Alton, Ill. – The Missouri Gateway
Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council will feature the National Great
Rivers Research and Education Center’s Jerry F.
Costello Confluence Field Station as a part of its Green Building Tour program
on Tuesday, June 14.
The
event, which is presented in partnership with the St. Louis Regional Higher
Education Sustainability Consortium and sponsored by AAIC, Inc. and Native
Landscape Contractors, will begin with registration and networking
opportunities at 5:30 p.m. At 6 p.m. a brief welcome and presentation will take
place, followed by tours of the facility.
“We
are pleased to welcome the Missouri Gateway Chapter of the U.S. Green Building
Council and are honored they chose the Costello Confluence Field Station as a
part of their green building tour program,” Lewis and Clark President and
NGRREC Chairman Dale Chapman said. “This facility was designed with the most
advanced sustainable features, and we are anxious to showcase its unique
design, as well as NGRREC’s programs and research to local U.S. Green Building
Council Members and guests.”
The
Costello Confluence Field Station incorporates many sustainable elements and is
registered with the certification goal of LEED Platinum. The 35,000-square-foot
building sits on eight acres of land leased from the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers south of the Melvin Price Locks and Dam in Alton, Ill. Strategically
located near the confluence of the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers, the field station serves as
an international center for science, education and public outreach related to
key issues that will improve sustainable management of large rivers.
“We
have received a great deal of response from our members who are looking forward
to touring this facility,” Executive Director of the Missouri Gateway Chapter
of the USGBC Emily Andrews said. “We
expect more than 100 individuals to take part in the event and the tour, and we
are looking forward to learning more about NGRREC’s state-of-the-art facility.”
NGRREC’s
field station provides researchers access to the river and the riverine
mesocosms, and wet lab facilities will allow them to conduct unique experiments
to expand our understanding of the structure and function of floodplain-river
ecosystems - information that is vital to the development of conservation
strategies to sustain the natural resources these systems provide and economic
benefits derived from these resources.
This
week the facility was visited by the Mekong River Commission, represented by
foreign ministers from the countries of Cambodia,
Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam,
as the group exchanged information with NGRREC researchers related to issues of
mutual concern such as navigation, sustainability and stewardship, flood and
drought management and invasive species.
Registration
in advance is preferred. USGBC- Missouri Gateway Members, HESC Representatives
and full-time students can register for free.
The fee for non-members to attend is $20.
To
register visit
http://www.usgbc-stl.org/events/, scroll down and click
the “register” button under the Tour of
the National Great Rivers Research & Education Center event listing.
For more information call (314) 577-0225 or email
usgbc-mogateway@mobot.org.