Your votes helped Locust Trace Veterinary Clinic to win second place in the nation “Inspiration in Action” contest. On behalf of the students of Locust Trace and the staff of LTVC, thank you!

Originally Published Here

By Tom Eblen — Herald-Leader columnist

Posted: 12:00am on Nov 14, 2011; Modified: 12:37pm on Nov 14, 2011

Lexington architect Susan Hill just couldn’t figure it out. Soon after Locust Trace AgriScience Farm opened this school year, lights in the main building started turning themselves on and off in the middle of the night.

That was not good. The Fayette County Public Schools’ most innovative new facility is designed to generate as much energy as it consumes. Conservation is essential to this goal. To that end, sound-and-motion sensors operate lights so energy won’t be wasted when nobody is in a room.

Hill and her team puzzled over the mystery until it finally, well, dawned on them.

“We had a rooster in the animal science lab who was getting up at all hours and causing lights to go on and off all over the place,” she said. Lighting sensors were quickly adjusted to respond to motion only. Problem solved.

Architects usually don’t have to think about cock-a-doodle-doo-proofing a building. But this kind of issue has been the challenge and the fun of the project for Hill, who has been intrigued by environmentally sustainable design since she studied under pioneering solar architect Richard Levine at the University of Kentucky.

Locust Trace is a different kind of public school, designed to prepare high school juniors and seniors for careers in the equine industry and agriculture, where a return to sustainability is the trend. School officials wanted their facility to set a good environmental example — and be less expensive to operate and maintain.

The $15.5 million campus is one of the most “green” developments in Kentucky. It also has become a laboratory for new building methods and materials that is attracting national attention from architects, builders and educators.

Locust Trace was built on 82 acres off Leestown Road that the federal government donated to the school system. From the very beginning, Hill and other planners studied the site’s location and topography to make the best use of it.

The design team collaborated with dozens of people from the school system, community and various industries. That included everything from seeking the advice of Kentucky Horse Park experts about footing in the livestock arena to technical assistance on air-flow technology from Lexington-based Big Ass Fans.

Sunlight and prevailing winds were analyzed to orient the classroom building and large arena building to make the best use of sunlight and natural breezes. The buildings use 21 Big Ass Fans — large high-volume, slow-speed fans — to help regulate indoor air flow and temperatures.

The arena building, for instance, is heated and cooled with five large fans that pull air through louvers along a roof gallery that are opened and closed manually or with automatic sensors. Clerestory windows along the gallery provide most of the arena’s light.

Both buildings make extensive use of solar energy. Sunlight is maximized by window design and “solar tubes” that funnel magnified sunshine through the ceiling. Roof-mounted photovoltaic panels convert sunlight into as much as 175 kilowatts of electricity.

Power not needed immediately is fed into the Kentucky Utilities grid to offset power drawn from it on cloudy days. Electricity is shut off at night, except for a few outlets needed to run things like fish tanks.

“We spent a lot of time with school officials to see what we could cut out, what we didn’t need” to minimize energy use, Hill said.

She said the main building’s roof has the nation’s third-largest array of solar thermal cells, which heat water to supplement the building’s geothermal heating system. Buildings are made of metal, limestone and insulated concrete. Floors are low- maintenance polished concrete and rubber.

A well provides pure limestone water for animals. Eventually, if state regulations allow, well water could be used for human consumption.

Permeable pavement, rain gardens and a green roof manage storm water runoff. Rain is collected in underground tanks for use with livestock and irrigation. An artificial wetland was built to naturally process the campus’ wastewater. Shredded paper and plant matter are being composted for fertilizer.

“It’s a different kind of curriculum, a different kind of student,” Hill said. “But it allows us to try out lots of ideas that might be appropriate for a regular school once we learn more about them.”

The architect said the best part of working on Locust Trace has been trying new techniques, materials and designs to reduce energy use — and operating costs.

“There was a great willingness on the part of school system officials to take a little risk to learn the lessons,” she said. “That’s really important.”

Reach Tom Eblen at teblen@herald-leader.com or (859) 231-1415 or 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 1415. Read and comment on his blog, The Bluegrass & Beyond, at Kentucky.com.

Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/11/14/1958913/tom-eblen-locust-trace-agriscience.html#ixzz1dmx1NCyM

Reposted from fcps.net

Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Lafayette junior Madeline Torgerson comforts Clyde while the vet draws blood. At Locust Trace Veterinary Clinic, high school students can observe procedures and assist the staff.

Students at Locust Trace AgriScience Farm work with all sorts of animals in the classroom and on the property, including in the new veterinary clinic tucked behind the administration building.

The unique setup gives teenagers behind-the-scenes access to the public facility, where they learn about medical care, lab technology and the management end.

Lafayette High junior Madeline Torgerson, who has always wanted to be a vet, is excited about the shadowing prospects.

“You can start working in a real clinic and get that veterinary experience under your belt,” she said, “under supervision, of course.”

While the professional staff provides the hands-on care, students observe and assist when appropriate.

Tobee Hagerman, a Lafayette senior who shows lambs and goats through 4-H and FFA, is more interested in a business internship at the clinic. “I’m really tenderhearted and it’s tough for me to see animals hurting,” he acknowledged.

One day recently, Madeline and Tobee assisted Dr. Barry Hays with a new patient. They took turns holding the dog steady on the metal table while Hays explained the nose-to-tail examination, which included checking Clyde’s temperature and listening to his heart and lungs. Clyde, which belongs to a Locust Trace teacher, needed his rabies and parvovirus vaccines as well as a heartworm blood test.

For animals with more serious health issues, the clinic offers the latest in sophisticated techniques and high-tech equipment such as ultrasound machines and laser surgery.

“They’re getting to see all the newest treatments,” said clinic director Dr. Jim Martin, who is eager to share his expertise with the teens.

Students can don caps and masks to observe through a surgery window, and cameras in the clinic provide a live feed into nearby classrooms so larger groups can watch procedures.

“Our goal is to support the teachers,” he noted.

The clinic will also build up a library of videos, ultrasound images and 3D models that illustrate various conditions and treatments. For example, the teens can study a horse’s damaged tendon and discuss the vet’s options, such as laser therapy to target the inflammation and pain.

“They’re taking physics and seeing it in action versus trying to imagine what it would be like,” Martin explained.

Locust Trace Veterinary Clinic grew out of long-time discussions between Martin and Joe Norman, the principal at Eastside Technical Center, about how to grow interest in the agriscience field. When Eastside’s horticulture program burgeoned into the 82-acre farm off Leestown Road, Martin saw an ideal opportunity to launch the partnership. The result is this nonprofit animal hospital where students are mentored by professionals and take part in the clinic’s daily activities.

“It involves all areas of science and really makes the textbooks come alive,” said Martin, who has taught at Berea College and Eastern Kentucky University. “We’re trying to pique an interest in agriscience to get them to hold on and go on to college.”