By Report

James Cupps, first year Construction Trades Instructor at Boise School District's Dennis Technical Education Center, received a state grant to develop construction training programs in new energy infrastructures.

The emphasis of the program was to focus on energy alternatives such as wind and solar electrical production. The new program opened doors to the future demand of energy efficiency to a younger generation than the current home builders.

"Students today have a tremendous opportunity to recognize the evolution occurring in the industry and position themselves to take advantage of the green construction industry and the accompanying new jobs that are being created," Cupps said.

Both District Residential Construction Instructor Scott Larson and Cupps understood the new skills required by a new generation of designers, builders, and consumers.

They put together classroom lessons, activities and coursework to teach the students the concepts needed to learn the how and why. Boise School District's Construction Education program is designed to meet the challenge of a greener future.

"We are committed to seeing that our students have the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in today's ever-changing construction industry," Cupps said.

Students in Boise School District's Residential Construction program have finished constructing the nation's first student-built LEED Certified home.

"It's all part of the program's push to develop students' 'green building' skills needed in the new green economy," Larson said.

Twelve high school students have completed building what they, and their instructors, claim to be the first student-built home to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. LEED, an internationally recognized green building certification system, promotes the design and construction of high performance green homes.

Home builders know "if you are not building green in five years, you won't be building," Cupp said.

Fueled by rising energy costs and the recognition that buildings account for 75 percent of our nation's energy use, and aided by the development of new "green" products, segments of the nation's construction industry are responding to demands for high efficiency, durability, and sustainability.

According to Turner Construction Company's "Green Building Barometer," 75 percent of commercial real estate executives, including developers, rental building owners, brokers, architects, engineers and others, say the current credit crunch in the U.S. will not discourage them from building green.

In fact, 83 percent said they would be "extremely" or "very" likely to seek LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for buildings they are planning to build within the next three years.

With the support of Boise School District and Boise Schools Education Foundation, Larson pursued and received LEED certification for this year's student-built house as a challenging means to expose students to the philosophy of sustainable building, the methods used to improve a building's environmental footprint, and commonly available green products.

Credit: IBR Staff Report

(Copyright 2010 Dolan Media Newswires)

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