Greenbelt's Public Works Encourages Sustainable Living at Open House

On Saturday, the invited local residents to the facility for a building tour, demonstrations and refreshments.

As the crew supervisors provided grilled hot dogs and snacks, Assistant Director of Public Works, Carolyn Clemens gave tours of the "LEED" building. 

"Although our building is not 'LEED Certified,' we followed the 'LEED' design elements when remodeling two years ago," Clemens said.

The new facility was unveiled in 2009, and open house events have been held annually to show the community the expanded office space, as well as the many ways the department helps to save on energy usage through its design and recycled materials used in the building's structure. 

Newly carpeted floors, skylights, and recycled brick walls are just a few of the installations said to help cut cost on energy usage. The facility is operated using geothermal heating and cooling. Work vehicles are being phased out and replaced by vehicles running on "CNG," a chemically cleaner natural gas which not only helps to reduce pollution, but also keeps the engines cleaner, longer.

The open house serves as an opportunity to educate the community on how to live sustainable and energy sufficient lives. "Going green is very inexpensive; it's more manual labor that is put into it than anything," said Clemens, when commenting on the cost if citizens implemented greener features in their homes. The open house is designed to provide all of the working knowledge and benefits of "going green."

One of the exhibitors, Green ACES' John Lippert, displayed a booth to educate residents on the use of wattage within their homes. Green ACES' mission is two-fold: As it continues to develop a Master Sustainability Plan for Greenbelt, the group provides outreach to the community. 

Lippert showed residents two energy saving options they can use within their homes: a Kill-A-Watt and Thermal Leak Detectors. Through a loan program offered through Public Works and Greenbelt Homes Incorporated (GHI), Green ACES invites residents to stop by either location to borrow the devices for one week, free of charge. The Kill-A-Watt is designed to measure power and energy consumption, while the Thermal Leak Detector will check spots in the home to measure the amount of heat loss through an infrared sensor tool.

"This is what Greenbelt does! Here in Greenbelt, we are environmentally focused," Clemens said. "We pride ourselves on outreach and teaching each other; that is the entire purpose of this event."  

During the open house, the Department of Public Works crew, area volunteers, Girl Scouts, and Greenbelt Pageant winners along with members of the city council gathered at noon at Schrom Hills Park off of Hanover Parkway. The group dedicated their morning to planting three cherry trees and installing a rain garden to recognize Arbor Day and to replace trees lost in last year's storms.

"Through our events, we hope to get the message out about how important it is to sustain energy and promote green living within our community," Clemens said. "We are demonstrating that there are many ways to get involved, whether making a commitment to recycle in your home or planting a rain garden in your backyard ... we have three here!"