K-12 Education, Award of Merit: Bishop O'Dowd High School Center for Environmental Studies, Oakland

Oakland Hills High School's Living Lab program was created in 2001 on a campus hillside so that students could study and explore the area's plants and wildlife. The 5,500-sq-ft laboratory classroom addition facilitates hands-on learning in environmental science and ecology. The project also provides indoor and outdoor learning environments for teaching sustainability. It has an 11.5-kW solar power generating system, bioswales, rainwater capture and reuse for flushing toilets and real-time digital-screen displays of building energy performance and weather.