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Greetings friends,
In January, I joined a panel discussion hosted by TVA on a webinar, Reducing Energy Consumption: Innovations in the Built Environment, which you can watch below. This discussion centered around the fact that more than 25% of U.S. energy consumption comes from buildings and there is an opportunity, through thoughtful design and construction approaches, to use advanced materials and technology to make buildings far more energy and cost-efficient. I was able to highlight how our plans for the second campus will help address this problem. We are being thoughtful in the ways we generate energy and how we use that energy across our campus. What sets us apart even further in our vision is how we intend to use the campus itself – and its advanced energy systems – as a teaching tool for others, inspiring and encouraging changes to extend beyond our campus and into our communities.
The webinar was a unique opportunity to further Tremont’s educational mission. But it is just one way that we are intentional in using our work as a teaching opportunity. Across all of our school programs, adult workshops, and research, we are helping people to make observations, harness their curiosity, share new ideas, and explore new possibilities.
Another example of this is the work we do through our community science programs, where volunteers come to discover and measure the changes that occur daily across our ecosystems. Each year, our team of community scientists participates in research projects focused on amphibians, birds, trees, butterflies, soil, and more. Not only do these projects provide valuable data, but they also allow us to deepen our connection to the natural world. We are proud to share with you our 2024 Community Science Report, where you can learn more about this research and its applications.
As we expand these programs and our buildings from Walker Valley to our new property, we are learning more about how our actions impact the land. By knowing this, we can be better stewards, making better decisions about how we build buildings and how we invite others to live and learn in nature for generations to come.
Thank you for being a part of our Tremont journey!
Warmly,
Catey McClary
President & CEO
Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont
