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The Enterprise — Michael Koff

The new $8.9 million visitors’ building at Five Rivers Environmental Center, in the towns of Bethlehem and New Scotland, opened last Thursday. Green building materials were used as well as wood harvested from onsite trees. The center has a solar photovoltaic system, a geothermal heating-and-cooling system, operable windows and roof vents, low-flow toilets, LED lighting, and rainwater collection and gray-water system. It was funded by NY Works and the State’s Environmental Protection Fund.