Baseball park honored for green initiatives

Penn State's Medlar Field at Lubrano Park was recognized last Wednesday (Aug. 30) as the first baseball stadium in the country to be honored for its environmental initiatives. That achievement will be noted with certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental (LEED) design. A special ceremony featuring Penn State officials, as well as members of the architectural team, throwing out the first ball was held before the Spikes game begins. The certification recognizes the environmentally friendly design and construction process for the baseball field, according to Steve Maruszewski, director of special projects in the Office of Physical Plant. This was not the first Penn State facility to be so honored. Both the Forestry Building and School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA) Building have received LEED certificates. This attentiveness to ecological concerns is part of Penn State's policy of being "responsible stewards of our resources," Maruszewski said. The LEED green building rating system -- developed and administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington D.C.-based, nonprofit coalition of building industry leaders -- is designed to promote design and construction practices that increase profitability while reducing the negative environmental impacts of buildings and improving occupant health and well-being.