Foundation Northwest Awards Green Building Grant

Many architects are familiar with methods of building that are friendly to the environment, but finding plumbers, electricians and other trades people who can follow through with "green building" techniques at construction sites has been difficult in the Inland Northwest.

Now, thanks to a $10,000 grant from Foundation Northwest, the Inland Chapter of the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild is developing a training program in green-building technologies, filling the gap that has prevented significant progress in sustainable building practices in the Spokane area.

Foundation Northwest was founded in 1974 to provide a permanent source of philanthropic capital for the community. The foundation in particularly interested in creating long-term, living-wage jobs that help sustain the local economy.

The successful grant application was jointly prepared by Jim Wavada of the Department of Ecology and Steve George of the Spokane Alliance on behalf of the EcoBuilding Guild. The alliance consists of diverse institutions such as churches, labor organizations, small businesses and civic and education organizations that place a high priority on creating sustainable, living-wage jobs.

"We'll use the grant to teach subcontractors how to use specific sustainable building technologies to assemble projects in the Inland Northwest," Wavada says.

For example, the proper techniques and assembly skills for installing radiant floor heating (an energy-efficient heating option) will be integrated with the more basic training of local electricians and cement-foundation workers.

"This will help us close the loop so we actually have the resources right here to build in a way that protects the environment and saves resources," Wavada says.

Wavada and George will work to develop the training and integrate it into existing building-trades' apprentice-training programs, working alongside Chuck Danner, chairman of the Inland Northwest Apprenticeship Coordinators Council, and Katherine Proff of Community Colleges of Spokane.

Wavada and George are assembling an interagency team to design the training program and identify and recruit topical experts to do the training. They expect to offer the training in March or April of this year. For more information, contact Jim Wavada at (509) 329-3545 or at jwav461@ecy.wa.gov.