaborative. |
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Claire Shillington, Student, Hampshire College Claire is a senior at Hampshire College studying Applied Environmental Science and Hydrologic Systems. She is currently completing a Division III capstone research project analyzing the performance of the R.W. Kern Center’s greywater treatment system. More broadly, Claire is interested in decentralized water catchment, treatment, and reuse options that incorporate natural systems in order to minimize our human water footprint. At Hampshire, Claire is also a Teaching Assistant for the Integrated Sciences First-Year Program, a student-athlete on the soccer team, and a member of the Student Life Committee of the Board of Trustees. |
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Christina Cianfrani, Associate Professor of Hydrology, Hampshire College Christina is an associate professor of hydrology at Hampshire College, and co-creator of the school’s Integrated First-Year Sciences Program, a foundation course combining hydrology, microbiology, and mathematical modeling. Along with colleague Sarah Hews, Chris is working to create a variety of Living Building curricula to engage students of all disciplines in the systems and values of sustainable building design. Her research focuses on watershed processes approached from an ecological and engineering perspective, partnering with local and state agencies, research institutions, non-profit organizations, and private consultants to conduct interdisciplinary research projects. Chris received her B.S. from the University of Pennsylvania, M.S. from Yale University, and Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Vermont. |