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Nick Churton of Mayfair International Realty visits a house in New Canaan, Connecticut that gives more than it takes.

Broker: Barbara Cleary’s Realty Guild

Agent: Barbara Cleary

When I was a boy and camping with the Scouts I was always taught to strike camp in such a way that it would look as if I had never been there at all. This was not only good scout-craft but also respectful of the environment – before respecting the environment had gone mainstream.

482 Trinity Pass Road in New Canaan, Connecticut takes this principal even further. Here you make little or no impact on the environment while you are camped there. Here is a home with just about every certificate and qualification announcing what a sustainable building it is. If this house was a Scout it would have the environmental proficiency badge.

I like houses like this. The owner not only has deep-seated feelings about sustainability but also has embraced all that modern research, technology and conscience has to offer in creating a home which is just not highly comfortable but also hugely respectful of its surroundings.

This land has been stepped on very lightly indeed in producing a spacious, warm and inviting home that captures the sun and rain to provide power and irrigation. The wonderful materials such as timber and stone have been locally sourced to reduce the transportation impact. The pool is beautifully clean and clear but without a drop of chlorine.

The best certification for such a house is LEED Platinum. This house proudly displays such a plaque. It is a mark of quality and achievement in green building. Builders and owners across the world have made LEED the most widely used green building rating system.

LEED homes are built to be healthy, provide clean indoor air and incorporate safe building materials to ensure a comfortable home.

And if all that doesn’t persuade you then perhaps the money will. Using less energy and water means lower utility bills each month. And in a growing number of markets around the world certified green homes often sell more quickly and for more money than comparable non-green homes. Who knows, in another fifty years this could be the norm. Let’s hope so. You really don’t just have to be in the Scouts nowadays to appreciate these environmental benefits.