Extra chairs were in high demand at Boulder's Recreational Equipment Incorporated (REI) Oct. 10.

Pasquale "PV" Scaturro, one of the foremost mountaineering and rafting expedition leaders in the world, spoke of his adventures through Africa's rivers to more than 80 people at REI's new community center at 1789 28th St. in Boulder.

While community gatherings and presentations are nothing new to employees and customers of REI stores, Boulder's newly remodeled location is equipped with new features that future stores will follow as a prototype.

After five years of business and eight months of remodeling at this location, the store held its grand re-opening Oct. 5 as the first of three locations to test "green" building features and add a community center and play area for kids.


The new green building initiatives are based on the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, meaning REI considers environmental materials, water conservation, energy efficiency and indoor air quality. Visitors can even take a tour of the remodeled store to learn more.

While their environmentally-friendly efforts plan to reduce the amount of energy and water used, the new community center has a goal to enable people of all ages and interests to use this 2,000 square-foot raised area in the center of the store as their space for attending special events, meetings or holding events of their own.

"Sometimes groups have a hard time trying to find a place to meet for anything from a board meeting to a volunteer recruitment meeting," says Sarah Leone, outreach specialist at Boulder's REI. "This is the perfect spot for that. People love this room - we're already getting two to three calls a day from people asking if they can use the space."

Leone and Rich Meyer make up the outreach duo for the Boulder location. They not only schedule local speakers, athletes and authors to make presentations at the center, but a majority of their work focuses on the Promoting Environmental Awareness in Kids (PEAK) program. In partnership with the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, a Boulder-based nonprofit, PEAK helps teach kids about enjoying the outdoors while learning to care for it.

"REI's mission is to inspire, educate and outfit for a lifetime of adventures outdoors, and part of that mission is to get youth more involved with the environment," says Leone. "We hold a free class for kids every week - teaching them the seven Leave No Trace principles such as, 'know before you go,' 'trash your trash' and so on. We'll also teach the ten essentials for safety while playing games."

In addition to helping youth, the Boulder REI gave 10 percent of their grand re-opening weekend sales to the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks' Junior Ranger Program. The grand total from Oct. 5 to 7 added up to more than $35,000, Leone says.

Not only does the Community Center open doors for groups such as Leave No Trace and the City of Boulder OSMP, but in the flurry of opening, it's teamed up with many nonprofits. For example, The Women's Wilderness Institute will be holding monthly clinics, the Peace Corps will be holding monthly informational meetings and Leone hopes to keep a solid relationship going with The James P. Beckworth Mountain Club and The dZi Foundation.

"REI has done a great job of making space for its community partners like The Women's Wilderness Institute," says TWWI's marketing director Wendy Gruenberg. "Our mission is to strengthen the courage, confidence and leadership skills of girls and women through community- and wilderness-based experiences and REI helps us bring this message to the community by displaying our catalog and course schedule in the store and through clinics which allow women a chance to sample our courses and teaching style. Plus, their new community resource specialists can directly recommend TWWI to potentially interested customers. It's all fabulous!"

Since its re-opening, Leone says the Community Center has been getting plenty of attention and Boulder's staff plans to set the example for others down the road.

"The Community Center at Boulder is the first, and at present, only one up and running," says Joshua Brock, community resource specialist at Boulder's REI. "Based on how well we at Boulder and the other stores do with it, REI will tweak any issues and make a decision if these are to be included in new stores being built in the future."

For more information on REI's green building features and Community Center happenings, go to www.rei.com or call the Boulder store at 303-583-9970.

Read Joshua Brock's perspective on being a community resource specialist.

Read more of what Wendy Gruenberg has to say about the Community Center.