The R.W. Kern Center

Need a recap of what happened at this year's UN COP 26 conference? RWKC Intern Bruce Prescott has you covered. Visit the RWKC website for the full summary, as well as how Living Buildings can support some of the COP agreements. sites.hampshire.edu/rwkerncenter/c…

Meet Bruce, one of our two new RWKC interns! Bruce is interested in understanding the environmental impacts of space travel and how to make those processes cleaner here on Earth and in our orbit. sites.hampshire.edu/rwkerncenter/m…

Looking forward to this panel...Climate Change Past, Present, and Future: Perspectives on Time and How We Respond to Our Changing Environment us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regist…

Wednesday at 11: @adeslatte @IUONeillSchool joins @UMassPolicy & @UMassISSR for "How Do Cities Pursue Green Housing Equity?" Campus Center 904. Open to the @UMassAmherst community. Register: bit.ly/3lo4Bx2

Want to learn more about the R.W. Kern Center? Take a tour! Join virtually or in-person to learn about rainwater collection, natural greywater treatment, composting toilets, renewable energy and more ways our building contributes to a better environment. sites.hampshire.edu/rwkerncenter/t…

Tonight, 7pm! Guest Lecture with Professor Beth Ferguson (@hampshirecolg F96), founder of @ucdavis Adapting City Lab and director of @SolarPump. Beth blends ecological and industrial design, sustainable transportation, solar engineering, climate resiliency, and public engagement.

Conference alert!

"I deeply value the “web” of relationships the R.W. Kern Center internship has brought into my life...[it] helped me to feel much more connected and supported at Hampshire and into my career path beyond school." -Mer, former RWKC #intern @hampshirecolg sites.hampshire.edu/rwkerncenter/2…

"I enjoyed the hands-on work in the raingardens and the indoor greywater planters; seeing a tangible way I had personally improved the RWKC made me feel very connected to the building." -Mer, former RWKC intern @hampshirecolg sites.hampshire.edu/rwkerncenter/2…

"The most rewarding aspect of the R.W. Kern internship this year was pushing to create more effective social media, especially by drawing connections between events in the world (i.e. COVID) and systems in the building." -Mer, former RWKC #intern sites.hampshire.edu/rwkerncenter/2…

“Once we can know what is in the products we build with, we begin to have the opportunity to select those that will result in healthier buildings.” Robin Guenther, Principal, Perkins+Will #greenbuilding #ecofriendly

Wildflowers, birdsong, and the sun setting behind the Hampshire College @Kern_Center make for a serene and satisfying watch. Video by Sam Jackson.

Remnants of the We Belong Project can still be found in the RWKC. Check out the Map Your Path activity in the gallery space. @hampshirecolg folks were asked to use string to replicate a common walking path. We love to see how many people regularly walk through or to the RWKC!

"One of my biggest takeaways is learning that when teaching others about sustainability in the built environment, there’s a common knowledge gap that often prevents a key aha moment. Our composting toilets don’t seem that cool if you don’t understand how much water they save."

Team RWKC is on a break for the summer! We'll be checking our email and social media pages intermittently, so message us here or email us at kern@hampshire.edu if you need to be in touch. See you in September! 📷: @humansofhc #SummerBreak #Summer2021 #LivingBuilding

Today was our final day of planting anthurium in the Admissions lobby. Just in time for the @hampshirecolg Admissions crew to move back in and start showing off our lovely campus again! #HampshireCollege #ReturnToWork #Summer2021 #Anthurium #GreywaterSystem #LivingBuilding

Check out our friends at @GeorgiaTech! Like the RWKC, the Kendeda Building is net-positive energy and water. In its year of performance for @Living_Future, the Kendeda Building generated 225% more energy and collected and infiltrated 15 times more water than it used.

The Phipps Conservatory @PhippsNews makes use of many of the many of the same innovations that the Kern does: passive solar, solar panels, rain gardens, constructed wet lands, salvaged+ regional materials, and uses biophilic design elements #SustainableDesign #GreenBuilding

Today we trimmed and transplanted #anthurium from the #greywater planter in the main atrium of the R.W. Kern Center to the planter in the admissions lobby. Let’s hope these cuttings make it! #replanting #recycling #GreywaterScience #ConstructedWetlands #LivingBuildings

This spring, we shared building-based solutions to the climate crisis during our #100DaysOfBuildingSolutions campaign. All the content we posted is now on our website! #Sustainability #SustainableBuildings #LivingBuildings sites.hampshire.edu/rwkerncenter/1…