Greetings From ACA

ACA kicks off its 142nd Congress of Corrections today in Mile High Denver CO. There is lots of buzz about sustainability and about GreenPrisons. Our first official activity is this afternoon at 1:30 when the Clean and Green committee convenes. If you're at the conference be sure to come by room 301 of the Convention Center. We've already met a number of folks new to corrections eager to learn more about what correctional agencies are doing to promote sustainability. They will have ample opportunity during more than six workshops examining the topic from any number of angles. Yesterday Superintendent Keith Butts of the Pendleton Correctional Facility in IN and I visited the headquarters of Community Power Corporation to learn more about their garbage gasification project. Currently they have a version designed to meet the Department of Defense's commissary needs to dispose of food and cellulose waste in areas with high tipping fees and/or high utilities cost. They will be doing a feasibility study to determine its applicability in corrections. You will learn the results of that study here on GreenPrisons.org and at our Symposium in October in Indianapolis. More tomorrow from the exhibit floor at ACA

Water Webinar Scheduled for Wednesday

Join GreenPrisons on Wednesday, June 11 at 11 AM EST for our free webinar on Effective Water Management in the Correctional Setting. Learn more about controlling water flow, waterless urinals, and rainwater management for some of America's foremost. Register at www.GreenPrisons.org

ACA Hosts SIX Sustainability Workshops at this Year's Summer Congress

ACA is going"Green" at this summer's Congress with SIX workshops on sustainability topics. From a facilitated workshop on sustainable projects around the country to saving $1000 per inmate these are sessions you won't want to miss. Don't forget to come to the conference in time to attend the "Clean and Green" committee at the Convention Center on Saturday at 1:30. Check the program for the room number. We will be making new proposals for the committee to submit to President Epps when his term begins in January. And remember vendors are always welcome to join us. Once again GreenPrisons will pair up with the North American Association of Warden's and Superintendents (NAAWS) for a place to meet and greet. Come by the NAAWS suite in the Hyatt Regency starting Saturday night to meet the largest group of senior decision makers in corrections. If you are not familiar with NAAWS you can learn more at www.corrections.com/NAAWS. If you're not a member consider joining. More next time on our growing program for the 2nd National Symposium on Sustainability in Corrections. Watch www.GreenPrisons.org for more information on the Symposium.

NAAWS Kicks Off With Great Crowd

Hello from the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents (NAAWS) Annual Training Conference in Springfield, MO. Conference coordinator Pat Keohane has put together a great training event that kicked off with a great reception in the exhibit hall. Tomorrrow's feature speaker will be General Mark Inch, Commander of the Military Police Corps.

GreenPrisons will be well represented as we co-present with the Indiana Department of Correction. If you aren't here with us be sure and check back with GreenPrisons.org to see the powerpoint presentation.

More from the conference tomorrow.

NIJ Publishes Greening Guidebook

The long awaited NIJ publication on sustainability in corrections is now available. Download your free copy at https://www.justnet.org/our_centers/COEs/PDFs/Greening-Corrections-Technology-Guidebook-final-0229.pdf

The "Greening Corrections Technology Guidebook" was authored by Paul Sheldon and Gene Atherton. You will recognize many of the topics because our current webinar series is based on Paul's "Seven Steps to Sustainability in Corrections". The guidebook contains lots of additional information on each of the seven steps with plenty of practical applications from Gene.

There is still time to register for our free webinar series. Just go to the GreenPrisons home page at www.GreenPrisons.org and sign up today. This month's topic is HVAC and space in the webinar is limited.

Registration is also now open for our fall symposium. Register before June 1
and you could be the winner of a free registration (individual registrations only).

Lighting Webinar Shines A Bright Light

Our lighting webinar last month was a big hit and received a number of positive comments in the post-webinar evaluation. With more than 30 states participating again this month it demonstrates the continued interest in hearing from practitioners in the field about what other agencies are doing to save energy and dollars.

MagnaRay one of the systems presented during the webinar has announced that they will be coming to the NAAWS Conference in Springfield, MO April 15-18. You can follow this link http://www.magnaray.com/images/catalogpdf/25.pdf to see the case study they have on the Thumb Correctional institution that was mentioned during the webinar. Come by our booth at NAAWS to pick up additional materials.

Our next webinar is March 21 at 11 AM and will examine the effect new HVAC systems can have on your utility bill. We are still looking for one more agency to spotlight so if you have recently revamped your HVAC system or if you are a vendor who would like to see your products featured please contact me.

Register now to join us on March 21.