Noon Institute · San Antonio, Texas

We build it, and we measure it.

Biological infrastructure — water, shade, habitat, built to carry a load — installed on real ground and scored on a published instrument. We are looking for the research partner we do not have.

Noon Systems Corporation · a Texas Public Benefit Corporation · est. 2020

Built

Standing ground, not proposals.

A closed-loop water garden at a supportive-housing community for formerly homeless seniors.

Closed-loop water gardenSupportive housing, formerly homeless seniors. Zero grid draw. Given outright.

Goats grazing a reclaimed school site during ecological training.

Reclaimed school siteEcological training with veterans and young people. Documented before and after.

A 28-foot cast concrete lotus set among live oaks.

Cast concrete lotus28 feet, one pour. Ringed by native planting and bioswales.

The record

Every figure carries how it was obtained.

Street drainage absorbed, curbside bioswale: ~200 gal/hrfield-observed
Standing water relieved: ~2,000 sq ftfield-observed
Senior-community loop, grid draw: zerostanding condition
Power for the whole loop: one 100-watt off-grid arraydesign spec
Cohort trained at the school site: 4 — 3 veterans, 1 youthoutcome
Now working in green industry: 2outcome

Field-observed figures are exactly that. They are not lab infiltration tests, and the pages that carry them say so.

The instrument

Five dimensions, sixteen readings.

A field instrument that scores the restorative quality of a site — water, soil, shade, ecology, wildlife. Eleven of the sixteen readings need only a phone. Built by practitioners for use on real ground, which is its strength and probably also its problem. See the instrument →

Every method behind it is published open-access and bilingual in our library — 36 entries, four sequenced tracks, CC-licensed and citable. Read the library →

Why it may matter

The literature we lean on.

−41.5%RCT · JAMA Netw Open, 2018Fewer residents felt depressed after neglected lots near them were greened.

−4.8 mmHgLancet Planetary Health, 2023Systolic blood pressure, with a nature prescription.

~4% lowerLancet Planetary Health, 2019All-cause mortality per 0.1 rise in nearby greenness.

AssociationThe honest wordWe describe what an environment is associated with. We build conditions and measure outcomes. We make no medical claims and provide no treatment.

The collaboration

Where a partner comes in.

Protocol and IRB. We hold the ground and the records. The study design belongs with a researcher.
External validation of the instrument. Ours is published and unvalidated. That is a paper waiting to be written.
An NIH STTR. The mechanism requires a nonprofit research institution as partner. We would lead as the small business.
What we bring: built sites, community trust, a documented baseline, and hands that maintain the ground year-round.

The ask

Twenty minutes.

If the fit is wrong, a pointer to someone better suited is just as useful to us.

Write to the Institute

Or read the one-page record first — Field Progress 301: Field Sites & Instrumentation (PDF)

Noon Institute — San Antonio · Noon Systems Corporation, a Texas Public Benefit Corporation
hello@noon.bio · the built record · the library · wellbeing