Water Harvesting
 Our cistern stores rainwater that is collected from the roof of the Outdoor Classroom. This water is used for flushing the toilets inside the building and limits our use of local freshwater sources. This technology is called water harvesting. More...
Dual Flush Toilets
 A typical flush of the toilet uses 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf), and older toilets use even more – about 3.5 gpf. The toilets in the outdoor classroom have two flush options, one for liquid wastes (0.8 gpf) and the other for solid wastes (1.6 gpf). Conserving a significant amount of water, these toilets can be installed in your own home, reducing your utility bill and your demand for a precious natural resource. More...
Parallel Strand Lumber (Parallam)
 Parallel Strand Lumber, also known as Parallam or PSL, is made from a composite of many small trees, reducing the need to use wood from old growth forests that typically provide large timbers. The outdoor classroom uses parallam, which minimizes our impact on older forests. More...
Certified Lumber
 The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international organization that establishes standards for responsible forest management. Purchasing certified lumber means that the forests were grown “in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, and economically viable way.” All wood used on the outdoor classroom is FSC certified, and it is also from North Carolina forests, reducing energy usage required for transportation. More...
Green Building Design
 Utilizing a form of passive solar heating, the south-facing overhang maximizes sunlight in the winter and shade in the summer, and the building’s orientation takes advantage of the yearlong southwesterly breeze. These design features, in addition to many others, conserve energy that would typically be used for lighting, heating, and air conditioning. More...
Recycled Materials
 Instead of using wood for furniture, the outdoor classroom has tables made from wheat scraps. The concrete masonry of the foundation is 100% recycled material, eliminating a large amount of energy and water that would otherwise be needed. Using untreated scrap lumber as mulch, we reduced the need to use newly cut trees. More...
Erosion Control
 During the construction process at Prairie Ridge, we kept the earth disturbance to a minimum in order to control erosion. In addition, there are no impervious surfaces on the outdoor classroom; thus all the rainwater is collected, reducing soil erosion around and under the building. More...
Photovoltaic Panels
 Our recently installed solar panels provide electricity for the outdoor classroom and, in the future, our residential center. Taking energy straight from the sun, we eliminate the need to use energy from nonrenewable sources, reducing our impact on the environment. More...
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