The ribbon that Chestnut Hill Academy students made for this morning's official opening of a new Science and Technology Center certainly set the tone: It was all recycled stuff, including plastic cups, plastic bottles, old CDs, shopping bags, cardboard cut out in the shape of a devil's tale (the school teams are called the Blue Devils) and paper cut in spirals.

The $12.5 million building is LEED-certified, which means it has met the rigorous standards of the U.S. Green Building Council's program, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

"The LEED accreditation is great, of course," Deidra A. Lyngard, director of communications and marketing, said in an email. "But the more important aspect of the building is how it, itself, will be an environmental teacher, through its surrounding arboretum and rain gardens and the environmental technologies used throughout the facility. These will become part of the students' learning about science and environmental stewardship."

Among the facility's features:

o Demonstration photovoltaic cells, solar cells and a wind turbine on the roof. Data detailing their energy savings will be displayed on a screen in the lobby.
o A porous parking lot that will retain stormwater and release it slowly into the Wissahickon watershed.
o Rain gardens that will absorb stormwater runoff.
o A graywater collection and storage system to supply water for all of the building's toilets.
o Lights in the classrooms are motion- and light-sensitive. Sensors will adjust the intensity of the fixtures according to how much light is needed.
o A native species arboretum surrounding the building.
o On an artsier note, images of native flora and fauna sandblasted into the stone paving both inside and outside the building. A 2-story mural - not yet installed - will depict various facets of the watershed.

The building was designed by Lilley Dadajian, a Massachusetts architectural firm specializing in green design.