A new elementary school in Martinsburg has been certified as the state’s first “green” public school. The architect for the project, Charleston-based Williamson Shriver Architects, announced that the Spring Mills Primary School has been awarded LEED Gold Certification. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, which is a sustainable building evaluation from developed by the United States Green Building Council.

The building incorporates a number of design elements intended to reduce energy, lighting and water consumption. For example, the design makes maximum use of natural light in classrooms. Other features are expected to reduce consumption of energy by 33 percent and water by 30 percent, and a composing system will reduce the amount of food waste taken to landfills by 78 percent.