Loyalist College goes green

By Alexa Hansen Forson

March 17/2011--The living wall is featured in the new link lounge of Loyalist College. Photo Submitted by student government

Loyalist College is celebrating the grand opening of its new Link Lounge, which features a living wall.

The lounge connects the college’s main building to the new Sustainable Skills, Technology and Life Sciences Centre. The lounge was an initiative of student government.

The lounge will be complete with seating for more than 100 people, laptop stations and a hydration station. The idea for the lounge came from a student poll, said April Chamberlain, 2011-2012 vice president. She said students asked for more space to relax.

“In the survey results for 2008-2009, there was a question,” said Chamberlain. “What would you like to see new at Loyalist College? People had said that they wanted more quiet space.”

The Sustainable Skills, Technology and Life Sciences Centre is a silver level in Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design.  The LEED certification is an environmental qualification that recognizes green buildings. Chamberlain said as part of the certification, a living wall is incorporated in the lounge.

“It’s basically a giant wall, floor to ceiling, really long, with plants put in. Constantly watered.”

The 3 by 8 metre wall consists of 344 plants. Chamberlain said the wall is environmentally friendly and nice to look at.

“The wall is more for aesthetics. We have the hydration stations; they’re better than plastic water bottles. The living wall is aesthetically pleasing, and it’s good for the environment.”

For the first year, the company that put it in will maintain the wall. After that it will be up to the school to maintain.

Full time college students through student government funded the lounge, but Chamberlain said no costs could be disclosed.

“With the Skills Centre right now, there’s kind of a black period where we can’t talk about any of that.”

The grand opening of the lounge is April 15^. The morning is open to invitation only, including teachers. The rest of the college can see the lounge in the afternoon.