The Harker School's Nichols Hall recently achieved LEED Gold certification. Harker is the first school in Santa Clara County to achieve LEED Gold for a school building. Dan Geiger, Executive Director of USGBC-NCC, visited Harker on August 13th to deliver the LEED plaque and congratulate those involved in its achievement. Nichols Hall, Harker’s new science and technology center, opened in August 2008 and embodies the school’s long-held commitment to environmental issues, which influenced every decision in the construction. Originally expected to earn the LEED Silver, Harker students did the work that pushed the building to Gold status, noted Mike Bassoni, Harker’s facilities manager. He noted that recognition of the multiple displays on green living and green building construction developed by students in teacher Jeff Sutton’s class for the 2009 Harker Science Symposium were key to gaining the Gold rating. “The USGBC recognized these displays as ongoing educational material developed by the students and that gave us the final point needed to place us in the Gold category,” said Bassoni. Read the story.