The US Green Building Council Central California (USGBC-CC) has received a grant from the San Joaquin River Conservancy (Conservancy) to commence planning for a Native American and Environmental Resource Center at the San Joaquin River.

The US Green Building Council Central California (USGBC-CC) has received a grant from the San Joaquin River Conservancy (Conservancy) to commence planning for a Native American and Environmental Resource Center at the San Joaquin River.

The project will enable public access and create an Indigenous and Environmental Resource Center at the Circle V property located on the San Joaquin River, outside of Fresno in Madera County.

The USGBC-CC received final approval for the grant funding as part of the California Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Protection Fund and the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Fund of 2006 from the Wild Life Conservation Board.

The grant amount is $1.05 million to help plan the project to be located on 20.76 acres.

The council is collaborating with the Advocates for Indigenous California Survival (AICLS) to lead the public outreach process to adaptively reuse buildings that are connected to the woodland along the river.

“Since 2007, our organization has been working to bring together professionals to learn from and inspire each other to build green buildings. We are excited to start the process to develop a green building to help provide hands-on learning opportunities and educate the wider community on the details and benefits of green buildings’, says Laura Gromis, executive director of USGBC-CC. “Working with the local tribes, we are excited to connect the ancient values of sustainability of indigenous cultures with modern ways to create a sustainably built environment.”

The project will give Fresno State students educational opportunities and classes including engineering, construction management, interactive multimedia and business.

There is a construction goal to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification and create an innovative demonstration project for green buildings in the region.

“This is a unique opportunity to provide indigenous language education resources while creating a center reflective of the local tribal stakeholders and increasing awareness of the indigenous languages and cultures along the river,” says Carly Tex, executive director of AICLS, “We are looking forward to working with USGBC-CC and to further our mission to support California Indigenous languages and cultures through this education project.”