CLEED

Sustainability Consultancy for Cultural Institutions

Aug
16

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#Rochester Museum and Science Center @ROCrmsc to develop Regional #Green Infrastructure Showcase

Category: Green Museum, Stormwater, Sustainability Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment

rmsc2As the Greece Post reports, The campus is now undergoing a huge sustainability demonstration project called the , set to be completed by the end of the summer.

The new RMSC campus will feature areas to explore green infrastructure and sustainability, including rain gardens and interactive displays. The Environmental Facilities Corporation awarded $525,000 for the installation of a new porous pavement parking lot and bioretention areas on campus to decrease and treat . The areas capture and filter stormwater runoff from roadways and parking lots and water several low-maintenance native species plants, many of which are adaptable to high volumes of water.

“We at the RMSC care deeply about our local watershed and are taking action to protect it by creating new landscape campus features,” said Kate Bennett, RMSC president. “One responsibility as the community’s museum is to demonstrate options that create a sustainable future for our region and our ecology.”

Guests will be able to participate in green infrastructure workshops at a learning pavilion. The pavilion includes a green roof complete with plants and a water harvest collection area that captures roof runoff.

rmsc
Courtesy of RMSC

The stormwater runoff process will be showcased in an artistic educational glass design called “Genesee River Watershed,” created by local artist Nancy Gong and sponsored by the . The art glass will divert water from the pavilion roof to a rain garden. In another exhibit area, downspouts will transfer water from roofs to rain barrels. A treadle pump, a human-powered suction pump, will offer guests an opportunity for physical activity in understanding the irrigation process. Other areas with porous pavers and concrete will reduce runoff and winter salting requirements. For every tree that was removed during construction, two new ones will be planted on the campus.

RMSC exhibition components include a rain garden puppet theater, explanations on how porous pavements works and various interactions with the . RMSC’s new campus will be incorporated into the Stormwater Coalition of Monroe County’s ongoing series of Green Infrastructure Trainings and Workshops, as a green infrastructure tour stop and as a location for workshops.

Also, students are including the campus transformation as their environmental science senior capstone with the objectives of designing and implementing a monitoring plan to establish the effectiveness of the various green infrastructure areas and to provide scientific information to support exhibit development.

Nov
2

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NYCCGC Grant Recipient for Stormwater Feasibility Study

Category: Gardening, News, Stormwater Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment

community-gardening

Finally NYC is starting to use the inherent resources we already have, like the , to propose solutions to potential future flooding. Since 1996, the NYCCGC has promoted the preservation, creation, and empowerment of community gardens through education, advocacy, and grassroots organizing.

NYCCGC just announced they are the recipient of Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery funding from the New York State Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR) to undertake a feasibility study for stormwater capture best practices within the community gardens of the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Gardens Rising, the name of the study, will focus on the forty-seven community gardens in Lower Manhattan and combine a green infrastructure study and Master Plan to increase the permeability and stormwater capture in the area.

According to NYCCGC “the Master Plan will examine the feasibility, costs, benefits and impacts of proposed stormwater capture locations and methods to increase permeability and green space in the neighborhood gardens to better absorb stormwater and runoff.” Important to note, the majority of the gardens reside within an area that was severely flooded and impacted during Superstorm Sandy.

This is a major step forward not only for community gardens, but also for a sustainable NYC as a whole. As NYCCGC notes, these garden are finally being recognized as a vital environmental asset. It puts community gardens at the center of the greening movement in New York City.

NYCCGC states that they “envision this as seed money to attract more greening programs and grants into our community. They want “Gardens Rising to be interwoven with permaculture, solar energy, rat abatement policies, composting practices, citizen science, and other ideas and practices that will evolve with this process.”

Wouldn’t it be great is to see NYC using all their resources, museums, parks, public buildings, etc to create a master city wide disaster plan! And this grant is a step in the right direction, I know I look forward to hearing more about Gardens Rising.

Oct
23

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Tour of SIMS Municipal Recycling via OpenHouseNewYork

Category: recycling, Renewable Energy, Sustainability, Tours Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment

Photo Courtesy of Marc Lins Selldorf ArchitectsSunst Park MRF_Exterior 1.ashxIt is always fascinating to find out where exactly all the metal, glass and plastic that I faithfully recycle each week goes. So last week I toured the which is the principal facility to recycle all curbside metal, glass and plastic in New York City. It is a central element of Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC 2030 to develop sustainable waste management in NYC. Nestled on the waterfront at 29th St. you can’t miss the 100kW wind turbine which signals you have arrived.

20151017_154417Approximately 19,000 tons of metal, plastic and glass are collected monthly by the Department of Sanitation and Sunset Park MRF can recycle this and more! The facility is also home to the largest solar power installation in NYC. Designed by SIMS MRF was built to optimize environmental performance. It boasts a gravity-based stormwater system using landscape features, bio-swales and a retention pond. Plus the city created 3 artificial reefs for intertidal habitat for both marine and bird lifew hich helps to mitigate the effects of dredging. Lastly, it has an cheerful kid-friendly Recycling Education Center, programming, interactive exhibits and a theater. All in all an impressive facility and worth a visit, especially if you have kids.

sims 5

Oct
9

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Green Mountain Energy Helps Philadelphia Zoo Be More Sustainable

Category: Energy Efficiency, Green Buildings, Green Museum, News, Renewable Energy, Solar, Sustainability, Zoos Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment

philly

This is super exciting news to me, I know a bit nerdy! I’ve been a customer for about 8 years and thoroughly support everything they do, so finding out that they were able to partner up with the Philadelphia Zoo on solar golf carts…very cool.

The donates to many projects that “enhance the quality of life through long-term, sustainable solutions that focus on people and the planet.” Recently, the Philadelphia Zoo was the proud recipient of $100,000 to be dedicated to increasing it’s already existing sustainability initiatives. The money was chosen to fund solar golf carts, which will immensely help zoo employees to get around the 42-acre park in much less time and more efficiently. Each solar-powered golf cart can generate enough clean energy to drive more than 1,600 miles annually. That’s a lot of miles around the park!

As the nation’s first zoo, Philadelphia is doing a tremendous job creating and implementing . “With more than 1.35 million visitors annually, they aim to educate their community, model sustainable practices and provide their visitors with tools for taking action to live greener in their own lives, empowered to make a difference.” Presently the Zoo is working toward strategies to lessen their environmental footprint in five key areas:
1) improve energy efficiency
2) reduce, and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
3) consistently conserve, and increasingly collect and reuse water
4) Use current best practices to manage stormwater on site and
5) conserve resources and avoid the use of hazardous materials through waste diversion and green purchasing.

This is very commendable, as we all know thoughtful zoos require an enormous amount of people’s energy and mechanical energy to run. It’s more than important to keep the animals healthy, it’s an utmost necessity!

Also if you’re in Philadelphia any time soon, right now they also have a unique exhibit called , which is “an array of artist installations, some larger than life, each one telling stories of endangered animals through the use of recycled, reduced, reused, repurposed and renewed materials.”