With the support of the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, this spring the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation is proud to offer a series of three educational webinars exploring topics related to historic preservation. These virtual learning opportunities are free to attend on Zoom, and recordings will be posted here when the webinars have passed. Check back for more details on our April and May webinars, coming soon!
Funding Sources for Preservation Rehab Projects
Date TBD
Details and registration coming soon!
Past Webinars
“What Washington State Can Learn from Christchurch” – March 12, 2026
With the support of the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation presents this free educational webinar about the seismic lessons that Washington State can learn from one of the modern era’s biggest earthquakes.
2026 marks the 15-year anniversary of the Christchurch earthquake, a 6.3-magnitude seismic event that caused widespread damage across the city and stands as New Zealand’s fifth-deadliest disaster. John Hare, CEO of Holmes Group—which is headquartered in New Zealand and has offices in Seattle—will share the effects of the Christchurch quake upon the city’s landmarks and historic fabric, then and now, and discuss the changes in planning and policy brought about by the quake.
Washington Trust executive director Chris Moore will discuss the existing URM (unreinforced masonry) landscape in Washington State, including the number of buildings and communities likely to be affected by a major seismic event and the legislative efforts currently underway to enable more seismic retrofits of buildings statewide.
“Historic Preservation + Building Performance Standards” – April 23, 2026
With the support of the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation presents this free educational webinar about the intersection of preservation and a new wave of policy tools, known as Building Performance Standards, which are becoming more widespread across the United States.
Building Performance Standards (BPS) are policies that require commercial and multifamily buildings to meet certain performance levels, typically for energy use or greenhouse gas emissions. Each local and state government that implements a BPS can customize the requirements to fit its needs, but in general, a BPS contains a performance target (for example, a specific level of energy use per square foot) and a timeframe by which all buildings must meet this target. For historic buildings, the impact remains unclear.
This webinar seeks to clarify and bring the two together: historic preservation and BPS. Our speakers—Jim Lindberg of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Sean Denniston of Heritage Green Consulting, and Luke Howard of the Washington State Department of Commerce—will explore the history and framework of Building Performance Standards, how they fit into larger sustainability goals, and how they are being applied here in Washington State, for both historic and non-historic buildings.
Slides from the presentation:
- Jim Lindberg, National Trust for Historic Preservation
- Sean Denniston, Heritage Green Consulting
- Luke Howard, Washington State Department of Commerce
Note: These webinars have been financed with federal funds from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of the Interior, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Department of the Interior.