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Air conditioning was designed to use a geothermal heat exchange system. Under optimum conditions, this system should be 60% more efﬁcient than a conventional air cooled system. In times of droughts, geothermal water can also be used as an irrigation source. To enhance both the aesthetics of the buildings and the movement of conditioned air, ﬂoor vents were installed in many buildings. Arbors improve the shading of the buildings and reduce cooling costs. Double pane glass was used for all windows. Lighting in the buildings at Shangri La is minimal, with supplementary lighting provided by large windows. Controlling light intensity was achieved by a complex computer system that measures the current lighting and then regulates the amount of light produced to minimize the energy needs. Turning lights on and off, when rooms are not being used, is also controlled by sensors in each room. Shangri La also has a minimal amount of outside lighting, both over walkways and in parking areas. Most of the walkway lights are of the LED variety, which are extremely energy efﬁcient and have a long life. Finally, an additional green concern for light involves light pollution. Lighting was designed to illuminate the area that needed illumination, not the night sky. This not only reduces energy needs but also allows Shangri G W H Green Works Houston La to sponsor Star Parties using telescopes that would be negatively impacted due to light pollution. Boardwalks, required to access distant areas of interest, were constructed from a composite material of recycled wood ﬁber and recycled plastic from milk jugs and grocery bags. Approximately 1.3 million milk jugs or 3.5 millions plastic bags were recycled to produce the boardwalks. In most cases, only the areas under the boardwalks were disturbed in the construction process. Much of the construction in the Nature Center area is made of natural wood products. During construction, Shangri La was struck by the ecologically-altering Hurricane Rita, which destroyed approximately 90% of our trees. Although many cypress trees were toppled, less than 10% of this spectacular species was destroyed. Within ﬁve days after Rita, the Stark Foundation decided to continue the project. Downed forests were salvaged for lumber or pulp. Although the total amount of timber lost is still debatable, veriﬁable records show more than 530 loads of timber were removed from Shangri La and sent to mills. Almost all of the downed cypress harvested was used for construction at Shangri La. A portable mill was set up and the milling of cypress was begun within two weeks of Rita. Any lumber purchased for construction met the green requirement F.S.C. (Forest Stewardship Certiﬁed), attesting to the fact the lumber was grown and harvested using earth-friendly methods. Another source of timber came from sinker cypress collected along several waterways in Louisiana. Sinker cypress was harvested beginning about 100 years ago. Trees were pushed into a waterway for travel to a mill, and the wood that sank to the bottom, because it was too dense to ﬂoat, was pulled up, dried and milled. When one considers that no new timber was harvested to provide this product it might be considered an earth-friendly product. However, because of its limited availability and cost of removing it from the waterway, it is a very expensive green product and not practical for most consumers. 17,000 Longleaf pines, obtained through a grant from Temple Inland, were planted in Shangri La to replace trees lost in the hurricane. Longleaf pines were historically found in the upland areas of Shangri La, but had been removed. Within two years of planting, these trees were ﬂourishing. Outside the borders of Shangri La, the Stark Foundation funded a program entitled “Re-shade Orange, Plant a Tree.” Through this program more than 3,000 trees were planted. Today these “Re-shade

Houston_Green_10.23.09

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