A place where it's cool to be green Sunday, December 16, 2007 • BY MIKE FRASSINELLI • Star-Ledger Staff Classrooms have carbon dioxide sensors that bring in outside air if pupils get sleepy. No need for "The Clapper" in this building -- lights shut off automatically when a classroom is empty for more than 60 seconds. The air conditioning uses an in-ground thermal storage system that makes ice at night, when energy costs are lower, then uses that ice to cool the building during the day without having to run expensive compressors. With apologies to Kermit the Frog, it is easy being green at the environmentally conscious Phillipsburg Early Childhood Center. The 2-year-old preschool and kindergarten for 451 pupils has been awarded a silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for steps taken to incorporate green features into its design. It was the state's first public school to get such a designation by the United States Green Building Council, and the school won green of another kind for its efforts -- a $260,000 grant. It has solar panels, built with recycled steel from a mill in neighboring Easton, Pa., and electrical outlets in the parking lot for alternative energy vehicles. Rock excavated from the site was crushed and used as the sub-base material, keeping it out of landfills. The tile pattern in the design of a train is a nod to Phillipsburg's past as a railroad hub. Even on a frigid December day, the building on Center Street exudes warmth. Principal Judy Leh receives hugs from the pint-sized pupils. The temperature inside is toasty. Hot chocolate is served, and gingerbread houses and bears made out of paper plates are on display. It is a big building -- 86,000 square feet -- that was designed to feel small. "The whole idea of this is to make it inviting -- to open the corridors and welcome the kids," said Phil Cacossa, LEED liaison for the Phillipsburg project and an architect with Design Resources Group of Somerset. Not to mention educational. "You want them all to be aware that we all have a responsibility to the environment," Cacossa said. "We are trying to create the next generation of ecologists." Walking down the hallway in most schools, a visitor can't see outside because both sides are lined with classrooms. At the Early Childhood Center, windows line one of the sides, so visitors can look out into the enclosed courtyards. The building has attracted more pupils. The program went from 270 pupils scattered in five locations to 451 pupils in one vibrant place. "The building," Leh said, "really fosters a great deal of positive climate and morale." FISH TOURNAMENT The worm catches the fish, but the early bird catches the worm. And participants who register between now and Jan. 31 for the 26th annual Forks of the Delaware Shad Fishing Tournament & Festival, the nation's largest shad tournament, get a $5 early bird discount off the usual $30 registration fee. The tournament, in which participants on the New Jersey and Pennsylvania sides of the Delaware River try to win cash prizes for the heaviest shad, begins "at 12:01 a.m." on April 26. Events that weekend also include a family fishing challenge for children 15 and under and their relatives, the offbeat Doo Dah Parade, kids fishing and casting contests and a shad cook out. For applications, write: "Shad Tournament 2008," P.O. Box 907, Easton, Pa.,18044-0907 or visit www.shadtournament.com. Mike Frassinelli may be reached at mfrassinelli@starledger.com or (908) 475-1218. © 2007 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.