Under the guidance of Diana Ortiz of The Stone House Group, Broughal Middle School seventh and eighth grade students recently learned about LEED, green building strategies, and building features used at their own LEED Gold certified school, to design and build gingerbread houses by applying construction strategies that achieve LEED building credits. Ortiz is chair of the Lehigh Valley Green School Committee.

Students were placed in teams that assembled a gingerbread house, and then, using carefully measured materials such as icing, candy, marshmallows, pretzels and coconut flakes, added LEED designs that accumulated a score for their finished product.

Applications in curriculum subject areas included math, reading, social studies and science encouraged student participates to calculate their material needs, write a report on their design, distinguishing between renewable versus non-renewable resources and energy conservation measures.

Ortiz explained that students earned points for LEEDS design implementation, yet could have deductions for excessive trips to the supply table or not using all building materials provided.

Winning designs were placed on exhibit at the ArtsQuest Center.