THE FIRST PILLAR: EDUCATION

Peter Wege’s belief that educating people, especially children, is the single most important thing we can do for a better future. For decades, The Wege Foundation has supported educational causes from the pre-school to the college level, from local inner-city grade schools to the University of Michigan. To introduce this First Pillar to you, we’re using St. Anthony’s of Padua, a K-8 Catholic school in northwest Grand Rapids, as our poster story.

Education is the most obvious of The Wege Foundation’s interest areas represented by St. Anthony’s, the largest Catholic grade school in Grand Rapids. But at St. Anthony’s, the Environment also plays a lead role. This educational and environmental project began in 2003 when Peter’s priest and friend, Father Mark Przybysz, was transferred from East Grand Rapids, where Peter lives, to the parish at St. Anthony’s.

Father Mark Przybysz invited Peter to see his new home in the 50-year old rectory. The rectory was so clearly in need of repairs that Peter saw an opportunity. He’d long wanted to build a home that would qualify for official LEED certification under the aegis of the U.S. Green Building Council. Since “green” remodeling was not an option, Wege said he’d pay to tear down the rectory and build the first LEED residence on the planet.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. To be LEED certified, new construction must meet national standards for sustainable buildings. Winning the prestigious LEED certification requires builders to meet rigorous environmental rules. But in 2003, LEED was only for commercial construction, not residential. That meant the new rectory would have to earn certification by meeting the USGBC’s commercial standards.

And they did it! They began by using the original foundation, sorting razed materials for recycling, reusing the copper, selling the used metal, and donating the doors to Habitat for Humanity. The deck (see revolving photo above) is made of plastic bags and waste wood. The rectory has low-water landscaping—(see photo) with no sprinklers, and siding made from sawdust and cement.

Water-based paint, pine floors from a demolished building, 100% recycled carpet, energy-tight windows and doors, and kitchen cabinets from fast-growing poplar wood.

The infrastructure is comparably green. The on-demand hot-water unit (see photo) is mounted on the wall and smaller than most TVs. Trusses made of recycled wood, organic-soy insulation low-energy furnace, and low-water toilets are among other green features. Following LEED standards raises construction costs in the beginning. Yet the payback data is consistent. The extra initial costs get paid back within 3-5 years. After that, Father Mark’s cheaper energy bills will prove to be a good return on investment.

Father Mark aptly named his new rectory Villa Verde for ‘green home.’ The rectory’s signature stained-glass window (pictured above) tells the Villa Verde story. Designed by a local artist using salvaged glass, the colorful window also eliminated the need for drapes while letting in natural light.

For the students at St. Anthony’s school on the same grounds, watching this environmental reconstruction of the rectory was an education in itself. They learned about the long-term cost savings in building by LEED standards. Three years later, the children got to experience green building in their own school.

In early 2007, Peter Wege gave another $1.2 million to add six new classrooms (see photo) and renovate the St. Anthony of Padua pre-school through eighth-grade school. Like the parish house, the 7,000 square-foot expansion is “green” built. Solar panels provide more than the necessary energy to handle the expansion. The renovated original school now has recycled carpet and a waterless urinal. Like Villa Verde, the renovation of the existing building reused as much of the original materials as possible.

As the cost of energy continues to rise, the savings to run Villa Verde and the six new classrooms will only get better. Father Mark’s green rectory and sun-heated school affirm his friend Peter’s faith in economicology. Peter Wege coined the word to mean a healthy economy is necessary for a healthy ecology.

"Thou shalt not commit abuse against the Earth and its life-support system, but rather honor it with respect for sustaining life."

Peter M. Wege