That’s the beauty of the Lincoln Park Zoo Nature Boardwalk, which opened last summer to great fanfare. At the official ribbon cutting ceremony, Mayor Richard M. Daley lauded the structure, saying it teaches visitors how the environment and nature can coexist with an urban society.

While the zoo’s south pond is 140 years old, this newly completed $12 million makeover helped revitalize the pond’s ecosystem with a location that’s still right in the heart of the city. The nearly half-mile Boardwalk that surrounds the pond was constructed out of earth-friendly, recycled materials and is free and open to the public 24/7. One hundred newly planted hawthorns, birch and oak trees joined dozens of existing trees to provide an ideal nesting area for native and migratory birds, including owls and waterfowl. The pond has native prairie and wetland grasses, and while the zoo has introduced painted turtles, river birch and several other birds, fathead minnows and largemouth bass into the water, among other species, the pond was designed to naturally attract wildlife.

Education-and fun-are hallmarks of the newly constructed habitat. The People’s Gas Education Pavilion resembles a turtle shell and provides a functional outdoor classroom space. Free daily programs are offered to bring you closer to nature, including Feathered Friends and Fishy Fun for little children, adult and parent/baby yoga by the pond (weather permitting of course!) and an event entitled Sleep under the Skyscrapers. Families with children over the age of five can have dinner, take a night hike, pitch a tent and spend the night on the south lawn of the Lincoln Park Zoo.

So as you’re planning must-sees for your family this spring and summer, definitely plan a trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo Nature Boardwalk. Take advantage of the fact that now you can have it all: The city lifestyle you clearly love and an up close and personal look at a natural oasis.

But what exactly are those standards? And how do you know that the home you’re about to move into is truly green?

In a recent study, American homeowners overwhelmingly said the single most important factor to determining a home’s greenness was its degree of energy efficiency. They also thought environmentally friendly materials and a renewable energy source determine a home’s greenness. While those factors do comprise a home’s greenness, there are several additional facets to also take into consideration. These include:

Location

Green homes won’t be built on environmentally sensitive land like farmland or endangered species habitats. Homes will be built in areas where public transportation options abound to encourage homeowners to use their car less.

Size

A green home won’t be ostentatious. A massive mansion, for example, requires immense energy for heating, air conditioning and lighting. Green homes provide residents with plenty of comfortable living space but don’t go overboard.

Moderating Light and Temperatures

A green home will make use of natural lighting through windows and skylights to reduce the energy needed to light the home. The roof will be constructed so that it reduces heat absorption. Green homes also will have nontoxic insulation in the home’s walls and roof to prevent cool air leaking out in the summer and warm air leaking out in the winter. Windows and doors in a green home should seal tightly to avoid those same losses of hot and cold air.

Water Efficiency

A green home should include rain barrels for water catchment and reuse, as well as have water fixtures that are WaterSense labeled. Both the fixtures and the rain barrels will decrease the indoor and outdoor use of water by more efficiently using the water at hand. In fact, the WaterSense label signifies that a product saves water without sacrificing performance or quality.

LEED® Defined

LEED® stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council in 1998. LEED® applies to both commercial and residential buildings and touches on every part of the building lifecycle: Design and construction as well as operations and maintenance. It provides third-party verification that a building was constructed using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that comprise green living: Energy savings, water efficiency, CO₂ emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. LEED® is also an internationally recognized ‘seal of approval,’ and homes with this designation often have a higher market value.

The Points System

LEED® points are awarded across six categories: Sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and locations and linkages. The sustainable sites category encourages minimal impact on ecosystems and waterways and awards points to homes that reduce erosion and have light construction-related pollution. The water efficiency category encourages smarter use of water through efficient appliances and water-wise landscaping and the energy and atmosphere category encourages efficient design and construction, efficient appliances, efficient systems and lighting and the use of renewable and clean sources of energy. The materials and resources category encourages the selection of sustainably grown, harvested, produced and transported products and materials, as well as waste reduction and increased reuse and recycling. The indoor environmental quality category promotes strategies that can improve indoor air, acoustics and provide access to natural light, and the locations and linkages category rewards homes that are built near already-existing community resources and transit, and encourages access to open space for spending time outdoors. The more points a home receives in these six categories, the more prestigious certification level that home falls under. LEED® Certified is the minimum award for recognized green homes, followed by LEED® Silver then LEED® Gold, and LEED® Platinum is the highest level of certification a home can obtain.

Ecodwell’s LEED® Expertise

Ecodwell homes are on target to receive LEED® Gold certification. Kate and Jeff are LEED® Accredited Professionals (APs) which means they have been certified through LEED® by taking and passing an examination. Both Kate and Jeff demonstrated in this examination superior knowledge of green construction, operations and building design. They also demonstrated their knowledge in the six categories LEED® certification is based upon.

You can feel confident that the experts who stand at the helm of your Ecodwell home are uniquely qualified in design and construction strategies to create a residence that uses less energy, less water and natural resources, creates less waste and promotes optimal health.

1). Use eco-friendly household products. It only takes a few minutes to check the label for toxic chemicals. Strive to use products that have natural or non-toxic chemicals, which are much safer for the environment.

2). Save energy. While your green home will have energy saving appliances and lights built in, as well as properly sealed and insulated windows, simply being conscientious of turning off the lights when a room isn’t in use can go a long way to reducing your overall energy consumption.

3). Conserve water. Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth. Make sure your washer and dryer meet ENERGY STAR standards, which are national guidelines that dictate products must deliver the features and performance demanded by consumers, in addition to increased energy efficiency. If the product costs more than its conventional, less-efficient counterpart, the investment must be recovered over time through utility bill savings.

4). Use less fuel for transport. Can you walk instead of take public transportation? Can you take mass transit instead of using your car? Try to select the most efficient mode of transportation.

5). Recycle cans, glass bottles and paper products whenever you can.

6). Instead of using paper or plastic bags at the grocery store, take a supply of cloth bags with you.

7). Eat seasonal, local and organic food to lessen the substantial carbon emissions released in the shipping of products around the world. Visit Chicago’s Green City Market, which is open year-round to provide Chicagoans with the very best fresh, high quality, local food.

8). Amend your purchasing habits. If you can buy something in bulk, that will conserve on energy and packing materials. And if you can shop online, even better. The amount of fuel used to ship that purchase is nowhere near the amount of fuel you would have used to drive to a store and buy it offline.

Read on to see if an energy mortgage might be the right choice for you.

Two Types of Energy Mortgages

An energy efficient mortgage increases the home buying power of borrowers by crediting a home’s future energy efficiency in the mortgage itself. This means that a homebuyer could have a greater ability to buy a high quality, eco-friendly home initially because the expense to heat and cool the house is lower both at the outset and in the future. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA and VA all have energy efficiency mortgage purchase and refinancing options available.

For homes in which major energy efficient improvements are needed, an energy improvement mortgage allows the money that is saved in monthly utility bills to finance those improvements.

To measure a home’s energy efficiency, a lender will assign a home energy rating. This involves an analysis of a home’s construction plans and onsite inspections, such as a blower door test to test the leakiness of the house and a duct test to test the leakiness of the ducts. This helps to calculate both the present and the anticipated monthly energy savings. If your home is LEED rated or has Energy Star Certification, most likely these tests have already been done as part of the certification process.

How Energy Mortgages Help Borrowers

There are several benefits for borrowers who secure an energy efficient mortgage. The pool of qualified mortgage applicants is increased by offering the energy mortgage option. A recent study conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showed on average 6.8% more families would be able to qualify for a mortgage if an energy efficient mortgage option was made available to them.

Not only are more people able to qualify for mortgages, the sheer amount they can borrow is also increased because the estimated energy savings are added to the borrower’s income. An energy efficient mortgage also allows borrowers to include the costs of their energy improvements in the total mortgage amount. One hundred percent of the energy improvements, which is typically up to 15% of the total value of the home, can be paid for over the life of the mortgage, which means the borrower’s cash can be used for more immediate expenses.

Another benefit to borrowers is that the market value of their home will increase. Depending on the type and degree of energy efficient improvements the home undergoes, the added value can be anywhere from a few thousand dollars up to $10,000.

Why It Happens

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, indoor pollutant levels may be up to 10 times higher than outdoor levels. This poor air quality results from traditional building designs that contain inadequate ventilation, which allows mold to fester that can trigger allergic reactions and asthma. These buildings also often contain chemical contaminants, known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are both naturally occurring and synthetic. VOCs release vapors at room temperature and are especially found in wood paneling, particleboard, carpets, paints, glues, finishes and solvents. Initial exposure to VOCs can cause headaches, eye irritation and chronic coughing, as well as memory loss, fatigue and depression. With unusually high or prolonged exposure to VOCs such as formaldehyde, people face an increased risk of cancer. These health problems that result from poor indoor air quality affect millions of Americans each year.

Benefits of Building a Green Home

The indoor air pollution in a green home is significantly reduced because of careful selection of building materials, including carpets, paints, interior finishes and wall coverings, which are produced with no toxic chemicals. Green building products don’t contain formaldehyde and often include natural sources such as linoleum, cork and cellulose insulation. During the design and construction process proper heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems are installed to provide adequate ventilation and air filtration, so that mold does not have a chance to form.  The superior air quality in green buildings is estimated to save up to $48 billion annually in healthcare costs.