PITTSBORO - “Green building” - classes on environmentally friendly construction -have been added to the Continuing Education fall schedule at Central Carolina Community College’s Pittsboro Campus.
The green building program is unique to CCCC in the state’s community college system. The classes will offer techniques and skills for energy-efficient construction and for utilizing materials that have less impact on the environment. They start Sept. 12.
“I’m very excited about the potential this new program offers students, the construction industry and consumers to demonstrate alternative building techniques which can decrease the environmental impacts of our buildings,” said Harvey Harman, an instructor in the program and owner of Earth Renewal Shelter, a green building company in Chatham County. “With the cost of energy remaining high and the impacts of our energy and material use on the environment and our health, green building is a positive solution for the construction industry.”
The classes are all geared towards getting practical experience. Harman said his goal is to give people job and life skills they can immediately put to use.
“With the amount of construction happening in the Triangle area, I would like to see local people get these jobs and incorporate green building techniques in new homes,” he said.
CCCC and the green building program are also partnering with Chatham County Habitat for Humanity to help build several unique energy-efficient houses next year.
The first is the Sarah Weber House, winner of the 2006 Sustainable Design Competition sponsored by Advanced Energy Corporation, of Raleigh. It was designed by a team of North Carolina State University students. The house includes special features such as passive solar design, energy-efficient construction, rainwater catchment systems and an efficient floor plan to utilize spaces effectively.
Another home to be built will use a highly energy-efficient insulated concrete wall system designed and fabricated by International Precast, Inc., in Siler City.
“I am excited about partnering with CCCC, Advanced Energy and International Precast,” said Gabriela Rife, construction manager for Chatham Habitat. “I believe that energy efficiency is an integral component of affordable housing.”
Some of the CCCC green building students will work on-site with Habitat for hands-on experience in green building techniques.
“I think these green building classes have incredible potential, and they complement our sustainability programs on farming and biofuel production,” said Stelfanie Williams, director of Continuing Education at the Chatham Campus.
Classes beginning this fall include: “Green Building Design,” “Fundamentals of Carpentry with Emphasis on Green Building,” “Blueprint Reading,” and “Energy Efficiency for Green Building.”
Students taking a core curriculum of six classes with two additional recommended classes qualify for a certificate in “Construction Carpentry with an emphasis on Green Building.”
For more information on the Green Building program, call Williams at (919) 542-6495, ext. 224. To register for a class, call (919) 542-6495, ext. 223 or go online to www.cccc.edu.