Return to main Green Initative page >>
The YouthBuild USA Green Fellow program awards high-achieving YouthBuild programs with funding and technical assistance to strengthen overall performance and integrate environmental responsibility into each of their program components-- construction, education, leadership development, counseling and graduate support.
The following fifteen programs won Green Fellow grants from YouthBuild USA in 2008 that were sponsored by the Walmart Foundation. Each program was selected because of its demonstrated success and commitment to building and rennovating green affordable homes, teaching and inspiring ecological awareness, and preparing its young adults to enter and succeed in the emerging green economy. A few of these achievements are outlined below.
This year, we look forward to launching the second round of 37 Green Fellows with the continued support of the Walmart Foundation and new support from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation. Check back here in September for highlights on these program's green practices!
Portland YouthBuilders
Portland, Oregon
* Since 2000, this program has built homes that have met Earth Advantage, Energy Star, and Super Good Cents standards for energy efficiency, indoor air quality, resource efficiency and environmental responsibility
* Won the City of Portland’s Regional Erosion Prevention award in 2004 for excellent management of storm water and runoff
* Created a registered pre-apprentice program and developed/integrated a three-month environmental education program into the education curriculum
YouthBuild McLean County
Bloomington, Illinois
* Developed a subdivision that included five Energy Star rated homes
* Staff member Brian Fitzgerald became a LEED Accredited Professional in 2009 plus the entire construction staff are trained in green building
*Working with local wind farms for potential student training and employment
YouthBuild Just-A-Start
Cambridge, Massachusetts
* Provides weatherization and energy audit training for students
* Weatherized and retrofit a home, and installed solar electricity on an apartment building that earned a Platinum rating from LEED for Homes
* Participates in green leadership and stewardship through work with the Trustees of Reservations and involvement in Cambridge’s Green Jobs Task Force
YouthBuild Rockford
Rockford, Illinois
* Building a Zero Net Energy home with Energy Star rating and aiming for LEED platinum rating
* Students obtaining certification in NCCER's Your Role in the Green Environment module
* Plans to develop a green careers charter school
YouthBuild Hazard
Hazard, Kentucky
* Built 17 homes that exceeded National Model Energy Code
* Uses raised heel roof trusses that rest higher above the ceiling to allow room for thick insulation and cut back on waste
* Provides education on energy efficiency to new owners of YouthBuild homes
YouthBuild Boston
Roxbury, Massachusetts
* Completed the first LEED for Homes YouthBuild project in the country earning a Silver rating
* Renovated a historic brownstone using many green practices, including the installation of a green roof
* Operates “The Designery” program, which helps students design, budget, and plan projects for a team-based
study of architecture, construction management, and landscape design
YouthBuild San Jose
San Jose, California
* Developed curriculum to train students to become certified solar panel installers
* Helped form the Worldwide Green Corps to provide training in green technology to young adults
YouthBuild Fall River Fall River, Massachusetts
* Building the first green affordable home in Fall River in partnership with Energy Star Homes
* Operates a YouthBuild graduate staffed start-up green business assembling and installing LED lighting and energy window panels
Cobb County YouthBuild
Marietta, Georgia
* Holds annual green building design charettes where students learn new green techniques and design projects
employing sustainable practices
* Uses EarthCraft House Program guidelines used for curriculum and home certification
Civic Works YouthBuild
Baltimore, Maryland
* Created B’more Green, a workforce development program that helps provide entry-level careers in environmental
technology and brownfield remediation
* Installed cool roofs on a number of low-income homes serviced by the city’s weatherization office through a
grant from the Maryland Affordable Housing Trust
* Retrofits and weatherizes homes in partnership with the City of Baltimore
PACE YouthBuild New Bedford
New Bedford, Massachusetts
* Created a new program called “Minus Green/Plus Green,” which aims to curb negative influences and provide green training that yields positive opportunities
* Participated in many AmeriCorps service projects including writing a green children’s book
* Creating a Clean Energy Workforce Training Plan to teach workshops on solar technologies, energy efficiency and conservation, energy auditing. and green building
Casa Verde Builders YouthBuild
Austin, Texas
* Built 100 homes certified by Energy Star through the City of Austin’s Green Building Program
* Uses innovative green methods including SIP panels, Hebel blocks, metal roofs, and ridge vents
* Operates green charter school, that will include a kitchen, and day-care facility to remove barriers to student participation
Operation Fresh Start YouthBuild
Madison, Wisconsin
* Constructs and rehabilitates homes with Energy Star and Green Built ratings
YCC YouthBuild Waukegan
Waukegan, Illinois
* Participated in conservation projects on public lands for students through the Lake County Forest preserves
* Ran program with training on invasive species removal and habitat and stream bank restoration
* Awarded a Midwest Ecological Burn certificate on forest burning
* Building the first green home in city of Waukegan registered with LEED-NC
LA CAUSA YouthBuild
East Los Angeles, California
* Developed the “Green Construction Resource Guide” for East Los Angeles area that includes information on
local green builders, suppliers, and green construction training programs
* Created the Green Young Parents Project to provide comprehensive education, leadership development,
and green job training for young and expectant parents
* Works with Residential Energy Assessment Inc. to provide HERS training and certification
| 
