Photovoltaic panels are installed on a metal roof in Narragansett. Rhode Island has a new chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, designed to promote green building standards.

The Providence Journal / Sandor Bodo

Organizers expected to see about 70 people attend their first meeting last Thursday to form a new Rhode Island chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, designed to promote green building standards throughout the state.

More than 100 architects, lawyers, engineers, government officials and scientists showed up and kept talking, even after the meeting was scheduled to conclude at 6 p.m.

“People clapped after every presentation. I had coffee and water to serve, but nobody got up. People were very enthusiastic,” said Connie McGreavy, who headed a steering committee that set up the meeting at the New England Institute of Technology.

Those at the gathering agreed to hold their next meeting from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on June 19, once again at New England Tech on Post Road in Warwick. The school is planning to create a green curriculum and a green campus in East Greenwich, where students will be prepared for such new careers as developing renewable energy and building houses that minimize energy use.

The USGBC is a national group that promotes strict green standards for commercial, industrial and residential buildings to encourage efficient use of building materials and minimize energy consumption.

McGreavy said there clearly is an explosion of interest in green building projects, and in Rhode Island it comes from a wide variety of sources.

Four of the state’s earliest members of the USGBC were recognized. They are: Gilbane Inc., 1999; South Providence Development Corp., 2001; Dimeo Construction Co., 2002; and Robinson, Green & Beretta, 2003.

McGreavy identified eight main groups of participants:

•Developers, builders and contractors.

•Civil and mechanical engineers, and other systems providers.

•Architects, landscape architects and interior designers.

•Manufacturers of green products such as insulation and lighting.

•Advocates of alternative fuels and energy technologies.

•Educational institutions, ranging from LaSalle Academy to the state Department of Education.

•Nonprofits such as the American Lung Association, Clean Water Action and the Blackstone River Watershed Council.

•Others, such as the Rhode Island Foundation, Blue Cross & Blue Shield, attorneys, planners and green consultants.

Speakers at the meeting included Joseph DaSilva, state Department of Education; Robert Chew of SolarWrights; Noreen Shawcross of Rhode Island Housing; Molly Clark of the Lung Association; Jon Dember of the Conservation Services Group; Thomas Frisbie-Fulton, a URI architect; and Robert Cugnetta of Heritage Restoration.

Organizationally, McGreavy says she hopes to work for the next several months organizing committees and a strategic plan for the group.

Clearly, she said, climate change is an overriding concern. But it’s also important to recognize that Rhode Island has a lot of older housing and a lot of improvements could be made simply with insulation and energy-saving lighting.

Anyone interested in taking part should contact McGreavy at (401) 862-3158.

Session on ‘resilient tourism’

Tourism promoters, community leaders, educators and students of tourism and elected officials are invited to a half-day conference on sustainable tourism scheduled to start at 8 a.m. Thursday, at the Blackstone Valley Visitor Center in Pawtucket.

There will be interactive presentations, workshops and development of usable concepts at the conference, entitled “An Introduction to Resilient Tourism.”

The forum will cover such topics as making the most of existing resources, demystifying tourism accounting and experimental tourism.

The goal is to focus on place-based tourism that supports the whole community through creative and innovative practices.

For more information, call (401) 724-2200 or go to www.sustainabletourismlab.com.

Protecting your well water

A workshop on private well water protection is scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, May 29, at the Chariho Middle School on Switch Road in Richmond.

“Many private well owners do not realize that they are responsible for testing their private drinking-water wells,” said Alyson McCann, a trainer from the University of Rhode Island. “Even fewer are aware that they should be testing their wells on an annual basis. This workshop will give people the information they need to make informed decisions about when to test their drinking water, and what to test for.”

The workshop will be delivered by University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension and the Rhode Island Department of Health. It is sponsored by the Charlestown Conservation Commission.

Preregistration is required. Call (401) 874-4918.

Water-testing kits will be distributed at the workshop. The Conservation Commission is also distributing kits from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, May 30, at Charlestown Town Hall and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 31, at the Charlestown Recycling Center.

Naturalists join forces at URI

A new series of workshops that will bring beginner and intermediate naturalists together with experienced naturalists to identify species has been scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. tomorrow in Woodward Hall at the University of Rhode Island’s Kingston campus.

Howard Ginsberg, a research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, will provide an introduction to Hymenoptera — ants, bees and wasps — using specimens to distinguish between various suborders and superfamilies.

Future workshops will be held on moths, grasses and worms.

The workshop is sponsored by the Rhode Island Natural History Survey and it is free for members. A fee of $5 will be charged to non-members.

Reservations must be made by noon tomorrow, by calling (401) 874-5800 or sending an e-mail to info@rinhs.org.

The Environmental Journal is a listing of brief news items about the actions of individuals, organizations and businesses that affect the air we breathe, the water we drink and the landscape that surrounds us. If you have comments or suggestions, please contact environment reporter Peter B. Lord at (401) 277-8036, or by email at plord@projo.com or by writing him, care of the Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, R.I. 02902.