FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact
Information:
Tom Clay, Executive Director
217.544.2473
Illinois Audubon Society
PO Box 2547, Springfield, IL 62708
www.illinoisaudubon.org
Illinois
Audubon Society Receives Green
Technologies Grants,
SPRINGFIELD,
IL – The Illinois Clean Energy
Community Foundation has awarded a $7,165.00 grant to the Illinois
Audubon
Society to install a model geothermal heating and cooling system within
the
Society's new headquarters at the Adams Wildlife Sanctuary in
Springfield. In 2006, the Illinois Clean Energy Community
Foundation also
granted Illinois Audubon $24,000 toward the project's design and
commissioning. That grant provided for the projects architectural
and engineering energy efficient design.
The new headquarters will be attached to the Lincoln-era Margery
Adams homestead (circa 1857) being renovated along Springfield’s Clear
Lake Avenue. The construction/renovation project is scheduled to
begin
immediately.
According to Carolyn
Grosboll, Illinois Audubon’s
Board President, the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation has
once again
demonstrated its commitment to Illinois’ precious and fragile
environment. “From supporting energy efficient buildings and
renewable energy resource development to acquiring valuable open space,
the
Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation is a statewide leader in
improving
Illinois’ environmental quality” Grosboll said.
To be
completed next spring, Illinois Audubon’s first
organization-owned statewide headquarters in its 110-year history, will
serve
as a Springfield destination point for environmental and cultural
education
programming. A component of Illinois Audubon’s site education
message to school groups and casual site visitors will be the
utilization of
green technologies including geothermal heating and cooling along with
a solar lit
parking lot. Principal-in-Charge Dave Leonatti of Melotte, Morse
and
Leonatti Architects in Springfield believes “this will be
Springfield’s first US Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design) certified project that combines a
historic
structure with new construction.”
The not-for-profit Illinois Audubon Society began raising
capital for the project early last year that’s expected to cost roughly
$776,000. With just over $652,000 donated or granted so far, in
addition
to $100,000 of its own money committed to the project, Illinois
Audubon’s
Board of Directors voted in July to begin the construction phase while
the
Society continues seeking donor support.
The mission of the
Illinois Audubon Society is to promote the
perpetuation and appreciation of native plants and animals and the
habitats
that support them. Independent from National Audubon, the
Illinois
Audubon Society is a privately supported, not-for-profit, statewide
organization. It was founded in 1897 and is Illinois’ oldest
conservation organization with over 2300 members, 19 chapters and 13
affiliate
groups. Illinois Audubon currently owns 11 statewide wildlife
sanctuaries
and as a land trust has saved over 2300 Illinois acres now being
forever
protected and managed for habitat and biodiversity throughout the state.
