The Park Board of Trustees is working to make Galveston Island clean, green and pristine from maintaining the island’s beach parks to soon bringing downtown Galveston its first LEED certified building. To officially introduce Park Board Plaza to the public, the board held an impressive open house and tour of the building last Month.
The open house included a presentation about the building’s unique sustainable features and its anticipated approval as a LEED certified building. Based on the LEED four-level rating system (Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum), the building surpasses requirements for the first two levels of certification and is currently assessing the feasibility of achieving a Park Board is working to make Galveston Clean, Green & Pristine
Gold level certification.
While I simply enjoy having a nice office to work in (the building houses accounting/administrative offices of the Park Board of Trustees as well as the marketing/sales offices of the Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau), sustainability experts are saluting the Park Board for its forward thinking, recognizing the need to help keep long-term costs and energy waste to a minimum.
Joshua Vanlandingham, a senior associate at the engineering firm processing the Park Board’s LEED application, told me that the Park Board’s upgrades will cause the building to consume 62 percent of the energy of a typical office building, saving an estimated $19,000 in energy annually. The building is also designed to use 43.5 percent less water per year than a typical office building, saving 26,000 gallons of water each year.
This month is the one-year anniversary of the building’s completion so it looks like the Park Board has already made a significant impact. Some may think it’s just a building, but it’s important for the community to be informed of the leadership role the Park Board has taken to promote an environmentally responsible community.
Speaking of environmentally responsible, the Park Board also officially unveiled the logo and messaging for its new “clean beaches” campaign late last month. The campaign discourages litter and promotes recycling on the island’s beach parks. It has a very cool, trendy sea turtle logo with these words circling around it: “Clean. Green. Pristine. Galveston Island Beaches.” The basic message of the anti-litter component of the campaign, which will kick off this summer, will be “In the can, not the sand” in both English and Spanish.
This logo and messaging will soon be seen on items throughout Galveston Island’s beach parks, including trash bins and vehicles. I’m hoping the board will eventually branch out even further and put the logo on merchandise, like beach bags. The logo has a modern-surf look to it, and I believe it has the potential to really catch on as a symbol of Galveston Island pride.
