The Willow School

Gladstone, New Jersey
The Willow School is the first US Green Building Council LEED-rated, independent school in the country and the second LEED-rated building in New Jersey. Phase One of the campus earned a gold-level rating and Phase Two earned a platinum level-rating, the highest rating possible. To achieve the founder’s vision for the school as a healthy, innovative, and environmentally friendly place to learn, the design team included landscape architects, architects, environmental engineers, and other consultants who worked with the school’s leadership and builders from early in the design process. The project employed whole-systems thinking to develop a collaborative and holistic design process.

The Willow School does not merely reduce harm to the environment; it regenerates and improves the environment. Sustainable design elements used in the project include, but are not limited to:

• Management practices that restore native plant species, improve biomass, reduce runoff, and result in a more diverse ecosystem.
  
  
• Constructed Wetlands to manage stormwater and to treat human waste to recreational-use water standards before infiltrating into the aquifer.
  
  
• Rainwater harvesting, storage, and reuse for the school’s wastewater supply and for irrigation.
  
  
• Stormwater detention that also serves as natural habitat and a environmental studies site.
  
  
• Construction materials such as paints, and floor coverings, that are made of recycled or renewable material, do not emit toxins, and/or are of local origin.
  

Visit www.willowschool.org