AMD&ART - Scientists, Designers, Artists, Historians and Community Team Up to Tackle Environmental Degradation

Vintondale, Pennsylvania was like many former coal mining towns. Economically stagnant since the departure of the coal mining industry in 1977, the town was also left with the environmental legacy of decades of unregulated mining activities.
Most prominent of these environmental issues is acid mine discharge: Inside of abandoned mines, ground water reacts with [...]

By brianjonas

Posts by brianjonas
brianjonas’s Website

Vintondale, Pennsylvania was like many former coal mining towns. Economically stagnant since the departure of the coal mining industry in 1977, the town was also left with the environmental legacy of decades of unregulated mining activities.

Most prominent of these environmental issues is acid mine discharge: Inside of abandoned mines, ground water reacts with left-over mining waste to create sulfuric acid. The acid in turn dissolves metals in the surrounding earth. Leaching out into the surrounding landscape, the acid-metal mix oxidizes, turning bottoms of stream beds into rusty orange messes and severely degrading the local ecosystem.

photo credit: T. Allan Comp

Lost in the process of economic and environmental degradation was a unique community history and the possibilities for Vintondale to create new opportunities for its citizens.

Seeing this problem throughout much of former coal country, Alan T. Comp, then a historic preservationist with the National Park Service (and now with the National Office of Surface Mining), saw an opportunity for change.

Gathering together a group of scientists, artists, landscape architects and volunteers, he began to work with the local community on ways to solve the environmental issues while honoring local history and providing economic opportunities for the town. The result after 10 years is AMD&ART Vintondale Park.

A series of ponds progressively treat acid mine discharge, allowing the public to see the progression of acidic, rusty mess to clean water.:

photo credit: AMD&ART Photo archive

credit: AMD&ART

The water then flows into a new 7 acre wetland created on the site of a former coal waste dump. Before:

credit: AMD&ART photo collection

After:

credit: Holly Lees

Adjacent to both are 4 acres of community recreation areas and various education and public art installation related to the unique community history of Vintondale:

credit: Holly Lees

credit: AMD&ART photo collection

credit: Holly Lees

Here at Greenline, we strongly believe in the power of design to transform our environment in a positive way. As such, a project like AMD&ART just gives us goose bumps all over! We hope you share our excitement, learn more about the project and start dreaming for your own community!

Start by learning more about the project at http://www.amdandart.org/projectindex.html

Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *

*
*

  • News

  • <?php the_title(); ?>
  • 08.Dec
  • 15 Greenest Cities on the Globe

  • I am oftentimes skeptical about the myriad of lists one can find out there covering everything from foreclosure rates in metro areas to best cities to fall in love. I have a hard time with most of these rankings because I am a big fan of quantifying results before something is published as truth and [...]

  • Products

  • <?php the_title(); ?>
  • 22.Oct
  • Counterfeit Countertops

  • All Paper Recycling, Inc. has created a product called Shetka Stone that can be used for a variety of uses including countertops, fabricated panels, benches and tile. Shetkastone is made from100% pre and post consumer waste paper, including counterfeit money and phone books. The material is scratch, stain, and water resistant and [...]

  • Case Studies

  • <?php the_title(); ?>
  • 23.Jun
  • Kelvin’s Conjecture: The Sustainability of Optimization and Integration

  • ”to make as effective, perfect, or useful as possible“ -Definition ‘Optimize’
    The National Aquatic Center in Beijing achieves sustainability through the optimization and integration of its structure, envelope, and building systems. In doing so it tells the story of how a little known problem of theoretical physics, Kelvin’s Conjecture, influenced the design of a prominent international [...]

  • Environment

  • <?php the_title(); ?>
  • 24.Oct
  • Phytoremediation-a safe alternative?

  • Recently I had the benefit of sitting in on lecture about using plants to treat environmental problems. The lecture was given by Dr. Lee A. Newman, who has been conducting research in the area of phytoremediation for the past 16 years. Her work at the University of South Carolina focuses on using plants [...]

  • Events News

  • <?php the_title(); ?>
  • 17.Oct
  • Climate Change Exhibit

  • An exhibit on the effects of Climate Change opens tommorow at the Museum of Natural History in New York and runs through August 16, 2009.
    “Climate Change will use realistic dioramas, hands-on activity stations, and dynamic animations to understand the climate’s response to the build-up of greenhouse gases and explore the repercussions for today’s world and [...]

About Greenline

Greenline is an open forum run by the GreenTeam at Ziger/Snead LLP Architects.

Our mission is to collect and share news and information on building technology, strategies, and products both within our office and with consultants, clients and future building occupants. We believe that education is fundamental to good design work, and so we have designed this blog as a resource to learn, explore and share topics such as high performance building, sustainable design, innovative products, health and productivity in buildings, and design aesthetics.

Save or Share