Liberal Arts and Technology building at Tri-C Westshore Campus honored for sustainability: West Shore Chatter – cleveland.com

WESTLAKE, Ohio -- Cuyahoga Community College has earned a LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for the new Liberal Arts and Technology building at the Westshore Campus in Westlake.

LEED certification is a nationally recognized benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. This is Tri-Cs seventh building to receive a LEED designation.

Westshores Health Careers and Sciences building earned a LEED Gold designation after it opened a decade ago. Development of the campus along Clemens Road in Westlake coincided with Tri-Cs creation of a sustainability plan.

The notion of building green has guided Westshore Campus since Day One, said David November, the colleges sustainability manager. In many ways, this campus represents the robust sustainability standards that Tri-C now brings to every project.

The Liberal Arts and Technology building opened in September 2019. The new building added more than 90,000 square feet of academic space to campus, including 30 classrooms and labs and numerous student support services.

Sustainability highlights of the new building include:

A more than 36 percent reduction in typical energy use due to LED lighting and efficient heating and cooling systems, bringing an estimated annual savings of $30,000

Equipment and plumbing fixtures designed to save more than 650,000 gallons of water per year -- the equivalent of 16,000 filled bathtubs

A stormwater plan that reduces the quantity and improves the quality of runoff

An emphasis on using local and recycled materials during construction

Establishment of a green cleaning policy and program

Tri-C also diverted 89 percent of construction waste from landfills through sorting and recycling during the 18-month project. Tri-C collaborated with Moody Nolan architects and Donleys construction on the building.

The new building at Westshore joins a growing list of Tri-C sites awarded LEED certification. Green buildings and grounds serve as key components of the colleges efforts to reduce its environmental impact.

The Bay Village Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library is among the libraries offering patrons the use of a Zoom Room for hosting virtual events. (Carol Kovach/special to cleveland.com)

Zoom Rooms: The Bay Village Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library is among the branches offering customers access to a Zoom Room that they can book for meetings, webinars and conferences.

The Zoom Rooms can accommodate up to 300 participants and can be reserved for up to two hours at a time. Zoom Rooms are available during regular hours of operation.

For assistance using the Zoom Rooms, call your local branch. After successfully booking a Zoom Room, library patrons will receive a confirmation email, along with a dedicated link for the meeting to share with participants.

Preventing crime: Westlake Porter Public Library and the Westlake Police Department are partnering to offer a program called Neighborhood Crime Prevention at 7 p.m. Feb. 16 via Zoom. Registration is required and participants will receive Zoom log-in information by email after registering.

In response to the recent string of home burglaries in Westlake, Lt. Jason Dancy of the WPD will offer information on ways to safeguard your home and property, as well as tips on spotting and helping to reduce crime in your neighborhood.

Visit westlakelibrary.org/events to register.

Black History Month Challenge: Citizens is partnering with EVERFI, a leading social impact education innovator, to present the EVERFI Black History Month Challenge during February. Its the first-of-its-kind national competition to help high school students across the country understand the Black American experience through historical perspectives.

The monthlong challenge, created by EVERFI and supported by companies nationwide, features four digital lessons and a capstone essay contest in which students share a plan for maintaining conversations about Black history year-round within their community.

Three winners will receive college scholarships totaling $20,000.

The Black History Month Challenge is designed to inspire students by telling stories about the Black experience in America, empower students through the counter-storytelling of Black perspectives across generations, elevate history as a lens to understand current events and transform students perception of the world around them.

Students will explore topics and events including Juneteenth, Affirmative Action and the protests and marches for civil rights and equality.

In the Black Business Titans lesson, students explore the history behind the racial wealth gap and how Black entrepreneurs and businesspeople are overcoming challenges every day.

In the lesson on Black Contributions to Medicine, students explore the roots of systemic racism in medical care and celebrate Black medical trailblazers historically and today.

In addition to supporting the Black History Month Challenge, Citizens works with EVERFI to provide College Bound Citizens, a digital education program for high school juniors and seniors that aims to help empower students to make wise financial decisions when planning for post-secondary education.

Visit citizens.everfi-next.net/welcome/bhm to learn more about the EVERFI Black History Month Challenge.

At the library: Westlake Porter Public Library has numerous programs planned for the coming week, all of which are subject to change. Check westlakelibrary.org or follow the library on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates.

All ages can participate in a live program, Foodies @ 11 Part Deux, live at 11 a.m. Feb. 17 on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube to test popular kitchen hacks.

Creative Writing for Adults meets at 7 p.m. Feb. 17 on Zoom. No experience is necessary, but participants must register to receive the link. A working camera and microphone are recommended.

Visit westlakelibrary.org/events for information on all programs and to register.

Information, please: Readers are invited to share information about themselves, their families and friends, organizations, church events, etc. from Bay Village, Rocky River and Westlake for the West Shore Chatter column, which I write on a freelance basis. Awards, honors, milestone birthdays or anniversaries and other items are welcome. Submit information at least 10 days before the requested publication date to carolkovach@hotmail.com.

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Liberal Arts and Technology building at Tri-C Westshore Campus honored for sustainability: West Shore Chatter - cleveland.com