Environmental Proponent to Speak at UNF

CONTACT AMY PARMELEE
OFFICE OF MEDIA RELATIONS AND EVENTS
(904) 620-2102


JACKSONVILLE – Is it possible for a building to use less energy than it produces? Dr. David W. Orr, professor and chair of the Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College in Ohio, led the effort to design and construct such a building at Oberlin.

Orr will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 30, in the Lazzara Performance Hall in the UNF Fine Arts Center. The lecture, part of the Bailey Lecture Series, is free and open to the public.

Orr is known for his work on environmental literacy and ecological design, which includes the Lewis Center for Environmental Studies. The building, which opened in 2000, was made to be studied and to evolve as needs and technology changed.

The $7.2 million center includes a reconstructed wetland area for education and to reduce maintenance costs. The landscape incorporates local native trees and low-maintenance grass. A permaculture garden sits on geothermal wells that provide heating and cooling for the building. A reservoir also captures water runoff for it to be reused. The Living Machine, as it is called, treats wastewater from the building on-site to be reused.

Orr also is the author of four books, “The Last Refuge: Patriotism, Politics, and the Environment in an Age of Terror,” “The Nature of Design,” “Earth in Mind” and “Ecological Literacy.” He received a Bioneers Award in 2002, a National Conservation Achievement Award from the National Wildlife Federation in 1993, and a Lyndhurst Prize in 1992.

- UNF -