Cape Fear's Going Green • Fall 2009

Letter from the Editor

We often think of spring as the time for beginnings, but this year fall has offered up new starts. Time to plant cover crops, or to sign up for winter birdwatching trips. The most remarkable beginning for me this fall started at the end of a long day— capped off by the unfortunately-timed failure of my hard drive. As the implications of losing a week’s work began to sink in, I received a simple phone call: “Can you come down? It’s time!”

After parking at Carolina Beach I crested the walkway over the dunes and saw well over a hundred people cooperating perfectly, gently, and almost silently. After a day of dealing with mechanical difficulties and dying computers it lifted my spirits.

The occasion? A leatherback turtle nest was coming to life: more than seventy little turtles boiling their way up out of the sand. Loggerhead turtles regularly nest on the area’s beaches, but a leatherback nest has never been documented in this area. Since it was first identified over two months earlier volunteers had carefully monitored it; as the hatching grew nearer, the excitement built. Crews had been standing watch at the nest for the past two weeks. Now the time was at hand, and they did double duty keeping curious onlookers a safe distance away and helping guide the turtles to the relative safety of the ocean. The starlit night was not sufficient to orient the babies, so just a little more help was needed.

As I watched, a volunteer began backing down the trench workers had smoothed earlier—Coleman lantern beam held high to guide the babies to the sea. I looked around the hushed group: not one volunteer nor visitor broke the rule about light—only small red flashlights were in view. Neighboring houses had all turned off their lights. Updates were passed along in hushed voices, like a parlor game. As the last few babies made their way down the trench and into the sea, volunteers were careful to keep novices away in case a baby might be washed up in the tumbling surf. At last, the turtles were all in the water, and a louder rejoicing could begin.

How many people did this take? Who noticed the mammoth tracks in the sand that led to the nest’s discovery? Who taped off the area, and alerted residents? Who coordinated the volunteers and phone trees? Who slept alongside the nest night after night? Who carefully smoothed the sand so the tiny flippers could make their way to the sea?

What can we accomplish when we work together?

Valerie L. Robertson Editor

Going Green would like to acknowledge the work of the Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project and all the volunteers who participated in the protection of the leatherback and loggerhead nests this season. Read about it: www.seaturtleproject.org

Contents

3 5th Annual Solar and Green Building Tour

4 Stormwater Management Leads City in Green Design

City of WIlmington’s Solar Sweeper Facility

6 Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Development Award Program

A look at coming and past winners

9 The Triple Bottom line People, Planet, Profit

10 Gwathmey Siegal the Art of Sustainability

12 Stormwater 101 What Is a Watershed?

14 Bringing Birds into the Fall Garden

16 Cool Coast Award Applications Due October 24

17 Cape Fear Museum Named Top Field Trip Destination

18 Education

19 Business News

20 Community Garden News

21 Local Food

22 Your Ecological House Off the Lawn, Please!

24 Cape Fear River Watch Events

Front Cover: Wilmington’s first LEED Platinum home, designed and built by Mark Johnson Custom Homes, was on the 2009 Solar and Green Building Tour. Learn more about it at www.markjohnsoncustomhomes.com or call (910)367-2853.

Cape Fear’s Going Green is a quarterly publication promoting eco-friendly resources and lifestyles in the Lower Cape Fear River Basin.

Publisher & Editor in Chief: Valerie Robertson

Sister City: Eugene, Oregon (Voted “Greenest City” 2006 by The Green Guide)

Eugene Contributing Editor: Mary Robertson

Advisors & Editorial Contributors: Jennifer Butler, Ron Dutton, Scott Frances, Alistair Glen, Rick Harris, Vanessa Haugh, Barbara Hein, Heidi Kaufman, the Kuuskoski family, Buddy Milliken, Scott Ogden, Christie Perry, Adeline Robertson, Elise Rocks, Zach Rudisin, Jeanne Walker, and Philip S. Wenz.

Cape Fear’s Going Green

Going Green Publications

P. O. Box 3164 Wilmington, NC 28406 (910) 547-4390

www.goinggreenpublications.com

Cape Fear’s Going Green is available by subscription or on our Web site. Print copies are available at more than one hundred area eco-friendly businesses and locations, including:

Angela’s Pepper-Picked Foods, B + O Design Studio, Coastal Glass Tinting, The Napping Cat, Old Growth Riverwood, Old Books on Front Street, Pomegranate Books, Progressive Gardens, Sambuca, Sapona Green Building Center, Tidal Creek Co-op, UNCW, WHQR, and the Shelton Herb Farm booth at area farmers’ markets.

Editorial: If you have story ideas or calendar items to suggest, email us at editor@goinggreenpublications.com, or call (910) 547-4390.

Advertising information: Email ads@goinggreenpublications.com.

Cape Fear’s Going Green is distributed free through Brunswick, New Hanover, and Pender counties. If you have a business and would like to receive multiple copies for the public to pick up, please contact us.

Photo by Provis Media Group

photo by Rick Harris

5th Annual Solar and Green Building Tour

Once again the Cape Fear Green Building Alliance presented a Solar and Green Building Tour in conjunction with the statewide tour program offered by the North Carolina Solar Energy Association. New this year: a visit to the City of Wilmington’s new solar street sweeper facility, and the option of visiting the sites by trolley.

Wilmington’s 5th Annual Solar and Green Building Tour took place Saturday, October 10. This year’s tour featured a mix of commerical and residential sites, which could be visited either as a self-guided tour or by signing up to take the trolley with the tour’s official tour guide.The following tour sites offered diverse examples of green technology in our area:

City of Wilmington Street Sweeper Facility - 1110 S. 17th

Street: Solar power, radiant floor heating, site and building re-use and stormwater run-off improvements are showcased in a commercial setting. The sweeper facility was the official Tour kick-off site. See article on page 4 for more details on the facility.

3404 Talon Court: Wilmington’s first first residential LEED

Platinum “gut rehab,” by Architect Jay DeChesere, illustrates a wealth of green strategies inside and outside, including a green roof, a 3KW photovoltaic array, solar hot water, geothermal, rainwater harvesting, and an Audubon wildlife habitat. Watch this project’s progress on the 3404 web site, easily accessed via www.cfgba.org. Once the renovation has been completed, open houses wil be scheduled to allow the public to examine its features and technologies.

2002 Kenilworth Lane: A LEED Platinum Home for New Construction in Landfall built by Mark Johnson Custom Homes is only the second residence in North Carolina to receive the highest rating by LEED. To achieve Platinum certification, the 2,770 square foot, 4 bedroom, 4 bath home scored points for health, sustainability, energy and water efficiencies. This site could only be visited by taking the trolley.

South 5th Avenue: This renovation of a grand historic home exemplifies the ultimate in recycling and how – contrary to popular belief – many elements of green are both simple and traditional. The home’s “new” kitchen also features custom cabinetry and architectural accents crafted from reclaimed wood.

Wrightsville Avenue: A single family dwelling that has been retrofitted with green technologies by the owner a little bit at a time. Green technologies include a tankless water heater (natural gas), ductless HVAC system, sealed crawlspace and attic, material repurposing, permeable pavers, and great landscaping.

Allens Lane: A single family dwelling with solar hot water heater and where 10 PV panels are in the process of being installed on the roof. The home also features an electricity demand limit meter through Progress Energy. This device limits the home’s appliance use during peak electricity time period. The home is Energy Star certified and also features separate zones for heating and cooling in each room and all halogen dimmer lights and CFL non-dimmers.

The renovations to this bungalow maintained the historic exterior while adding interior features to make the home comfortable, energy-efficient, and a joy to live in. Amenities added over time include a Japanese tub, a walk-in shower, and mini-split heater/air conditioner mounted in the ceiling. Landscaping requires minimal care; many of the plantings were gifts from neighbors, who shared starts and divisions from plants already established elsewhere in the neighborhood.

Wilmington is one of many cities in North Carolina offering a Solar and Green Building Tour. Most such tours take place early in October, but the Sustainable Sandhills Green Living & Design Tour, Saturday, November 7, will offer tour sites in eight counties plus Fort Bragg. Contact Heather Brown, brownh@ctc.com for details; or visit the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association web site, www.ncsustainableenergy.org; or use the national solar tour finder at www.ases.org to find tour information nationwide.

The living space of this home on Wilmington’s 2009 Tour proves that a green lifestyle can be luxurious.

Stormwater Management Leads City in Green Design—

City of Wilmington’s Solar Sweeper Facility

by Zach Rudisin

A few drops of rain fall as Site Supervisor

Jeremy Thorpe shows me the electric meter for the Stormwater Sweeper facility. He explains that even in these cloudy conditions, the building is producing more power than it is using.

This new building, on the corner of Marsteller and South 17th streets, became the new home for Wilmington’s street sweepers in May. The facility is the leading example of eco-friendly design and (cont. on page 5)

Finding Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency

DSIRE is one of the best resources available to help you find information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives and policies that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Be sure to type the name correctly: www.dsireusa.org. Go to the U.S. map, click on your state, and you’ll find programs that apply specifically to your area. It’s national, it’s local, and it’s based in North Carolina!

Established in 1995, the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE) is an ongoing project of the North Carolina Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). It is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), primarily through the Office of Planning, Budget and Analysis (PBA). The site is administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and is operated for the Department of Energy by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

Four solar thermal panels atop the facility’s roof will be used seasonally to warm water in used by the garage’s radiant heating system. The panels positioned flatter on the roof are solar photovoltaic panels that generate electricity year-round.

green building

City of Wilmington’s Solar Sweeper Facility

construction the city has to offer. “Dave [Mayes] really pushed for this type of design,” says Thorpe. Dave Mayes, the Stormwater Services Manager, said the staff wanted “to set an example that other public or private entities could use in planning for their projects so that they understand that these types of building features are not out of reach and they will pay for themselves.”

Building designers have implemented a variety of “green” features to do just that, by minimizing the facility’s environmental impact. The building generates its own power with photovoltaic panels, and power use is minimized by design features such as daylighting to provide natural light inside, motion sensors that turn off lights and faucets, and a programmed temperature control system. Any extra power generated by the facility is credited back to the city by Progress Energy.

As much of the steel structure as possible was reused and/or restored from the old building in the construction of the new one. A bio-retention area was created, to naturally filter runoff from rain and the cleaning of the street sweepers. Several large underground diesel tanks, formerly used by the city as a refueling station, were removed from the site. Another, less damaged, tank was reclaimed from another city facility, restored and encased in

Water heated by solar panels on the roof is stored in the black tank shown here. In the cooler fall and winter months, the warmed water will circulate down the orange pipes and throughout piping in the floor, keeping the temperature from dropping below 50 degrees even on the coldest of nights.

an above-ground concrete enclosure to use for refueling of the sweepers.

After the sweeper facility has been operational for a year, the City will have data to show the energy and cost savings realized by the thoughtful design of the building.

The main purpose of the facility is to garage three of the City’s three-wheeled and one four-wheeled street sweepers. The garage area was, “not designed for comfort,” Thorpe tells me. However, I cannot believe how comfortable it was inside, and the temperature was maintained solely by the building’s design. No power was being used. In late fall or early winter, City staff will bring the facility’s radiant floor heating system online. This

system uses a solar water heater to maintain a temperature of around 50 degrees in the garage. This will save water by allowing the department to keep water in the sweepers overnight instead of draining them to prevent the water from freezing.

Construction began in July 2008 on the design provided by Doug Sherwood of John Sawyer Architects and cost the City $1,021,000. According to Mayes, “other similar sized facilities that are more traditionally designed would cost about $10,000 to $12,000 per year to operate.” He says that “after about one year we should be able to have a good set of data,” that will show how much this new building will save in annual energy costs. The public will also be able to see how this building works when the city launches a web site that will show how much power the building is producing and using.

Zach Rudisin is a freelance photographer located in Wilmington. His photography can be seen at www.zrudisin.com.

The City’s solar-powered sweeper garage was located at 17th and Marstellar Streets in Wilmington to reduce travel distance and time the slow-moving equipment would need to travel to work. The shorter commute also saves wear and tear on these complex machines. Here, a street sweeper backs into the garage at the end of its effective working day.

photos this article by Zach Rudisin

Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Development Award Program— A look at coming and past winners

by Scott Ogden

In preparation for this year’s 2009 Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Development (LCFSD) Awards banquet on November 19, we thought that a look back at the 2008 winners was in order. For those not familiar with the program, the LCFSD is a multi-agency group that seeks to recognize new developments in our coastal three-county region (New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender) that go above and beyond typical land use requirements. Generally speaking, the award-winners use “green” or Low Impact Development (LID) strategies to conserve, protect and improve the Cape Fear area, as well as foster awareness of how development affects our natural resources. A group of local experts evaluates the built projects and/or permitted site designs using several criteria, including site inventory, water protection, wetland preservation, habitat improvement, education and outreach, vegetation protection, and re-use of existing sites. Since its inception in 2005, there have been three types of award given: Outstanding Recognition, renamed Outstanding

Stewardship in 2009 (for projects already built), Significant Achievement (on-theboards or under construction) and Special Recognition. In 2008, seven projects received awards for their work—including an Outstanding Stewardship award to Monteith Construction for their downtown adaptive reuse of a turn-of-the-century building on Front Street (this project was featured in the Summer issue of Cape Fear’s Going Green). Here’s a rundown of all of the 2008 projects and some of their specific design features.

2008 Award Winners

Outstanding Recognition

Monteith Construction–Front Street Wilmington, NC (New Hanover County)

In 2007, Monteith Construction Co. wanted to build a new headquarters that reflected the company’s vision of sustainability. They began by purchasing an abandoned late-nineteenth-century building in historic Downtown Wilmington and hiring LS3P Associates. Their adaptive reuse of the three-story structure—recycling at its best—resulted in the first LEED-certified

project in the Cape Fear area. The building features a high-performance HVAC system and low-flow fixtures to conserve water, and makes extensive use of recycled and rapidly-renewable materials such as bamboo and soy products. During construction they reused much of the building’s original material and devised a waste reduction and recycling program to curb the amount of material that went to landfill.

Significant Achievement

Autumn Hall– Eastwood Road, Wilmington

The Autumn Hall project, a mixed-use development located on the former Duck Haven Golf Course, chose a clear mandate: Save The Trees. Retaining an arborist throughout, they were able to transplant 150 trees and save more than 200 mature ones in the process. Developer Raiford Trask worked with Cole Jenest & Stone and LS3P to design a landscape that uses native plants while discouraging invasive ones. Autumn Hall is a major node of the new Wilmington Cross-City Trail which will run between Wrightsville Beach and Halyburton Park.

Previous Award Winners

2007 Winners

Significant Achievement

Lower Cape Fear Hospice Administration Building

Tonbo Meadow

Robert R. Taylor Estates

Special Recognition

811 MacCumber Alley

2006 Winners

Outstanding Recognition

Airlie Gardens

Halyburton Memorial Park

Preservation Park

Significant Achievement

Devaun Park

Demarest Village

Seagrove at Carolina Beach

2005 Winners

Outstanding Recognition

Village of Woodsong

Significant Achievement

Preservation Park

photo courtesy of LCFSDAP

Saving as many trees as possible was a prime directive in the development of the Autumn Hall project.

Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Development Award Program

Barrier Island Study Center, Bald Head Island – Federal Road, Brunswick Co.

Developers of the Barrier Island Study Center are seeking a LEED Platinum certification for their 5600-square foot facility, the final piece of the Bald Head Conservancy environmental and research center at the east end of the island. To achieve this, the consultant team, headed by architect Jay DeChesere, created an intensive waste reduction and recycling plan that will divert most construction waste from the landfill. Their plan also incorporates active and passive solar systems, use of recycled, renewable, and local building materials, and high-efficiency HVAC and water systems. The goal is to reduce water use within the building by 80%, and energy use by 35%. The project is permitted and slated to begin construction in early 2010.

Eagle’s Watch– US Hwy. 17 Hampstead, Pender Co.

Located on a former commercial bulb farm, the project site is wrapped by water—the Intracoastal Waterway, Old Topsail Creek and Nixon’s Creek. Many of the site considerations centered on the pair of bald eagles that nest there—one of the only pairs in the Cape Fear area. The development team worked out a conservation plan to monitor and protect the nests as well as preserve the surrounding wetlands.

Fairwinds Harbor –Greenville Avenue, Wilmington

This infill development will replace seven dilapidated single family structures with six new duplex units on two acres of land. Withers & Ravenel helped the owners condense the building footprints to minimize grading and clearing, which in turn reduces the total disturbed area and allows specimen trees to be preserved. LID techniques incorporated into the design include pervious concrete alleys, sidewalks and driveways, and stormwater control

Promoting environmentally friendly public and private development

strategies such as bioretention, rain gardens and infiltration trenches. Green building practices are planned for the units themselves.

Lakeside - Lockwood Folly, Brunswick Co. Located on Maple Creek, off of the Lockwood Folly River, The Lakeside project involves converting a 100-acre tract of land once used for sand and marl mining to a low-density, traditional neighborhood. With design guidance from H. Burkert and Co., the developer, Stone Chimney Development LLC, plans to limit the built-upon area to less than 30% and to reduce impervious coverage. The project integrates many LID techniques including bio-retention areas, rain gardens & cisterns on individual lots. Green building practices will be encouraged and a waste reduction program implemented. The design incorporates green spaces in the form of pocket parks and buffers, and will retain a 16-acre lake for the community to share.

continued on page 8

5th Annual Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Development Awards Banquet

Who will be the Development Award winners for 2009? Find out at the 5th Annual Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Development Awards Banquet, when the 2009 winners will be announced. The banquet will be Thursday, November 19, 2009 at the Burney Student Center on the campus of UNCW. Social and display sessions begin at 5:30 p.m. The banquet and awards ceremony will follow at 6:30 p.m.

If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities, or would like to attend the awards banquet, call either the New Hanover County Soil & Water District at (910)798-6032, or the New Hanover County Planning Department at (910)798-7444. To read about past award recipients and learn more about the Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Development Awards Program, visit www.stewardshipdev.com.

photo courtesy of LCFSDAP

The Barrier Island Study Center, scheduled to begin construction in 2010, is the final piece of the Bald Head Conservancy environmental and research center on Bald Head Island.

2008 stewardship winners

continued from page 7

Special Recognition

Oak Island Lighthouse– Hwy. 133, Caswell Beach, Brunswick Co.

The Friends of Oak Island Lighthouse hired H. Burkert and Co. to help make their building more accessible while adding new visitor amenities in an environmentally-friendly fashion. Their design solution: replace the irrigation system with a new landscape of native species with a raised wood walkway for access. This, coupled with new bioretention areas for stormwater management, makes their facility a demonstration site and educational tool for visitors to the lighthouse.

The alphabet

Fairwinds Harbor was recognized in 2008 for incorporating multiple Low Impact Development (LID) techniques in this design for six new duplex units sited on two acres.

of Building Design

ADU– Accessory dwelling unit is a second living unit on a lot. These are typically in garages, carriage houses or separate cottages (e.g. crofters on Bald Head Island). An ADU usually is required to be a complete housekeeping unit that can function independently with its own kitchen and bathroom. ADUs are also called “granny flats” or “mother-in-law” apartments.

BMP– Best Management Practices usually refer to stormwater management control measures taken to mitigate changes to both quantity and quality of runoff caused by changes to land use. BMPs are typically designed to reduce volume, peak flows, and/or non-point source pollution through infiltration, evapotranspiration, detention, and filtration as well as biological & chemical actions. Examples include bioinfiltration or bioretention rain gardens, pervious surfaces, infiltration trenches, and green roofs.

Bioretention– Creating shallow depressions to briefly store runoff, slow its flow, and let it soak into soil while pollutants adhere, degrade, evaporate, or are taken up by plants. Rain gardens and basins are types of bioretention and biofilters; all are low-impact-development BMPs.

FAR– Floor-to-area ratio is the ratio of a building’s size to the square footage of the land it is built upon. This is often limited by zoning codes; a FAR bonus can sometimes be negotiated to increase a project’s buildable space. This bonus can be negotiated on a floor-by-floor basis to allow buildings to cover more of the site at ground levels while stepping back from the street at higher levels. FAR bonuses

are particularly useful to support formbased codes—those that describe how a building looks and how it relates to others in the area—because they allow the design of the building to be adjusted to both achieve higher density, and ensure adequate air flow, light, and visibility between buildings.

GIS– Geographic information system is a computerized database that integrates hardware, software, and data for analyzing geographic data. It allows users to view, question, and interpret data in ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, reports, and charts— particularly helpful in land-use planning.

Green Walls and Roofs– Used throughout Europe and Asia, these walls or roofs of managed vegetation can provide insulation and natural cooling, help manage stormwater, and beautify structures. Some cities now require green roofs in new construction.

LEED– Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design program is the primary method developed by the USGBC (US Green Building Council) to quantify how “green” a project is. This nationallyaccepted benchmark promotes a wholebuilding approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Projects are rated similarly to Olympic medals, with Platinum being highest, followed by Gold, Silver and base-level “Certified.” Started in 1998, LEED continues to evolve: now

illustration courtesy of LCFSDAP

in its third version, it includes categories for schools, retail, healthcare, homes, and neighborhood design.

LID– Low impact development: This approach to land development or redevelopment works with nature to manage stormwater as close to its source as possible in order to maintain or restore natural hydrologic function. By using small, cost-effective landscape features it mimics pre-development water activity. Recently, this term has come to be used interchangeably with the term “site-scale green infrastructure practices.”

Permeable or Pervious Surfaces– Made of a variety of materials, these allow rainwater or other liquids to percolate through. They reduce erosion and flooding and restore natural aquifers, and can reduce the “heat island” effect caused by conventional paving.

Rain Garden– A garden area that receives surface runoff. Compost and mulch help hold stormwater, slowing its peak flows, while microorganisms and bacteria remove pollutants. Plants hold some rain on their leaves and also bring water up from the soil to evaporate (evapotranspiration).

TOD– Transit-oriented development is one with a mix of land uses (e.g. residential, office, shopping, civic and entertainment) within easy walking distance of multiple transit sources (bus, light-rail, subway, etc.) The transportation options decreases residents’ dependence on driving to meet their everyday needs. Reducing the vehicle miles travelled and the need for private vehicles lowers air emissions and resource use and combats traffic congestion.

soup

Terms; a few brief definitions in the lexicon of building and green design

green building

The Triple Bottom Line— People, Planet, Profit

by Elise Rocks

In 2003, I attended a one-man show in San Francisco, entitled “The History (and Mystery) of the Universe.” The play was my first real introduction to Buckminster Fuller, the architect, philosopher and patentor of the geodesic dome. When I returned home to Wilmington, I was eager to learn more about this visionary, known simply as “Bucky” to those who continue to be inspired by his work.

Fuller’s writings led me to the world of sustainability with one simple idea– not everything shows up on the balance sheet. At the time, I was immersed in development as a project manager. My days were filled with attempting to quantify the bottom line, which we all understood to mean profit. Yet, we still wanted to build with a sense of quality and integrity that was harder to place a value on.

I began meeting with others interested in educating about and promoting green building. As we established our mission, the intangibles began to take focus– in addition to the economic bottom line, sustainable development considers the environmental impact as well as the health and well being of the inhabitants.

One bottom line was no longer enough; we had to be able to look at the balance sheet from many perspectives. More important, we had to come up with a new way to measure our results. As we tried to define what is “green,” we had to learn a new way of describing how humans affect the world and each other. BMPs, VOCs, carbon footprint– it’s an entirely new language.

BMPs (Best Management Practices) was the first to catch my ear. Planners, engineers and landscape architects began asking us to consider natural, cost-effective, low-maintenance options for site design and stormwater management. This led to education and implementation of rain barrels, pervious pavement and bioretention areas (rain gardens).

Next up, Low VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) became the rage. Awareness of the off-gassing (new building smell) of

chemicals in paints, carpets and adhesives encourages more thoughtful selection of interior design, providing better IAQ (Indoor Air Quality). We acknowledge the responsibility to protect the HSW (health, safety and welfare) of building occupants, by minimizing mold and pollutants. And while we’re at it, let’s make ourselves happier and save energy by maximizing NDL (Natural Daylighting).

Thanks to global warming and droughts, energy and water conservation became hot topics. Understanding our carbon footprint–our CO2 emissions, and the impact on the planet– was fast becoming mainstream, no longer reserved for “treehuggers.” This led to an awareness of the need for a system to help navigate and quantify our efforts in a recognizable, uniform way. The accepted standard nationwide is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), which provides a framework to guide us through the development process to a finished product.

There are many alternatives to consider in the design of a project. We must consider the Life Cycle Costs (LCC) of the material, environmental, and human resources used while creating and operating the buildings and communities we create. Additional construction costs up front may lead to lower maintenance costs later. Natural landscapes with indigenous plants conserve water. Pervious surfaces reduce the need for stormwater management systems.

As a real estate appraiser, my goal is to understand how to quantify the value of going green. How best to honor Fuller’s notion that not everything shows up on one bottom line? My studies led me full circle to The Triple Bottom Line (TBL). John

Elkington, a sustainability consultant, sums up the idea in his book Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of the 21st Century. The Triple Bottom Line goes beyond the financial analysis to consider the social and environmental costs and benefits of a project.

Thanks to human effort, increased corporate responsibility, and our need for survival, we are devising ways to define and measure these costs and benefits so they can find their way to the balance sheet. The profitability of healthy, happy building occupants is measured in terms of lower absenteeism and increased productivity. Energy efficiency and water conservation can reduce CO2 emissions and lower utility bills. High-performance buildings can generate more rent due to lower operational costs as well as consumer demand for responsible stewardship of our natural resources. Green roofs and walls can protect and extend the life of building components while providing aesthetically pleasing social spaces. Buying locally reduces fuel and water consumption and supports our neighbors while providing us a better opportunity to hold each other accountable for our production methods.

Profit

With the range of considerations, a Project Management Team (PMT) is a vital tool to facilitate setting the priorities of a development plan, based on an understanding of the Triple Bottom Line. As individuals, we have different priorities and perspectives that all have value. We can achieve better results when developers, design professionals, builders, zoning administrators, investors, property managers and consumers meet early in the process to incorporate their distinct voices into a collective vision.

continued on page 10

People

Planet SuStainability economic

health & well being

environmental

Gwathmey Siegal: the art of sustainability

by Scott Ogden

The Cameron Art Museum’s new exhibit makes for interesting viewing from almost any angle.

“Inspiration and Transformation” is the first museum exhibition devoted to the work of the American architectural firm Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, LLC. On display through January 10, 2010, it tackles the sometimes challenging task of depicting architectural concepts and forms using a combination of models, projections, and sketches from the architects’ notebooks. The exhibit took on a new poignancy with Charles Gwathney’s death just after the show opened last June.

Gwathmey Siegal & Associates, the New York City firm which Mr. Gwathmey founded with Robert Siegel in 1968, has developed a variety of projects through its forty-five year history: sometimes controversial, as in their

triple bottom line

continued from page 9

We are on a fascinating journey of defining the means and methods of production and interaction as we move from the industrial age to the information age. Fuller said that “by utilizing the optical, telescope and microscope, we are now looking at vaster and more exquisite levels of reality.” We are developing the tools and language to discern between “green washing” and true sustainability, superficial profit and significant achievement. This requires a dialogue that encompasses the perspectives of all the stakeholders involved. The natural path to ensure balance in the consumption of our natural, human and

economic resources can be discovered with a commitment to the Triple Bottom Line. Elise Rocks is a commercial real estate appraiser and development consultant with Worsley Real Estate Company. As Project Manager for Preservation Park, she has received the Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Development Award, City of Wilmington Tree Preservation Award, and was featured in Southern Living Magazine in March, 2009. She has served on the Board of Directors of Cape Fear River Watch, Wilmington Downtown Inc, Tidal Creek Cooperative Market, Vestry of the Church of the Good Shepherd and is a founding member of Cape Fear Green Building Alliance. She can be contacted at erocks@worsleyrealestate.com or (910)256-0044.

adherence to the High Modernist style while other firms moved to a post-Modern or Neo-Classical; sometimes unusual, as in their success in gaining residential commissions while continuing their love of designing large buildings devoted to art. The museum focuses on several projects that illustrate transitions in the firm’s style. The exhibit, like many things, takes on a new relevance when seen through a “green lens.” Some industries are coming recently to the “green” concept, but for the most part architects have been taught early on to integrate a structure with its context—a key tenet of sustainability.

Let’s look more closely at some of these ideas. Most of these measures fall under the category of “passive” strategies, versus the more visible “active” or engineering/systems more recently in the press—see page 4 for an example of active solar engineering in the City’s Sweeper building.

The Wilmington Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) will sponsor Architect Gallery Tours at the Cameron Museum of Art, the second Saturday of the month through the duration of the show. Tours are 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with an active dialogue and Q & A with the local architects:

• Oct. 12 John Wojciechowski

• Nov. 14 Scott Ogden

• Dec. 12 Mark Saulnier

• Jan. 10 Charles Boney, Sr.

SCOTT OGDEN, aia SCOTT SCOTT OGDEN, aia SCOTT

photo © Scott Frances | Esto Charles Gwathmey’s first project was the Gwathmey Residence and Studio, built for his parents.

gwathmey siegal

continued from page 10

The exhibit includes eight projects: from Gwathmey’s first project, a house and studio built for his parents on Long Island in 1966, through mid-rise urban scapes, to key buildings of the 20th century such as their addition to the Frank Lloyd Wrightdesigned Guggenheim Museum and the rebuilding of the burnt Whig Hall on the campus of Princeton University.

As you walk through the exhibit you begin to see a series of elements—overhangs, wing-like roofs, grids and open trellises—that temper the natural forces of the environment like wind and sun while serving to frame the view beyond, be it beachfront or mountains.

Most of the projects have a strong “art” component: they were designed as art or to house those creating art—many of the public buildings were designed to house art schools or museums. As such, watch for daylighting and window arrangements, including skylights, light scoops and clerestories.

To reduce heat gain, most of these features are oriented to the north, however when larger window walls are on the south they are usually tempered by large overhangs, such as those on the Glenstone project or the Gwathmey studio, or a shade-producing grid on the de Menil house.

Gwathmey writes about an “erosion” of form which works with needs for filtered light. In the Glenstone and Zumicon projects we see an elegant solution for dark underground galleries: luminous floors made of glass brick draw the light downward.

Most of the buildings run in an eastwest direction, which lengthens their north and south sides and exposes them to the elements. The de Menil house has a large greenhouse space central to the design— porches and a screened room block the summer’s heat, while in winter the warm air collected here flows into the living spaces to the north.

The Glenstone and Zumikon houses both feature a careful integration of buildings within their existing natural context. The Zumikon compound is organized around a courtyard/pool while the house itself is imbedded in the steep mountainside. This reduces the exposure of the house and gallery to sun and winds and minimizes the scale of

For more information on the exhibit and on the achievements of Mr. Gwathmey and Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, visit:

• www.cameronartmuseum.com/exhibitions.php

• www.gwathmey-siegel.com

• www.gwathmey-siegel.com/portfolio/proj_detail.

php?job_id=199811

• www.nytimes.com/2009/08/05/arts/design/05gwathmey.html

• www.starnewsonline.com/article/20090804/articles/ 908049971?Title=Cameron-Art-Museum-architect-CharlesGwathmey-dies-at-71

• www.starnewsonline.com/article/20090908/ARTICLES/ 909089943?Title=Architect-talks-give-insight-to-timelyCameron-Art-Museum-exhibit

The Louise Wells Cameron Museum of Art is located at 3201 South 17th Street, Wilmington, North Carolina.

Museum Hours: Tuesday - Friday: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM Saturday & Sunday: 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM (closed Mondays) Please check web site or phone (910)395-5999 for admission prices.

the large structure.

The Glenstone program is implemented in several pieces; a gallery, a house compound with a pool and pavilion, all of which are unique and allow a purity of form to show their purpose. The interplay of open and solid structures take advantage of walls of glass to the north for a fine view and light for art.

As the exhibit takes us into the larger public commissions, predominantly schools and museums, the architects rely more heavily on building and lighting control systems to create the needed light. Color palettes trend to light neutral: not only does this allow the artwork itself to be the focus, white or light tones reduce the need for artificial lighting and cooling.

Gwathmey Siegal works tend to use a high percentage of limestone, concrete, zinc and aluminum panels, light wood and stucco—all easily manipulated for optimal lighting and increased efficiency.

While the intent of “Inspiration & Transformation” may be to review the ties between form and function, between the envelope and what goes on inside a building, a careful analysis of the drawings, models and renderings can give you another insight into the mind and intent of an architect who’s striving for more than just shelter.

Once through the exhibit, take another turn inside the Cameron Museum itself, and walk outside for the larger view. Mr. Gwathmey designed Wilmington’s Cameron Art Museum. See what green design elements you can find.

Scott Ogden, AIA is an architect who practices in downtown Wilmington and in 2005 co-founded the B & O design studio, pllc. He is the 2009 President of the AIA/Wilmington Section, former board member of the Cape Fear Green Building Alliance, and a member of U.S. Green Building Council.

photo courtesy of Louise Wells Cameron Museum of Art

An installation view from GWATHMEY SIEGEL: Inspiration and Transformation, on view at the Cameron through January 10, 2010.

photo courtesy of Cameron Museum of Art

The Louise Wells Cameron Museum of Art opened at its current location in 2002, in a building designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, LLC.

What Is a Watershed?

by Jennifer Butler

Every one of us lives in a watershed, so it is important to understand what a watershed is. Contrary to popular belief, a watershed is not a shed that stores water! And choices we make every day have an effect on the health of the watershed we live in.

Simply stated, a watershed is an area of land that stormwater flows across on its way to a specific body of water such as a creek, lake or river. Watersheds are determined by the slope, or natural lay of the land, meaning that all water runs to the lowest point. Water can flow across the surface of the land or underneath

and travels through the storm drainage system (storm drains, ditches, pipes, etc.) into Hewletts Creek which empties into the Intracoastal Waterway/Atlantic Ocean. An important thing to remember is that stormwater runoff is not treated, so anything on the mall parking lot could ultimately make its way into the Atlantic Ocean.

Still looking at the watershed map, Futch, Pages, Howe, Bradley, Hewletts, Whiskey and Everett Creek Watersheds drain into the Intracoastal/Atlantic Ocean, whereas Smith, Burnt Mill Greenfield, Barnards, and Motts watersheds all drain into the Cape Fear River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean. There are also unnamed areas on the map that drain directly into these bodies of water without entering a creek first.

Each watershed has its own unique characteristics. Watersheds can contain big cities and urbanized areas, businesses and industry, rural communities and farmland, forests and beaches, a lot of impervious surface or a little, or a mixture of all these things.

Watersheds come in all different shapes and sizes. In fact, all of the soil as groundwater in a watershed. Watersheds are also called drainage basins.

To simplify the watershed concept even further, let’s say you have a large bowl. If you poured water all the way around the inside rim of that bowl, the water would drain “downhill” and into the center of the bowl. This is the concept of a watershed, except that in the real world, the center of the bowl is a creek or waterway and the inside of the bowl is the land the water flows across.

Watersheds on Paper

Let’s consider a real world example by looking at the Wilmington Watersheds map on page 13. On a particular day you go shopping at Independence Mall, which is located in the Hewletts Creek Watershed, and it rains during your visit. Stormwater runoff flows from the mall parking lot

Wilmington’s Watersheds are part of a much larger watershed called the Cape Fear River Basin. This is the largest river basin in North Carolina and drains all the land around the Cape Fear River. It is the only river that flows directly to the ocean. There are 26 counties, 116 municipalities and nearly 2 million people in the Cape Fear River Basin!

source:

NC Office of Environmental Education

illustration courtesy of NC Office of Environmental Education

The Cape Fear River Basin, marked here in gray, is the watershed containing the 200-mile Cape Fear River—the only North Carolina that flows directly into the ocean.

To learn which watershed you live in, check out the maps at http://www.wilmingtonnc. gov/watershed/tabid/97/Default.aspx

To learn more about river basins, visit http:// www.ee.enr.state.nc.us/public/ecoaddress/ riverbasins/riverbasinmapinteractive.htm

photo courtesy of City of Wilmingtin Signs such as this one indicate the name of the watershed inot which local stormwater runoff drains.

Did you know…?

• New Hanover County has more than 800 people per square mile! More development & impervious surfaces = more polluted runoff!

What Is Your Role in a Watershed?

Everyone lives, works and plays in a watershed. You don’t have to live near water to have a significant impact on it. You and everyone in your watershed are part of the watershed community. This includes animals, birds, insects, and fish too. You influence what happens in your watershed, good or bad, by how you treat the soil, water, air, plants, and animals.

Businesses, houses, streets, and other land uses can alter a watershed. What happens in your own backyard and in your neighborhood directly affects the water bodies in your watershed. For example, if you leave dog waste on the ground, the bacteria and nutrients in it will be transported by stormwater runoff directly into a local waterway. This ultimately creates big pollution problems for our waters that can result in algal blooms, fish kills, and waters closed to fishing, shellfishing, and swimming. In fact, most of the tidal creeks in Wilmington are closed or partially closed to shellfishing, because of bacteria has polluted the creeks.

So remember, no matter where you live, you have waterfront property!

For more information, contact the City of Wilmington Stormwater Services at (910)343-4777 or visit www.wilmingtonnc. gov/publicservices/stormwater.

Jennifer Butler is the Stormwater Education Program Coordinator for City of Wilmington Stormwater Services. She is an avid surfer, which is one reason she is so passionate about clean water. She has spent the past year building a green home.

photo courtesy of City of Wilmingtin Tidal creeks must be closed to shellfishing to protect public safety, once bacteria has reached unsafe levels.

illustration courtesy of City of Wilmingtin

native plants

Bringing Birds into the Fall Garden

Parsley Leaf Hawthorn Crataegus marshallii

by Alistair Glen

Bird watching is a very popular and enjoyable activity. One of the most common ways people attempt to draw birds into the landscape is to put out a feeder, which can be effective in attracting specific birds, and providing food when natural food supplies are scarce. But, wouldn’t it be nice if the feeder refilled itself and didn’t need to be cleaned? It can if you plant living birdfeeders, also known as native plants that provide food for birds. Birds have coevolved with our native plants, their migrations synchronized with the ripening of berries at certain stages of their journey. By planting natives that have fed the birds over the millennia, we can create gardens that serve a dual role of providing food for birds and creating beauty for us.

The following three plants– Parsley Leaf Hawthorn, Farkleberry, and American Beautyberry– not only attract birds with fall ripening berries, but also provide our landscapes with plants that are adaptable, low maintenance, and attractive. Each of these tough natives can grow in full sun as well as part shade, though in dense shade, flowering and berry set will be minimal. Parsley Leaf Hawthorn and Farkleberry develop into small trees, while American Beautyberry is strictly a shrub. Once established they will provide years of enjoyment for birds, people, and other creatures.

Illustrations courtesy of USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCS. Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Provided by NRCS National Wetland Team, Fort Worth, TX.

There are at least thirty different species of Hawthorns native throughout the southeast, and all make wonderful wildlife plants. Arguably, the most garden worthy is the Parsley Leaf Hawthorn, whose common name comes from its leaves’ resemblance to the foliage of the herb, parsley. During the growing season the deeply dissected leaves impart this beautiful small tree with a very distinctive look.

In the wild I mainly see Parsley Leaf Hawthorn when canoeing along streams, growing on stream banks where its roots can be flooded for several weeks at a time. Despite its preference for moist to wet soils in its native habitat, Parsley Leaf Hawthorn grows well in upland sites that are not too dry.

Most Hawthorns, Parsley Leaf included, have thorns that can be a nuisance or even a hazard if planted in the wrong place. But what might be a danger for us is a protective haven for smaller animals like

birds, who find refuge and make nests in this small tree’s dense and thorny branching structure.

Parsley Leaf Hawthorn has creamy white flowers in early spring, followed by pea sized red berries that ripen in the fall. It generally matures at around 20-25’ high and wide, growing faster in moister soils.

photo by Alistair Glen

Parsley Leaf Hawthorn, like most hawthorns, can be a prickly but safe wildlife haven.

An American robin eats hawthorn berries.

native plants

Farkleberry Vaccinium arboreum

With a name like Farkleberry, you can’t help but visualize this tree growing in groves throughout the countryside in a Dr. Seuss story. Farkleberry is very closely related to cultivated Blueberries, and is the largest growing member of its clan in our area. Unlike cultivated Blueberries, Farkleberry’s fruit is small, and black instead of blue. The fruit are not very sweet,

and tend to be mealy and seedy. They are probably better left for the birds, unless you are hungry and lost in the woods.

I most frequently find Farkleberry growing in sandy, open woods, as a large shrub or– after many years–a small tree, topping out at around twenty feet tall. Farkleberry truly is a four-season plant. Spring brings masses of small, white urn shaped flowers that cover the branches and are literally humming with pollina-

sive shades of orange and chestnut that had been hidden beneath a drab greybrown exterior.

Unfortunately, Farkleberry is seldom cultivated, mainly because it doesn’t grow as fast as other more common landscape plants. Despite its relatively slow growth rate, it is still a great small tree. With a little patience gardeners who plant Farkleberry will be rewarded with an extremely drought tolerant, beautiful and sustainable small tree. tors. The trees dark green, glossy foliage remains attractive all summer before turning vibrant shades of red in the fall. In my opinion, winter brings Farkleberry’s most spectacular show. Once the trunk develops some size, the bark starts to exfoliate, revealing impres-

American Beautyberry Callicarpa americana

American Beautyberry is probably one of the most commonly grown native shrubs found in home landscapes, and for good reason. With brilliant magenta berries that ripen on arching stems in late summer and early fall, this medium-sized shrub puts on a show that is difficult to top among our native species. Adding to American Beautyberry’s list of achievements is its adaptability to growing in a wide range of conditions. American Beautyberry can be found growing not only in moist bottomland forests, but also on the edges of dry maritime forests in full sun.

American Beautyberry is a deciduous shrub that grows from three to ten feet high and wide, depending on how moist and fertile the soil is. Since it flowers on new wood, it can be cut back to 1’ tall each year, in spring, and will still flower in summer and produce a profuse crop of berries in fall.

As well as providing food for birds and beauty for us, American Beautyberry is also being researched extensively for use as a mosquito repellant, making this native a truly useful species for all landscapes.

Alistair Glen is owner of Growing Wild Nursery, which specializes in nursery-propagated native plants of the Atlantic coastal plain. Learn more about plants native to our area on his Web site: www growingwildnursery.net.

photo by Alistair Glen

With brilliant magenta berries that ripen on arching stems in late summer and early fall, this shrub puts on a show that is difficult to top among our native species.

photo by Alistair Glen Farkleberry bark exfoliates to reveal impressive shades of orange and chestnut that had been hidden beneath a drab grey-brown exterior .

Cool Coast Award Applications Due October 24

The Cape Fear Climate Action Network is accepting applications for the Cool Coast Award. This award is given to individuals, organizations, businesses, or government agencies or officials demonstrating exemplary environmental practices in the Cape Fear region, in one or more of the following areas: school curricula, legislative action, municipal policies, green building and maintenance practices, recycling, and sustainable energy resource development. To be eligible to win the award applicants must demonstrate excellence in one or more of four areas:

1. Outreach: provides community outreach and/or education to help others become better stewards of the environment.

2. Innovation: Offers services, projects, programs or practices that are innovative, ground breaking for the area, first in the community.

3. Resource: Acts as an important resource or center for information or materials that are not easily obtained elsewhere.

4. Comprehensive: offers an array of environmentally positive services, programs, products, materials, or information.

Applicants are asked to submit a description of their program, project, or business in 250 words or less. Pictures, letters of support, Web sites and web portfolios are optional, accepted but not required.

This year’s deadline for an application is October 24, 2009. Winners will be announced during the 2nd week of November.

Applicants must be located in Brunswick, New Hanover or Pender County. Participating owner/manager must allow visits to the site during selection process.

Cool Coast Award Program

The purpose of the Cool Coast Award Program is as follows: Through support, recognition, and advocacy of best practices we hope to inspire Cape Fear citizens to:

• reduce energy consumption

• implement innovative techniques for recycling waste

• use environmentally friendly materials for building

• promote cleaner fuels

• support policies that preserve our naturally “cooling” plants and trees.

Cape Fear Climate Action Network

Cape Fear Climate Action Network is a local citizen network providing support, advocacy, and recognition for climate action initiatives in Wilmington, North Carolina, and the Cape Fear region. Information on its activities can be seen at www.capefearcan.com.

Coastal Society Call for Papers

The Coastal Society has chosen Wilmington as the site of its 22nd International Conference, to be held June, 2010. The theme is: Shifting Shorelines: Adapting to the Future. The Society is seeking papers, panels and posters; abstracts are due Oct. 23, 2009. More information and the full call for papers is available at: www.thecoastalsociety.org/conference/tcs22/abstract.html.

Cape Fear Museum Named Top Field Trip Destination

Cape Fear Museum of History and Science was one of the 25 most visited field trip destinations in North Carolina last school year, according to Carolina Field Trips Magazine.

The Museum ranked 24th on the list after delivering programs to 14,464 visitors during the 2008-09 school year. Cape Fear Museum social studies and science school programs include on-site field trips, off-site outreaches, educational special event days and classroom kits.

“The word is out. Teachers know firsthand, or they hear from fellow teachers, how wonderful Cape Fear Museum programs are,” Museum Director Ruth Haas said. “We have a great team of educators and volunteers that presents quality programs throughout the year.”

The Museum’s most attended field trip last year was People of the Past, a program which teaches fourth graders how people from our region have lived throughout history. The program, now in its 36th consecutive year, is attended by all New Hanover County fourth graders.

Interactive, hands-on programs, such as the Museum’s Simple Machines field trip, are increasingly popular with teachers seeking learning opportunities that are both linked to state curricula and are fun for their students.

This school year, the Museum has 23 different program offerings suited for elementary, middle and high school grade levels. Numbers are expected to meet or exceed last year’s program attendance.

A Journey to a Cure for Autism

Viewing of “The Horse Boy” at Thalian Hall on November 1 and 2

Described by the Salt Lake Tribune as “a story too strange and miraculous to be fiction,” “The Horse Boy” is a documentary about a husband and wife who go to the ends of the earth to find a way into their autistic son’s life. A favorite at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, the movie is the companion to Rupert Isaacson’s best-selling book of the same name.

As many as one in 150 American children have an autism spectrum disorder, according to the Autism Society of America. “The Horse Boy” shares the Isaacson family’s intense quest for a possible cure for son Rowan’s autism after traditional therapies had little effect. Playing in select theaters around the country, this special documentary is brought to Wilmington by Space4Grace, a local non-profit committed to making parents of autistic children aware of the many options available. Showings are at 6 and 8 p.m. on November 1 and 2 at The Studio at Thalian Hall at 310 Chestnut St. in downtown Wilmington. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Advance tickets are available online at PTPT4Autism.org or by calling Amanda at (910)297-1815. Proceeds from this event will be used to help fund the Putting the Pieces Together conference on March 27 in Wilmington. Co-sponsored by UNCW and

Space4Grace, the conference will connect parents of autistic children with a wealth of resources and healthcare providers, to include high-profile guest speakers such as Stanley Greenspan and Jenny McCarthy. For additional information about the book or film, visit HorseBoyMovie.com. For additional information about the March 27 conference, call Amanda at (910)297-1815.

High School Students in University Research Labs

The Eastern North Carolina Section of the American Chemical Society will present a special Science Education Night in recognition of our local middle and high school science teachers. The presentation, to be given by Dr. Marc ter Horst of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will be, “High School Students in University Research Labs: Who Me?”

The event will be held on Thursday, October 22, 2009 from 5–8:30 p.m. at the UNCW Center for Marine Science, 5600 Marvin K. Moss Lane, Wilmington. Dinner will be served, and the cost is $15 per person ($5 for students). RSVP by October 16 to Ms. Libbie Schaffer, UNCW Chemistry Department, at (910)962-3115 or schaffere@uncw.edu.

For more information about Museum school program offerings, visit the Museum Web site at www.capefearmuseum.com, or call the Museum Reservationist at 910.798.4362.

Two elementary-aged students learn to use microscopes to examine specimens during a Museum program. This school year, the Museum has 23 different program offerings suited for elementary, middle and high school grade levels.

photo courtesy Cape Fear Museum of History and Science

UNCW Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

SEA andCoffee

Thursdays, Sept. 17–Dec. 17

13 sessions • 10 a.m.–noon

$45/semester for Osher members; $65 non-members

SEA and Coffee Schedule

Science and Environment Academy (SEA and Coffee) meets weekly to present relevant environment/marine science information. UNCW professors and knowledgeable community presenters share their expertise and offer opportunities for enjoyable interaction in a friendly, relaxed setting.

Sessions remaining in the series:

Oct. 22 Dr. Strangelove Revisited: Or How I Learned to Stop Hating Hog Waste and Appreciate Its Inner Beauty with Dr. Lawrence Cahoon, Dept of Biology and Marine Biology, UNCW

Oct. 29 Building Green Homes in Wilmington with Frank A. Cardamone, IV, Green Built Homes, L.L.C.

Nov. 5 What Has Happened to the Bees with Barry E. Harris, Jr., Beekeeper, Brunswick County Beekeepers Assoc.

Nov. 12 The Arboretum-Wilmington’s Best Kept Secret with Ed DeMarco, NHC Cooperative Extension

Nov. 19 Art and The Environment with Abby Spangel Perry, Independent Art Company and art instructor at CFCC

Dec. 3 The Life and Times of Birds: A North Carolina Perspective, Andy Wood, Education Director, Audubon North Carolina

Dec. 10 Exciting Advances in Solar Energy with Richard Campagna, Regional Manager Advanced Green Technologies

Dec. 17 Nuclear Energy in the 21st Century with Dr. Liping Gan, Assoc Prof, Physics Dept., UNCW

What’s Happening?

Send your calendar items and news updates to: Editor@ goinggreenpublications.com or call (910)547-4390

The Planet Ocean Seminar Series

The Planet Ocean Seminar Series offers four lectures each academic year, featuring prominent speakers from UNCW faculty and other leading research institutions, from well-known environmental organizations, and from government agencies.

Next in the series (on November 10): “Islands” in the Abyss: Exploring Life at Volcanic Vents on the Ocean Floor, presented by Dr. Jonathan Copley, National Oceanographic Centre, University of Southampton, UK.

The Planet Ocean Seminar Series is free and open to the public. Due to limited seating at the UNCW Center for Marine Science, reservations are required. To make reservations or for further information, please call (910)962-2301.

Sherman Scholar to Speak on Green Revolutions

UNCW’s History Department will host Sherman Scholar Dr. Edward Melillo on Thursday, October 15 at 7:30 pm in the Warwick Center on the UNCW campus. Dr. Melillo is an assistant professor of History and Environmental Studies at Amherst College. His talk will be about the green revolutions of the last three centuries, and he will discuss how advances in agriculture have impacted land use, labor regimes, and the global economy.

Green Living Expo and Conference October 21

Greater Wilmington Business Journal and Wilma Magazine will collaborate with Cape Fear Green Building Alliance to produce a green conference and expo on October 21, 2009. The Green Living Expo and Conference will take the place of the CFGBA expo traditionally held during Riverfest weekend.

Student Activists to Attend Carolina’s Power Shift Conference

UNCW ECO is working to recruit as many students as possible to participate in the Carolina’s Power Shift to take place from October 17-18 at UNC-Chapel Hill. The Carolina’s Power Shift will be one out of eleven Power Shift conferences to take place across the country. Like the national Power Shift last February, attended by 12,000 youth from every state and Canada, the regional conferences will be focused on climate change policy and solutions. UNCW ECO and other UNCW students will be among the 1,000 expected attendees from universities and high schools throughout North Carolina and South Carolina. The conference will bring youth together to expand their knowledge of current issues and craft a winning climate plan during this crucial time. With the UN climate conference in Copenhagen less than 100 days away, the youth of the nation are once again joining forces to push for a just renewable energy future. Registration and more information can be found at uncweco.com

The expo and conference will comprise three components:

1) Educational classes throughout the day for green building professionals, other green businesses and the general public. CFGBA is responsible for organizing and presenting the entire green building educational curriculum at the event.

2) A luncheon featuring as keynote speaker Katharine Brass, Executive Director of GE Energy’s Ecomagination program, providing insight into her firm’s green initiatives.

3) A large-scale vendor expo to showcase products and services to the community.

For information about special sponsorship packages and exhibit booths for the expo, contact Judy Budd at either (910)343-8600, extension 212, or jbudd@ wilmingtonbiz.com.

Please support our advertisers. And please mention you saw them in Cape Fear’s Going Green!

Green Socials

Cape Fear Green Building Alliance hosts a monthly “Green Social” on the last Thursday of each month on the rooftop of the Reel Café. The socials are from 5:30–8:00 p.m. and are free and open to all.

EV Program Seeks Truck

Steve Garrett’s Electric Vehicle (EV) program at Topsail High School is looking for a small truck, such as a Ford Ranger, to use for this year’s conversion: Garrett’s students convert traditional vehicles to run on electricity. Follow their EV weblog at thsev.blogspot.com. And if you might have a vehicle to donate to the program, contact Garrett at (910)616-0285. orsgarrett@kickngas.org or.

Sapona Green Extends Hours

Sapona Green Building Center has extended their business hours as of September: they are now open noon to 4pm on Saturdays. Sapona Green Building Center is located at 716 S. 17th Street in Wilmington; you may contact them at (910)762-1505 or www.saponagreen.com.

Navigating Leadership series: Being Green in Your Business

Being green in the business world can lead to increased profitability, both by decreasing operating expenses and by increasing market share in a world where more customers want to spend their money on greener products or services. This workshop is for representatives of any business or organization interested in introducing or expanding a greener approach to their

Life in Trolldom

enterprise, and who are looking for ways to help their business behave in a more environmentally-sensitive manner.

Workshop will be Tuesday, November 10, 2009 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Hanover County Public Library - Northeast Branch (Oak Room) - Wilmington. Registration deadline is Thursday, November 5; Cost is $99. For more information or to register, contact Registrar Jan Beyma at 910-962-3195.

Really Really Free Market

Wilmington’s Really Really Free Market (RRFM) is held on the first Sunday of each month from noon to 2p.m. at the Community Action Center located at 317 Castle Street (at the corner of 4th and Castle Streets). The RRFM is a temporary market formed to counteract capitalism by building a community based on sharing resources and services. Bring what you don’t need and take what you want! Share a skill: haircuts, bike repair, screen printing, music, etc.

If you have bikes, bike parts or bike tools that you no longer need you can drop them off at the RRFM. Also, if you know how to repair bikes and would be willing to teach some people at the RRFM, contact herofest@ gmail.com to volun-

teer. The organization plans to get a large number of kids’ bikes into the community for the upcoming holiday season.

Electronics2You

An energy management system installed by Jason Walter’s Wilmington-based company, Electronics2You, was featured in the October 2009 issue of national publication, Electronic House. The article describes the system installed in Wilmington’s first LEED platinum home, built by Mark Johnson Custom Homes (see our cover). Read the article at http://electronics2you.com/press, or visit www.electronics2you.com.

Promote Air Quality

Do you know someone who needs help to stop smoking? Want to replace cigarette smoke with healthy fresh air? A new Smoking Cessation Support Group is starting Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. at the Open Space, 411 Chestnut Street, Wilmington. Contact JoAnne Likens at joanne@serenityquest.net for information.

Package funds?

community garden news

Woodsong Community Garden Opens

The Woodsong Community Garden is now open and ready for planting at the corner of Verdant Street and Piccolo Lane and reflects the growing movement toward local, healthy foods. It has been designed and built as a small model of sustainability for growing good food and enjoying a shared activity with neighbors. Natural techniques for soil nourishment, weed and pest control will be emphasized and a compost bin will be provided as well to help “grow”good soil. Predominately non-toxic building materials were used, including locally harvested juniper from the Green Swamp for the raised bed plots and the cistern enclosure, reclaimed fallen pine lightwood for the arbor and existing on-site topsoil for border berms. The garden walkpaths are the existing soil and are

completely pervious. The garden will also serve as another gathering spot in Woodsong to meet friends, watch others garden and learn from occasional classes held there.

Dedication of the Woodsong Community Garden was held on September 30, and an initial gardening class conducted by Al Hight, County Director of the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service.

photo courtesy of Woodsong

The elevated “water tower” used for irrigation is fed by an underground well via solar-powered pump. This means no water or electricity will be purchased by the homeowners to operate the garden.

Woodsong has always been walkable and now it is more walkable than ever with a new nature trail that will connect its residents from Galt Park through a beautiful stand of mature pines to the sidewalk on NC 179. This will enable all Woodsong residents to be within walking distance of a nearby shopping center, close to the library and have a continuous sidewalk connection to downtown. An entrance arbor and sitting area is being constructed at the NC 179 entrance.

Woodsong is a Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) located in the small coastal town of Shallotte, in Brunswick County, NC. One of few authentic North Carolina green communities, Woodsong received the first ever Outstanding Recognition award for environmental excellence awarded by the Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Development Award Program in 2005.

Woodsong founder Buddy Milliken, was a panelist at the Cape Fear Green Building Alliance meeting on July 8, 2009 in Wilmington, where the topic was Sustainable Community Planning. Milliken spoke about sustainability from the real estate development perspective and the importance of social considerations. Learn more about Woodsong at www.villageofwoodsong. com or call (910)754-9292.

This colorfast beeswax medium is free of all toxic chemicals used in traditional mediums.

Greg Patch, Artist

Farmers Market Vendor Achieves AWA Certification

Poplar Grove Vendor Maintains Gold Standard in Animal Care

Whispering Dove Goat Ranch & Apiary received its certificates of compliance from the Animal Welfare Approved program on August 24, 2009. Owners Dale and Linda Klose have achieved the standards required for use of the Animal Welfare Approved label and logo on their goat, lamb and eggs. Their animal husbandry practices have earned their ranch the gold standard in the industry.

Products from the Kloses’ ranch may be found at Poplar Grove Farmer’s Market in Wilmington, Onslow County Farmer’s Market and their ranch located in Jacksonville, North Carolina. For more information about Whispering Dove Goat Ranch & Apiary please visit www.ncagr.gov/wdbgr.htm. The standards and requirements of Animal Welfare Approved may be found at www.animalwelfareapproved.org.

Local Farmer’s Market Receives North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Grant

The North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission has announced that Poplar Grove Plantation in Wilmington is the recipient of a $50,000 grant for improve -

ments to its Farmers Market. The Poplar Grove Farmers Market was opened in 2007 to serve the public by offering high quality, locally grown or produced food to the community, and to provide an outlet for North Carolina farmers, artists and small businesses to sell their goods.

Since the market opened, the public has entered and exited by dirt driveways, then parked on the front lawn. The funds awarded will be used to grade, fill, mark, and fence in the parking area. In addition to an increase in available parking, the new lot allows for van accessible spaces, and improved vehicle and pedestrian safety.

The Tobacco Trust Fund Commission was established in 2000 by the NC General

Assembly to manage funds that are part of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. Grants target farm areas that have historically depended upon tobacco income through farming or tobacco-related businesses. The funding will support continued success of this Wednesday morning market, visited by more than 15,000 customers annually. Allowing this market to grow helps the local farmers and local economy.

Poplar Grove’s Farmers Market is open every Wednesday from 8:00a.m. until 1:00p.m. mid-April through mid December. It is located at 10200 US Highway 17, Wilmington at the Pender County line. Visit the market on line at www.poplargrove.com.

photo by Jeanne Walker | Poplar Grove Plantation Dale and Linda Klose are regular vendors at Poplar Grove’s Farmers Market.

photo courtesy of Poplar Grove Plantation Poplar Grove Farmers Market is a popular Wednesday morning destination for area shoppers.

your ecological house™ Off the Lawn, Please!

by Skip Wenz

My close friend was upset with me. After reading my last column denouncing America’s 40,400 square miles of lawn as an environmental disaster, he told me that the next time he comes by my house he wants to see my entire lawn gone—dug up and planted with vegetables! He lives in a wooded area, and he thinks of lawns as open spaces that provide light and views, not as the “green deserts” that many environmentalists call them.

He has a point. Lawns have their place. They open and define space around the home, while giving the kids and dogs a place to romp. They’re wonderful for picnics and gatherings in parks, and essential for soccer fields. But like so many aspects of American culture, our lawn fetish has

been indulged excessively and must be curbed.

So as a pragmatic environmentalist, I don’t recommend converting all of America’s lawn area to other uses; about half would be a good start. By replacing half our lawns with productive landscaping, we can reduce the 60 percent of our precious potable water supply currently used for irrigating them to about 30 percent. (Because of their shallow roots, lawns use far more water per area planted than most other residential plantings.) We could also cut in half the 58 million gallons of gasoline we consume mowing lawns. And we could cut our annual lawn-maintenance budget from $29 billion to $15 billion, or from an average of $1,200 per household to $600.

I’ve converted about 40 percent of my lawn to other uses and plan to convert about 20 percent more. I seldom water and apply no chemicals to the remaining lawn. It thrives when it rains; turns brown when it’s dry. In addition to more food, more privacy, and more interesting things than an expanse of lawn to look at, I have more time because I do less mowing—with my electric mower, which is less polluting than gas mowers.

On your converted lawn areas, you can produce food, plant privacy and sun screens, grow native plants, and provide shelter for animals. I discourage purely decorative planting, unless the decorative plants simultaneously enhance biodiversity or support useful fauna, which usually means they are natives or—like Bee Balm plants—are a boon to pollinators. Decoratives should also be robust, surviving with few, if any, inputs of water and chemicals.

Converting your lawn is easy, and there is no need to dig it up. Begin by adopting a permaculture and organic gardening technique called “sheet mulching” to kill the grass. Flatten some recycled cardboard boxes into sheets, remove as much of the plastic tape as you can, and lay the boxes over the area of lawn you want to convert. (Save time and energy by using refrigerator or bicycle boxes—they cover a large area.)

Put wood chips or leaf mulch on top of the cardboard to hold it down and maintain your yard’s appearance. In the dry season, it helps to water the sheet mulch as you would your lawn, about once a week, to encourage worms and microorganisms to break down the cardboard and dead grass.

If you’re planning to plant shrubbery, you can cut holes through the cardboard as soon as it’s in place, pop in your plants, and add a little organic fertilizer to get them started. The lawn will continue to die around them, releasing nutrients into the soil, and as the shrubs take over the area in a couple of years they will tend to shade out any lawn that tries to grow beneath them.

If you’re growing food or putting in ground cover, you’ll have to wait two to three months until the lawn is completely dead and at least partially absorbed into the soil. By that time the cardboard will have disintegrated as well, and you can plant by scraping back the wood chips or mulch and placing seed or starts. (Don’t turn wood chips into the soil; they rob it of nitrogen as they break down.)

Converting at least a part of your lawn to what I view as better uses need not be a sacrifice made for the environment; it can benefit both you and the environment at your ecological house.

© Philip S. Wenz, 2009 Philip S. (Skip) Wenz is a freelance writer specializing in ecological design issues. He was a general contractor, residential designer, teacher and writer in the San Francisco Bay Area. In the early 1990s he founded, and for ten years directed, the Ecological Design Program at the San Francisco Institute of Architecture. He also teaches “Creating Your Ecological House” at Berkeley’s Building Education Center and wrote the book, Adding to a House (Taunton Press, 1995). Skip now lives with his wife, Pam, in Corvallis, Oregon and divides his time between various writing projects and retrofitting his older home to be more environmentally friendly. He may be reached by email through his Web site at www.your-ecological-house.com.

Comment Period on Titan Draft Air Permit Extended

The North Carolina Division of Air Quality has agreed to extend the comment period for Titan America’s draft air permit until November 20. The period for public comments had been scheduled to end October 30.

The North Carolina Coastal Federation and the Southern Environmental Law Center had made separate requests to Keith Overcash, the division’s director, to extend the original 45-day period for public comments on Titan’s controversial proposal to build a cement kiln and strip mine near Wilmington. The federation had urged the state to extend the permit until Nov. 30 to allow more time for citizens to prepare comments after the public hearings on the draft permit. Those hearings are scheduled for Oct. 20 in Wilmington.

“The ten days that the division had originally provided were woefully inadequate for citizens to attend the hearing and then make comments on this very complex permit and issue,” said Mike Giles, Cape Fear Coastkeeper.

Titan Cement proposes building a large, state-of-the-art cement facility in Castle Hayne, on the site of the former Ideal Cement Plant. Under the name of Carolinas Cement, they propose a clean, modern facility that some applaud as a source of jobs and revenue. Area environmentalists are concerned about the track record of a historically polluting industry, whose processes by definition release carbon monoxide, mercury and a host of other toxins.

Several permits must be obtained before the facility can be built; the air quality permit is only the first of these. Processing of all necessary permits is expected to take a couple of years.

On September 11 the state issued Titan Cement a draft air permit authorizing the construction and operation of the “emission source(s) and associated air pollution control device(s)”—the cement plant proposed by Titan. The state has scheduled two public hearings on Tuesday, October 20, in the BB&T Auditorium on the Northeast Campus of Cape Fear Community College, 4500 Blue Clay Rd., in Castle Hayne. The hearings will be from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and again from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., and their purpose is to allow members of the public to voice opinions before the final air permit is issued. Those who cannot attend, or who prefer to send comments via mail or email, can submit them to Donald Van der Vaart, Chief, Air Permits Section, NC Division of Air Quality, 1641 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699 or donald.vandervaart@ncdenr.org.

The draft air permit can be reviewed on the Division of Air Quality Web site (listed below); at its regional office at 127 Cardinal Drive Extension, in Wilmington; or at the Division’s Central Office in the Parker Lincoln Building, 2728 Capital Blvd., in Raleigh. For more information about cement production and the implications of bringing such industry in our area, visit:

Titan Cement

• www.carolinascementproject.com &

• www.titanamerica.com

Stop Titan Grassroots Movement

• http://stoptitan.org

NC Division of Air Quality

• http://daq.state.nc.us/permits/psd/titan. shtml

League of Women Voters

• http://bettergov.nc.lwvnet.org/PositionTitan.html

Contact Giles at 910-790-3275 or at capefearcoastkeeper@nccoast.org for questions about the hearing process and the draft permit itself.

NCDOT Accepting Proposals for 2010 Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grants

Helps communities develop comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian plans

The N.C. Department of Transportation is accepting proposals from communities for the 2010 Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grant Initiative. The program gives municipalities across the state an opportunity to develop comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian plans. The deadline for application submittal is Friday, Dec. 4, at 5 p.m. Award recipients will be notified in June of 2010.

“Developing a good local plan is the first step in establishing comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian programs,” Transportation Secretary Gene Conti said. “With this grant program, it is our goal to ensure that communities throughout the state have the tools to develop plans that help achieve their long-term transportation goals.”

This program is sponsored by the department’s Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation and the Transportation Planning Branch. Nearly $2.3 million has been awarded through this program to 92 municipalities across the state since it began in 2004.

Proposals are divided and judged in geographical groups to help establish equitable distribution of funding across the state, and a diverse mix of large and small municipalities. Plans funded are not for one specific project, but represent a comprehensive strategy for expanding bicycle and pedestrian opportunities within a given municipality. These plans address facilities, programs,services and regulations that encourage safe walking and bicycling.

For more information on the Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grant Initiative, contact Bob Mosher at (919) 807-0773 or via e-mail at rmosher@ncdot.gov; John Vine-Hodge at (919) 807-0772 or javinehodge@ncdot.gov; or Helen Chaney at (919) 807-0780 or hmchaney@ncdot.gov.

Kayaks and canoes resting at the base of Holland’s Restaurant in Holly Shelter are a clue that the Cape Fear River Watch paddlers are inside enjoying seafood, five miles into their trip. Photo was taken from inside restaurant.

October Clean-Up: Island 13

Cape Fear River Watch’s monthly clean-up series continues on Sunday, October 25 with an assault on the trash littering one of the dredge spoil islands in the Cape Fear River. They’ll partner with the UNCW Outdoor Programs and the Graduate Student Association to take on Island 13. This will be a clean-up similar to last year’s Keg Island clean-up. If you have a canoe or kayak, launch from the Watermark Marina (at the end of Independence Boulevard) for the short paddle over to the island. You don’t have to own a boat to participate: CFRW can provide a limited number of kayaks, and will also shuttle trash hunters to the island. CFRW

Wilmington’s Day of Climate Action

Saturday October 24 5–10pm

Come to downtown Wilmington’s riverfront for an evening of live music, inspiring speakers, a choreographed dance by UNCW students, an action tent, a children’s activity tent, and “green” vendors and organizations.

Be part of this international day of action, to shift our mindsets to a more conscious, cleaner future.

Cape Fear River Watch Paddle Series

Cape Fear River Watch’s September paddle was a gentle 6-mile trip up Shelter Creek in Pender County. Veteran and beginning paddlers using kayaks and canoes put in at the Whitestocking Road wildlife ramp on the Northeast Cape Fear River, and paddled up Shelter Creek to the wildlife ramp just east of Shaw Highway.

October’s paddle on October 17 will be on the Brunswick River and will end in a cookout on the river. This trip will go from Navassa’s Davis Creek to Belville’s Brunswick River Park by way of the Cape Fear River and Alligator Creek (about 5 ½ miles.) The group will set up grills at the park for a picnic at the end. Nonpaddlers are welcome to join the group for the picnic by the river. Meet up at Cape Fear River Watch (CFRW) at 9:00am for a caravan to Davis Creek and subsequent car shuttle to the take-out. Afew CFRW canoes and kayaks are available to CFRW members without boats. Contact Kemp Burdette to RSVP for this paddle or to reserve a CFRW boat. Call (910)762-5606 or email kemp@cfrw.us.

will provide bags, gloves, tools and bottled water. Contact Kemp Burdette (kemp@ cfrw.us) to RSVP or for details.

photo by Valerie Robertson Paddlers prepare to resume their trip after lunch.

photo by Ron Dutton

photo by Valerie Robertson CFRW paddles the last leg of September’s outing, viewed here from the bridge over Shaw Highway.