Discovery Series at Red Mtn. helps educate community
Ryan McCullough
The Family Discovery series has continued the use of the Saguaro building at MCC’s Red Mountain campus as an educational tool.The Saguaro building, designed by professionals at the Smith Group, was completed August 2009.
The first lecture, on animals in the Sonoran desert, was given in September 2009. Alex Cheroske, Anatomy and Physiology professor, held the latest lecture in the series on March 26.
While most of the lectures have been related to flora and fauna of the desert, Cheroske spoke on the sustainability aspects of the Saguaro building and ways that individuals could be environmentally conscious.
The Saguaro building was on track to receive gold certification for leadership in energy and environmental design, or LEED.
“The LEED certification was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. It is a way of going through a checklist of different types of sustainable practices,” Cheroske said.
There were four levels to LEED certification; certification, silver, gold and platinum. If it receives gold certification, it would be the third building in the district.
Throughout the building are terrariums. They are small glass-enclosed ecosystems, that house snakes and gila monsters in a desert environment. There are terrariums in the process of being built that will provide habitats for frogs. They are used in the Family Discovery series.
The urinals in the building, like a few in the Kirk Center, are waterless. Signs posted above them educate users about the amount of water saved. The toilets are dual flush which gives the user a choice between a flush for liquid waste and a flush for solid waste.
The glaze on the windows and the type of insulation were carefully selected to save money on heating costs.
During construction, sustainable practices were used. Materials, such as metal and wood which did not go into the building, were recycled for other construction projects. Dirt that attached to the machinery leaving the site was knocked off to keep erosion down.
On the outside of the building, there is a snake wrangling pit. Andy Holycross, a professor for the school, tracks rattlesnakes around the campus.
Holycross uses the pit to work with the snakes and for demonstrations during classes. A bat roost also occupies the outside of the building, but no bats have taken up residence yet.
