COSC's EVERGREEN Fundraising Party

We're getting excited for our EVERGREEN fundraiser featuring William Elliott Whitmore, with a performance by The River Monks and emceed by Iowa's own Michele Beschen of b. organic.

Ciji Mitrisin of Recycle Me Iowa is on our EVERGREEN committee, and this is what she has to say:

http://www.recyclemeiowa.com/2011/10/yeah-willy

Call for Nominations - 2011 Preservation at Its Best Awards

Alert - Postmark deadline is August, 31, 2011!

Each year, Preservation Iowa honors individuals, organizations, projects, and programs whose work demonstrates a commitment to excellence in historic preservation. Their goal is to inspire others to take action to preserve, protect, and promote Iowa’s places that matter.

Visit their website today to learn more about this year's Preservation at Its Best Awards Call for Nominations guidelines and application process.

Promising Emerging Data on Heritage Window Performance

This just in from COSC guest instructor and Iowa native Bob Yapp...

The National Window Preservation Standards Collaborative (NWPSC) convened its 1st Window Preservation & Performance Summit at the National Historic Landmark, Pine Mountain Settlement School site in Pine Mountain, Kentucky the week of July 22-29, 2011. Attendees from the four corners of the United States and Canada gathered with the Collaborative Founding Members David Gibney, Duffy Hoffman, John Leeke, Jim Turner and Bob Yapp, and restoration architects Jill H Gotthelf and Walter Sedovic, who engineered the performance testing protocol.

Restoration and weatherization of historic wood and steel windows showcased a variety of techniques and approaches by each of the Founding Members, with ample time for field review and participation by advisors and participants.

Performance testing began with a baseline evaluation and measurement of the pre-restoration condition of each window. Throughout the course of the week, additional testing of the restored windows was performed following defined scientific protocol. Initial results were collated and evaluated, allowing for refinement of restoration techniques, and further testing.

Preliminary findings focusing on air infiltration revealed very promising results for the energy efficiency of restored historic windows, and underscored the enormous benefit provided by simple installation of a storm window system; a variety of commonly available or readily constructed storm windows were included in the Summit sampling.

This Summit represents an historic milestone in proving what window preservation advocates have long espoused: that historic windows are exemplary energy performers and that restoring windows is an undeniably sustainable approach, which now can be supported by building science. Coupled with the proceedings of the Summit will be future data on other beneficial attributes of heritage windows including thermal performance, day lighting, longevity and restorability.

The complete report will be included in a new publication slated to be available in early 2012 titled, "Window Preservation and Weatherization Standards". This book will be the first of its kind to provide a menu of window repair, preservation, restoration and weatherization techniques that will create a standard for specifiers, architects, property owners as well as federal, state and local government agencies.

A full detailed report is scheduled to be released this coming December. For more information contact Bob Yapp at his Belvedere School for Hands-on Preservation in Hannibal, Missouri: 217-474-6052 or Yapperman@msn.com.

Native Gardening

Landscaping can be overwhelming and difficult to start but with the following resources, you can't go wrong with your next home project!

Rainscaping Iowa is the perfect place to start for your landscaping needs. Their website includes links for all sorts of helpful information. Native landscaping has many benefits including the architecture of the native roots which enables the soil to infiltrate water and withstand erosive conditions. Native plants are easy to maintain once established and also reduce the amount of local pests and disease.

One of the best ways to maintain water more sustainably is to strategically install landscaping that includes a tall grass prairie region. The Urban Conservation Program has more information on native landscaping as well as other projects with the goal of improving urban areas. With a long history of experience with working famers they are eager to help other communities. They assist installing systems and modify existing framework to accomplish keeping water off the roads and soil out of our waterways!

For more on Native Gardening check out Rainscaping Iowa's Facebook page and continue to get updates on their recent activity.

COSC Summer Internship Leads to Cystainability

Iowa State University student Ashlee Clark

Every college student has been there, it is April and the excitement of summer hasn't hit yet because you don't have a summer job or even landed an interview. There is no light yet at the end of the tunnel. 

Then May rolls around and I am still vigorously searching for a job. After weeks of researching numerous public relations firms in Des Moines and looking for assistance in my job hunt, I came into contact with Siobhan Spain, the communications director here at COSC. I was not quite sure what COSC was, or what they stood for, but I was eager to get my foot in the door with any experience.

Siobhan gave me the opportunity to jump right in, helping to write press releases, blogs and updating COSC's social networks from time to time. I have really enjoyed the hands on work experience that I received. After about a month I realized how many people I was meeting and the doors that this internship was opening for me. 

One door in particular is my yearning to learn more about sustainability.  I look forward to conveying the knowledge I acquired this summer when back on campus. So, what better way to do so than to research, write and publish it for the students at ISU?

COSC has taught me the bulk of what I know about sustainability and there is so much more to learn. As I am running out of time in my internship, I plan to continue my quest for gaining knowledge about the green initiative. To do so, I proposed to the Daily, ISU's campus newspaper, a regular green feature section focused on campus and local sustainability. Staff was eager to embrace this new initiative.

I'm excited to announce the launch of the Daily's new special section and website called "Cystainability" coming this fall. I look forward to steering this pilot project into a reliable source and interactive forum for students and faculty. My goal for the section is to promote awareness of diverse sustainable practices that influence the way we live, learn, work and play.

With the section being a very positive outcome of my internship, I was also able to learn a lot about the Public Relations/Communications field. It is not at all what I thought it was going to be - it was better. It is fast pace and always presents something new. I learned quickly that if there are five items on the to-do list for a certain day, those five items would be taking place at the same time and would all get done. This internship was a great learning experience for me that I plan to incorporate it into my education as well as whatever job comes next.  

COSC has influenced communities across Iowa to take on a sustainable lifestyle and I look forward to bringing these principals to Iowa State.

Look for the link to Cystainability's website by the end of August!

- Ashlee Clark

Iowa State University | Journalism and Mass Communications
Iowa State Daily
Government of Student Body | Director of Public Relations