Sweet Auburn: The Magazine of the Friends of Mount Auburn Mount Auburn as a Horticultural Innovator | Page 9

Photo by Lou Goodman Photography Continuing Mount Auburn’s Horticultural Legacy Features and benefits of the Horticulture Center include: Maximizing Environmental Efficiency • Platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification • Renewable, recycled, and local materials used in construction • 50% reduction in heating costs • Rainwater collection system • Ground source geothermal energy system • Green roof • Solar electric power • State-of-the-art materials recycling and composting operations Enhancing a Community Resource • New “public face” of Mount Auburn to the Watertown community • A base for volunteer corps • Space for local garden clubs, schools, and other community groups for meetings, workshops, tours, or field trips • Indoor classes and workshops for the public on topics such as propagation, green roofs, rainwater harvesting, geothermal systems, and composting Fall 2010 | 7