At the Charlottesville Albemarle Technical Education Center, carpentry students are putting those words into action. Under the guidance of instructor Jason Ritter, students are constructing a house that is expected to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

“Because of the growing market for green buildings in this area, we feel like it is important to instruct our students about environmentally friendly building practices,” Ritter said.

Ritter and CATEC’s director, Darah Bonham, believe that this would the first LEED-certified house built by high school students.

“This is very unique,” Ritter said. “We’re really at the forefront here.”

CATEC carpentry students have been building homes for the past two decades. Last year, students used green concepts when constructing a home that was auctioned in September for $37,000.

“I was very proud of what we did last year and I wanted to take it a step further this year,” Ritter said. “We were following the LEED guidelines last year but this year we’ll have the paper trail that will enable us to get the house LEED certified.”

Charles Hendricks, with the Gaines Group, drew up the architectural plans for the house. Hendricks is also helping CATEC find a building contractor for when the home has to be placed on a site.

“He designed the house and is guiding it through the LEED certification process,” Ritter said of Hendricks. “He has basically been the LEED consultant, really the professional impetus behind getting this thing taken care of.”

Ritter estimated that materials for the project will cost between $42,000 and $45,000. This money will come from the CATEC Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports CATEC activities.

Several businesses - including Nature Neutral, Dow Building Products and Albemarle Heating and Air - have either donated or provided discounted materials and services to the project.

According to Ritter, the keys to building green homes include improved planning techniques, advanced framing technology, the use of less toxic or non-toxic materials and energy efficiency.

Ritter thinks that the house’s future owner’s energy bill will be about one-third of what it would have been in a traditionally built house.

This year’s house will look a bit different than houses constructed at CATEC in recent years. Ritter said this year’s home will have a traditional contemporary style with a hitched roof. Last year’s house was a ranch style with a gable roof.

“I think it’s going to be a very attractive house,” Ritter said.

The three-bedroom, two-bathroom house includes split modules, allowing for a deck to be built at what could be the front door. A section of the floor was framed in a way to be knocked out at a later date if the owner wants to place the house on top of a basement.

Extremely high winds recently knocked down one of the walls that had been erected. A few days later, however, the project was back on track with the wall in place.

Ritter hopes that construction will be completed by the end of the school year.

“If the house goes to auction, I would love for the auction to happen while the students are here, so the last week of May,” he said. “If more work has to be done over the summer, we’d shoot for beginning of September, which is what we did with the last house.”

The CATEC carpentry program includes students from all of the local high schools. The students come to CATEC for two and a half hours in the morning.

Bonham believes the experience that students gain from building houses is invaluable.

“This is practical, real and contextual,” Bonham said. “It allows the students to live and breathe what they are learning.”

Anthony Steele, a CATEC student who also works as a carpenter for Ernest Morris & Son, said that his CATEC background has helped him in the professional world.

“The experience is great,” Steele, a senior, said. “I’ve learned a lot of skills here that I have been able to use out on real job sites.”