Green Building

Built to Inspire

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, certification is a third-party rating system led by the U.S. Green Building Council. The ENC is the first building in Orange County to receive LEED Platinum certification, the highest level of certification possible. LEED-certified buildings have smaller development footprints, are healthier environments for occupants, and serve as stewards in environmental and social responsibility.

The Environmental Nature Center’s state-of-the-art ENC Nature Preschool, which opened in Fall 2019, is a 10,380-square-foot facility designed to deliver nature-based education for children ages 2 ½ to 5. It was also awarded LEED Platinum certification. In addition, the pre-school is pursuing the Living Building Challenge’s Petal Certification, one of the first projects in the region to target both the high-level of sustainability and the healthy environment standard.

The ENC has been teaching and growing within our community for nearly 50 years. Having a building of our own has been a dream since our inception and we can finally say that our dream has come true. We hope that our buildings can show the benefits of environmentally-conscious design and teach our visitors how to implement sustainable features in their homes and businesses. Most importantly, we hope the center will inspire our visitors to make personal investments in the protection of the environment. To learn more, read our brochure about our LEED Platinum ENC building, and visit our page on sustainability.

Here are some of the honors our facilities have been awarded: