Cross-country roadtrip includes Ivy League institution, Cornell University
A cross-country road trip to promote sustainable building practices will make a stop at Kirkwood Community College on Thursday, Nov. 8. Students from three universities will partake in a learning exposition at the Cedar Rapids college, before adding four Kirkwood students to their group and heading west to three other universities.
Participating in learning sessions at each stop, students from seven colleges and universities will end their journey at the GreenBuild International Conference and Expo, in San Francisco, California, on Nov. 14.
This inaugural bus tour is designed to promote green building design and practices on college campuses across the country. It begins in Ithaca, NY with students from Cornell University, and will proceed to pick up students from Penn State University and the University of Illinois. After the Kirkwood stop, the tour moves on to Colorado State University, the University of Utah and Weber State University, en route to the final destination in San Francisco.
“We’ve always known here that our Kirkwood students are on par with students from across the country,” said Construction Management Instructor Joe Greathouse. “Now our students are being paired up with those from an Ivy League institution and five other great universities. It says a lot for what our students are learning, and how they’re viewed in the sustainable building industry.”
Kirkwood will host a materials and resources expo on Nov. 8, at 1 p.m., for students from Cornell University, Penn State University, the University of Illinois and area high school students who build houses in their construction classes. Local industry experts will share thoughts on matters of green design and construction.
“It’s a great opportunity for these high school students, their instructors and our Kirkwood students, to hear from industry experts and students in other parts of the country to see what types of building principles work in the different regions,” added Greathouse. “Hopefully the college students passing through Cedar Rapids will be able to learn from what we’ve done here on our campus with our use of wind and solar energies, as well as our use of geothermal wells to build more-sustainable construction.”
Once finished in Cedar Rapids, four Kirkwood students from the college’s United States Green Building Council (USGBC) student club will join the bus tour for the duration of the trip, making stops at the final three universities and the GreenBuild International Conference and Expo.
The USGBC national headquarters is sponsoring the cross-country bus tour to spread the word about sustainable design and construction. More information can be found at www.mygreenapple.org/getonthebus.