Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Rice U Holistic Garden Sees Sustainability Upgrades

  • By Matt Jones
  • 05/05/21

At Rice University in Houston, Texas, the Betty and Jacob Friedman Holistic Garden recently received a solar upgrade and other improvements courtesy of the Green Mountain Energy Sun Club. The club awarded the university a $77,000 grant to add an on-site solar array, a greenhouse, rainwater harvesting systems, and composting capabilities, as well as a butterfly garden, an apiary (beekeeping facility), and a chicken house project.

“Improvements supported by the gift from the Green Mountain Energy Sun Club have made the garden a leading example of sustainability and will benefit diverse communities at the University and in the surrounding neighborhoods,” said Rice University’s dean of the Wiess School of Natural Sciences, Thomas Killian. “This reinforces our commitment to strengthening connections with the environment and the broader community.”

The garden was built in 2018 and covers 2.5 acres. It falls under the umbrella of the Biosciences Department, and its original purpose was to teach and promote gardening techniques. It’s open to Rice students and members of the larger Houston community—anyone with an interest in horticulture and improving their gardening technique. Workshops on how to organically produce vegetables, fruits, and herbs lead up to a twice-annual vegetable and herb plant sale.

The Green Mountain Energy Sun Club, established in 2002, serves as the sustainability initiative for electricity provider Green Mountain Energy. Its goal is to promote energy efficiency and sustainability, as well as resource conservation and environmental stewardship, through grants and nonprofit partnerships.

“By supporting Rice University’s sustainability efforts, Green Mountain Energy is helping scale the use of renewable energy while supporting a teaching garden that is improving our city and our lives,” said Mark Parsons, Green Mountain Energy’s vice president and general manager.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Compton High School

    Compton High School

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. Compton High School has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Philadelphia Middle School Facility Earns LEED Gold Certification

    The Alternative Middle Years (AMY) at James Martin Middle School in Philadelphia, Penn., recently received a LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, according to a news release. The School District of Pennsylvania partnered with KSS Architects on the project.

  • Rowan University, HPE Partner on New Learning Initiative

    Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J., recently announced that it has expanded its partnership with enterprise technology provider HPE to improve research capabilities and hands-on learning opportunities, according to a news release.