BROWN
&ER&
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
                                    Green Jobs Training Curriculum for
                                                           Nonprofit in Portland
Sustainability Pilot Background
                                                                            OREGON
EPA's Brownfields Sustainability Pilots provide technical assistance to assist
communities in achieving greener, more sustainable results when redeveloping
brownfields. These pilots also provide models for other communities across
the country.
Oregon Tradeswomen, a community training nonprofit in Portland, Oregon, is
developing a green jobs training curriculum as part of its job training program that
will give participants skills to enter the green workforce.  EPA provided technical
assistance to help the Oregon Tradeswomen develop a green jobs training
curriculum.

Tabor Commons Project Background	
The Tabor Commons site was a commercial site with past uses varied from a gas station to a coffee shop and a
deli. When the deli closed, underground storage tanks and soil contamination were identified from the previous uses
of the site. The site is now owned by SouthEast Uplift, a community based organization that intends to redevelop
the property into a community center. Oregon Tradeswomen, an EPA Brownfields Job Training grant recipient, will
use the site as a training ground to host the green jobs training sessions of its job training program. The green jobs
training program will last for seven weeks and includes a mix of classroom, field and hands on learning. Oregon
Tradeswoman anticipates that participants will be able to apply their new green job skills at the redevelopment of the
Tabor Commons site.

Project Highlights
EPA's technical assistance to Oregon Tradeswomen covered the development of a  green jobs training curriculum for
its job training program. In general, the curriculum provided case  studies, examples and resources on green jobs and
green building practices, as well as defined key  terms and concepts. The technical curriculum included  topics such as:
    Energy Efficiency
    Passive Solar
    Natural Resource Conservation
    Building Lifecycle
    Solar Panels
    Green Roofs
    Photovoltaic Cells
                                                      Solar Thermal Panels
                                                      Green Remediation
                                                      Deconstruction
                                                      Solar Roofing
                                                      Stormwater Management
                                                      Weatherization
The curriculum covers both the technical aspects of these topics and the practical implementation of the technique.
For example, after discussing the technical aspects of deconstruction, instructors cover how these materials may
be reused for their original function or reused in additional innovative ways. The intent of the curriculum is for
participants to gain an understanding of the difference between recyclable materials and those classified as solid
waste. Since the Tabor Commons site is a brownfield, it serves as an onsite case study for some of the subject
matter that is presented in classroom sessions such as stormwater management, passive solar, deconstruction and
green building principles.
The curriculum also includes training on the following green building certifications: Earth Advantage, U.S. Green
Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, ENERGY STAR, Net-Zero energy, and the Living
Building Challenge. The curriculum lists necessary job skills and potential employers.

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  Challenges and Lessons Learned
  Project Definition and Scope
  Preliminary discussions were necessary to better
  define the scope of the project and specific
  project needs. The EPA technical assistance team
  convened the Oregon Tradeswomen and other
  project stakeholders, which led to a decision to
  use the Tabor Commons site as a case study for
  designing a green jobs curriculum.
  Multiple  Brownfields Grants
  While the technical assistance was being
  provided, the Oregon Tradeswoman also received
  an EPA Brownfields Job Training grant. The
  pilot's technical assistance team coordinated
  with the Oregon Tradeswoman to coordinate the separately funded initiatives. Technical assistance funded
  through this Sustainability Pilot developed the green job training portion of the job training curriculum that will be
  implemented with the Brownfields Job Training grant.
The Tabor Commons site before redevelopment construction begins.
Sources for Additional Information
For more information on this project, please see the full Tabor Commons technical assistance report at:
http://epa.gov/brownfields/sustain_plts/reports/Tabor_Commons_Green_Jobs_Training.pdf
Additionally, please see the Tabor Commons project Web site at:
http://www.cafeauplay.org/index.html

Regional Contact Information
For more information on the Tabor Commons project, please contact:
Mike Slater
EPA Reg ion 10
503-326-5872
slater.mike@epa.gov
                                    Green Jobs Training
                                    Curriculum for Nonprofit
                                    in Portland
                                          EPA-560-F-09-509
                                              October 2009
                                    www, epa.gov/brownfields

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