Overview & SITES V2 Process Flashcards
SITES v2 Rating System - set up
- 200-point system
- 4 certification levels of achievement (each level has dif minimum number of credits)
- 18 pre reqs (REQUIRED) and 48 credits for measuring site sustainability
- Value of each credit based upon its effectiveness in meeting SITES 4 overall goals
3 types of questions on exam
Recall questions: Recall factual material
Application questions: Novel problem or scenario to solve using familiar principles or procedures described in the exam references
Analysis questions: Assess ability to break down a problem into tis components to create a solution. Must recognize different elements of the problem and evaluate the relationship or interactions of these elements.
Population
Predicted that by 2050 the world will exceed 9 billion people & 75% of that population will live in cities.
Key message of SITES
Any project has the potential to PROTECT, IMPROVE, and REGENERATE the benefits and services provided by healthy ecosystem.
Goals for SITES (4 total)
- Create regenerative systems and foster resiliency
- Ensure future resource supply & mitigate climate change
- Enhance human well-being and strengthen community
- Transform the market through the design, development, and maintenance practices
Create regenerative systems & foster resiliency (SITES goal)
- Protect & restore natural resources, ecosystems functions & habitats
- Encourage biodiversity
- Enhance landscapes to provide multiple ecosystem functions
- Mitigate for evolving hazards and natural disasters
- Plan for monitoring and adaptive management
Ensure future resource supply & mitigate climate change (SITES goal)
- Minimize energy consumption & encourage use of low carbon and renewable energy sources
- Minimize or eliminate pollution
- Reduce, reuse, recycle materials & resources
- Conserve water
- Increase the capacity of carbon sinks through revegetation
Enhance human well-being and strengthen community (SITES goal)
- Reconnect humans to nature
- Improve human health (physical, mental, spiritual)
- Foster stewardship & education
- Encourage cultural integrity & promote regional identity
- Provide opportunities for community involvement & advocacy
Transform the market through the design, development, and maintenance practices (SITES goal)
- Foster leadership in industry practice
- Use systems-thinking and an integrative design approach
- Use life-cycle analyses to inform the design process
- Support local economies and sustainability practices.
Hierarchy of regenerative design decision making
- Conserve
- Manage
- Restore
- Generate
https://i.postimg.cc/PxkWtGhR/Decision-Making-Hierarchy.jpg
SITE Guiding Principles
- Do no harm
- Apply the precautionary principle
- Design with nature and culture
- Use a decision-making hierarchy of preservation, conservation, and regeneration
- Provide regenerative systems as intergenerational equity
- Support a living process
- Use a systems thinking approach
- Use a collaborative and ethical approach
- Maintain integrity in leadership and research
- Foster environmental stewardship
Ecosystem Services - definition
Goods & services of direct or indirect benefit to humans that are produced by ecosystem processes that involve the interactions of living elements, such as vegetation and soil organisms, and non-living elements such as bedrock, water, and air.
Provide economic, social, and cultural benefits.
4 categories - Supporting, Provisioning, Regulating, and Cultural.
Ecosystem Services - list
Global climate regulation
Local climate regulation
Air and water cleansing
Water supply retention
Erosion and sediment control
Hazard mitigation
Pollination
Habitat functions
Waste decomposition and treatment
Human health and well-being
Food and renewable non-food products
Cultural benefits
5 Focus Ares within SITES design
- Water
- Soils
- Vegetation
- Materials
- Human Health & Well-Being
Prereq / structure of credits
18 prerequisite credits (must be met)
48 additional credits
Totaling 200 points.
SITES Sections
Section 1- Site Context
Section 2- Pre-Design Assessment & Planning
Section 3- Site Design - Water
Section 4- Site Design- Soil + Vegetation
Section 5- Site Design- Materials
Section 6- Site Design- Human Health + Well-Being
Section 7- Construction
Section 8- Operations + Maintenance
Section 9- Education + Performance Monitoring
Section 10- Innovation + Exemplary Performance
VSPZ
Vegetation and Soil Protection Zones. These are designated healthy zones where damage to vegetation, soil structure, and function are minimized.
Not all sites contain a VSPZ- requires existing healthy site features.
areas identified during the
pre-design phase that will be protected from all disturbances throughout the construction
process to prevent damage to vegetation, soil structure, and function
SITES Certification Levels
Certified: 70 points
Silver: 85 points
Gold: 100 points
Platinum: 135 points
Steps to register project with SITES (7 total)
- Register with Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI)
- Begin implementing and documenting SITES strategies
- Meet with reviewer to answer questions
- Submit documentation for prelim review
- Meet with reviewer to discuss results
- Submit documentation for final review
- Certify with SITES
NRCS
Natural Resource Conservation Service - provide soil maps.
