• LED lighting in both buildings to reduce power consumption and lengthen the life span of lights 
  • Low flow valves on toilets/urinals to reduce water consumption
  • Flow restrictors on sink faucets to reduce water consumption
  • Keeping lights off in mechanical spaces to reduce power consumption
  • Computer monitoring and management of utility usage in maintaining environmental conditions for the art collections. 
  • Naturalists on staff to control invasive species.
  • Green Team for Outdoor Concert events – they dig through trash and recycling to make sure that the right items are in the right bins before DOA pick-up. They instruct visitors about what is and is not recyclable. 
  • Recycling in the amphitheater for events and throughout the indoor spaces. (Could use improvement and growth). 
  • With generous support from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, the NCMA’s retention pond was redesigned to aesthetically control and clean storm water before it enters North Carolina’s streams and rivers. Terraces are planted with native perennials and ornamental grasses. As water moves across these various ecosystems, pollutants are filtered from the water via plant roots and soil particles. 
  • Our on-site Iris restaurant and Sip Coffee Shop use only organic, fair trade coffee. They also do not automatically give straws to customers. They have them avail on request.  

 

GOALS for 2019 - 2021:

  • Host a series of staff-wide/interdepartmental discussions on environmental education awareness and stewardship goal-setting. Adopt goals and a timeline as a core value of the NCMA.
  • Continue researching and evaluating the feasibility of in-stating a composting program for our kitchen and large events. Our internal senior managers have been hesitant to take this on, given that most services charge a fee for pick-up. There are some other logistics that would need to be addressed per storage, etc. They don’t like composting on-site b/c it attracts wildlife. I find this odd, given that the point of our nature park is NATURE. 
  • Continue improving Green Team and Recycling initiative. Recruit more volunteers to help sustain the effort and to possibly help us grow it so that all departments use Green Teams for their events. 
  • Procure more water refill stations and discuss with marketing a timeline and marketing plan to promote our Green initiatives. We would want education built into this PR campaign and would encourage visitors to bring their own refillable water bottles and re-usable to-go containers. They can also purchase these items from our Museum Gift Store. 
  • Encourage Museum Store to sell artful glass and metal straws, re-usable picnic ware and to-go containers. Continue trying to convince in-house catering to sell branded refillable water tumblers at event concessions. 
  • Apply for recognition as a Green Travel Destination through DEQ: https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/environmental-assistance-customer-se…;
  • Seek Ocean-Friendly-Establishment Certification. 
  • Encourage our facilities director to invest in an annual environmental audit. 
  • Talk with our Parks and Facilities teams about possibly installing charging stations for electric cars. 
  • Build partnerships with DEQ staff. 
  • Work with grant writing and development team to find ways to incorporate environmental awareness and education into program planning for upcoming years. 
  • Talk with area car dealerships about offering discount incentives for purchasing fuel-efficient cars (hybrids, electric) to NCMA and DNCNR staff.