Barnard Environmental Studies Magnet School

1. 2008 Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture Barnard Environmental Studies Magnet School 170 Derby Avenue, New Haven, CT Pre-K thru 8 Renovations Award (Lee J. Brockney) Gilbane Building Company

2. Barnard Environmental Studies Magnet School

3. Community Environment Barnard School has deep rooted connections to the community. In conjunction with Claire’s Cornucopia, a local restaurant, Barnard has signed on to the United Nation’s Growing Connection container gardening program which teaches kids how to grow affordable, high value produce in their classrooms. Through the sponsorship of the New Haven Parks Department, Eco-Adventure camps are operated out of the Barnard Nature Center. The camps provide unique, challenging, safe and fun learning experiences for area residents. The camp includes environmental and outdoor adventure activities specially tailored to the needs and abilities of the youth. Activities include canoeing, kayaking, white water rafting, sailing, orienteering, hiking & nature interpretation, mountain biking, ropes & challenge course, and much more. Barnard school has also connected to the global community. As part of the educational curriculum, students take part in an innovative program that teaches kids around the world how to grow their own food and share gardening tips over the Internet. “The Growing Connection” was launched in Ghana in 2003, and a year later exported to Chicago. It has since expanded to 125 sites worldwide and 60 in the U.S., including Barnard School.

4. Learning Environment Barnard offers a comprehensive education that provides students with a strong academic foundation that integrates environmental studies into the curriculum and engages students through challenging, inquiry-based activities that encourages an active pursuit of a sustainable future. The school uses an interdisciplinary approach focused on the environment, thematic units and cooperative learning to develop students problem solving and creative thinking skills. Outdoor education promotes inquiry-based learning and inspires students with a sense of wonder and appreciation for the natural environment that encourages them to become active in the pursuit of a sustainable future. The building’s facilities support a curriculum of sustainability through interactive learning. Key features that incorporate the environmental curriculum include: The largest solar power display in Connecticut. Students learn about electricity, how a circuit works, and what the best materials are for conduction by studying the solar panels. Students can track the amount of energy produced by the solar panels using links to the school's computers and understand how changes in the weather affect on solar energy production. A nature center that is connected to the school by a sky bridge giving students direct access to New Haven’s West River. The nature center is stocked with canoes, hip boots and other tools for environmental observation and data collection. Easy access to the nature center and the tidal wetlands of the park serve as a valuable educational resource for the students of the school as well as the neighborhood. Two greenhouses to help classes and teachers raise plants from seeds to seedlings and beyond. Students learn horticultural and become empowered with a skill they can use forever. Classroom Student courtyard gardens allow students to work on and develop themed gardens including spices, vegetables, fruits, flowers, and many others for an outstanding ecosystem on school grounds. Landscaping uses native species to eliminate need for permanent irrigation system. Data from the AWS WeatherBug professional-grade weather station allows teachers to apply real-world weather conditions when teaching math, science and geography. A Salmon tank installed in the discovery science room allows students to raise their own fish from eggs as part of a unit on animal migration. Using a healthy ecosystem as a model, teachers at Barnard connect ideas, concepts and skills from all areas of study to reinforce and deepen children's learning.

5. Physical Environment As part of the design process for a school within the New Haven School Construction Program a School Based Building Advisory Committee (SBBAC) is designated for each project. The SBBAC is made up of parents, teachers, school administrators, aldermanic and neighborhood representatives. These Committees work directly with the School Construction Program and project architect to develop the educational program and design the school. The SBBAC for Barnard was particularly active and stressed the importance of recognizing the school’s connection with the natural environment surrounding them, including the West River wetlands across the Boulevard. The SBBAC worked closely with the design team on the bridge and nature center concept. The committee stressed the bridge as an important link between the school, the park, and the community. Parents and teachers believed that students needed exposure to their natural environment for both hands-on curriculum and as a visual backdrop to their in-school studies. A satellite classroom adjacent to the school in parkland would greatly serve that need. The community wanted the school to be designed to invite community use and participation. Taking direction from input by the community, the project team designed the cafeteria as a multipurpose space to be used by the community after school hours. The courtyard garden was designed to accommodate the programmatic needs of the school and serve as a community garden during the summer. The nature center was built on parkland owned by the City of New Haven. The City’s Board of Education and Parks Department joined forces to implement the nature center concept. The Parks Department gave the Board of Education a free twenty year lease on the land to allow for the construction of the facility and granted the school use of the facility during operating hours in exchange for the Parks Department’s right to use the nature center as a Ranger station after school hours, on weekends, and during school vacations. The Parks Department opens up the nature center for community use during its hours of operation and uses the facility to host activities that promote environmental education.

6. Planning Process The design concept for Barnard was established with the environmental curriculum in mind. The key objectives of the project planners were to: Design a building that is environmentally friendly in its materials and energy use and can be a teaching tool for its students. Design to a standard to achieve LEED certification. Design classrooms and other learning spaces both indoors and outdoors that promote a positive learning experience and can accommodate for learning about the environment Achieving LEED Gold Certification. Barnard achieved LEED Gold status with a total of 39 points earned in the six categories required to achieve such designation. Barnard is the only public school in the state of Connecticut so far to earn LEED Gold. Some attributes that helped Barnard achieve LEED Gold include the installation of 196 solar panels on the roof, which provide, on average, 16 percent of the school's energy. This endeavor is the largest of its kind in the State of Connecticut. Dual flush toilets and waterless urinals help save an estimated 228,600 gallons of water a year. Heating boilers can switch from natural gas to oil to take advantage of price fluctuations. In total, Barnard's energy efficiency saves the city an estimated $58,000 a year. Other “green” features include management and control of storm water runoff, a landscape that requires little water, and water reduction fixtures. Classrooms and other learning spaces. A key feature of the new school is the bridge which connects the main body of the school to the school’s nature center in the West River Memorial Park across the street. The total length of the bridge is 229 feet and is divided into three spans, the middle span over the boulevard being the longest at 129 feet. The total weight of the bridge when clad is approximately 138 tons. The nature center is used as a classroom during school hours and is available to park goers at other times. The bridge not only provides access to the park for the school and neighborhood, but also serves as a Gateway to New Haven. The new addition for the school was built adjacent to an existing wing to create a ‘U’-shaped building around a teaching garden courtyard. Science and discovery rooms are adjacent to the school’s two greenhouses and roof gardens were incorporated into the design to maximize student exposure to plant ecology and biology.

7. Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture 2008 Project Data

8. Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture 2008 Project Details

9. Additional Images

10. Additional Images

11. Additional Images

12. Additional Images