Building Green
Small Friends Board of Directors has determined that any building, especially an educational facility, built in the twenty-first century, on an environmentally fragile island, should be a green building. Small Friends has chosen to be the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified commercial building built on the island. We have assumed the responsibility for seeking the additional funding to finance the expected increase in initial expenses. We have hired local architect Steven Blashfield of Chip Webster and Associates to design our building and have held two public charrettes to involve the community in the LEED process and our goal for a green building. Mr. Blashfield has gained LEED certification and has selected a design team with varied experiences.
The indoor and outdoor design of our building and outdoor environment have been carefully considered during the past year by members of the building committee and our architect. Our current two buildings were recycled, moved and renovated and while they meet the stringent requirements of the Mass. Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), they are seriously lacking in overall space and especially space for the staff. Our new building includes a staff planning room, conference room and much more storage space. It also provides an adequate classroom for each class, several of which are currently sharing space as well as a common indoor play area, and one additional classroom, allowing us to increase our enrollment from 44 to 65 children.
In addition to the usual outdoor play equipment, the new center will have an outdoor classroom for messy, environmental learning, a nature trail and a marsh for frogs and turtles, as well as a trike track, and basketball area. Our two acre site, acquired from the Land Bank in 1998, will make it possible to offer a wide array of physical as well as cognitive, social and emotional learning experiences. Our building will be a state of the art facility for young children and will demonstrate that on Nantucket a sustainable building is a wise choice, perhaps the only choice, and that careful planning and hard work to achieve the initial funding is possible.
