Work starts on ACT’s final and most environmentally friendly BER project

Work has begun on a new $3 million, six star energy efficient environmental learning centre at Gold Creek School in the ACT.

Gold Creek School provides education to students from kindergarten to year 10 across two campuses in North Canberra. The junior campus is to receive a new Environment Centre funded through the Primary Schools for the 21st Century element of the Building the Education Revolution program.

On Friday 28 May work began on the new centre which will use the latest techniques to save energy and water. The environmentally conscious approach starts from the ground up, the building will be constructed with low-energy production bricks, plasterboard made largely of recycled materials and certified renewable plantation timber.

The building aims to achieve a six star design certification from the Green Building Council of Australia. Rainwater will be captured, stored and used for garden irrigation and toilets. Natural cross flow ventilation will cool the building. Solar power will be generated and excess energy will be returned to the grid. The school will also be paid for excess energy under the ACT electricity feed-in tariff.

School Principal Sue Jose is excited about the opportunities the new building will bring to the school.

‘The new Centre will give students a place to learn ‘hands-on’ about protecting the environment and growing and caring for plants in the gardens and orchard surrounding the Centre,’ Ms Jose said.

The Centre will include two standard classrooms and a special ‘wet classroom’ with a set up similar to a science classroom. The school plans to use the wet area for a variety of purposes, including to propagate plants for the surrounding gardens. Internal doors can be opened, creating a presentation space useful for both students and the community. It is anticipated gardening groups will use the space for workshops and demonstrations.

The local community will be heavily involved with the school students in planting and caring for the extensive community gardens which will surround the new building.

‘Our school already has an Environment Club and the curriculum has an environment and sustainability focus. The new centre will add a practical element to the students’ learning Year 4 students will be located in the Environment Centre and will be encouraged to promote sustainable practices and environmental awareness across the school,’ Ms Jose said.

The Gold Creek School’s project is the first in the southern hemisphere to register for the International Living Building Challenge, which aims to promote truly sustainable design and construction practices around the globe.

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