I looked around the kitchen…where to begin? The “Kill-a-watt” I had brought home promised to help me track how much energy various things around the house use while plugged in. You just plug the Kill-a-watt into an outlet, then attach any device and it tells how much juice the item uses.
I wanted to test the fridge—before and after vacuuming the coils. Americans spend about 8% of their residential electric bill cooling their food, and cleaning those coils is supposed to cut this by almost a third. But I can’t move the fridge by myself to vacuum behind it, so I’d have to wait.
As I continued looking around the kitchen, mentally checking off the various appliances, I noticed something even scarier than the lint buildup on my refrigerator coils: The charger for my land line was plugged into the wall. Now, I cancelled that land line service six months ago. And here I was, continuing to charge my phone! How much energy had I squandered since then?
The Kill-a-watt gave me the news: over six months, approximately $1.85. Hm, not so bad. Or is it?
I like to think of myself as fairly conscious of my footprint, sparing in my use of resources, a champion of conservation—and here I was, using electricity to charge a disabled phone. Even at a buck and some change I didn’t feel very good about this.
In North Carolina, 60% of our energy comes from the burning of coal. We don’t have any coal here, so we pay other states to dig up their coal and truck it here to burn in our power plants. It’s still relatively cheap, and most of us have had electricity on demand our whole lives, so it’s easy to take it for granted. And electricity seems so clean—it’s easy to ignore the emissions coming from those power plants, or the health cost to those miners in West Virginia.
Until we have to “fill up” our electricity, like we do our automobile gas tanks, it’ll continue to be easy to miss those little energy drains here and there. Sometimes it takes just a slightly different perspective—a watt’s eye view, as it were—to jolt us out of our habits.
I think the Kill-a-watt has already paid for itself. Now if I can just get that refrigerator vacuumed…
Valerie L. Robertson Editor3 Green Lessons from 1861—Bellamy Mansion Museum
6 Sustainable Design Collaborative Makes House Calls
8 Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Development Award Winners
10 Green Business News
12 Your Ecological House Adventures with Trash and Treasure
13 Stormwater 101—Yard Waste: Don’t Blow It!
14 Fire in the Lakes Festival
15 Pet Adoption—Recycling Dogs
17 Business News & Upcoming Events
19 Education & Business News
18 Fish Restoration Goal of 2011 CFRW Invitational
Striper Tournament
19 Environmental Education
21 Business News
22 North Carolina Birders Contribute to Citizen Science During Great Backyard Bird Count
23 Christmas Bird Count
Front Cover: Reviewing the design concepts of our historic buildings reveals many tried and true “green” concepts we can incorporate into the renovations and new building construction of today.
Photo courtesy of Bellamy Mansion Museum / Gene Ayscue
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: Gene Ayscue, Jennifer Butler, Madeline Flagler, the Kuuskoski family, Shawn Ralston, Adeline Robertson, Lewis Scharpf, Philip S. Wenz, Melissa Wilgis, Kelly Windhaven, and Andy Wood.
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 140 area eco-friendly businesses and locations, including:
Angela’s Pepper-Pickled Foods, B + O Design Studio, Cape Fear Green Solutions, Carolina Green Building, Mitzy Jonkheer Jewelry Art Studio, Old Books on Front Street, Old Growth Riverwood, Pomegranate Books, Port City Java, Progressive Gardens, Sapona Green Building Center, Tidal Creek Co-op, UNCW, WHQR, Wild Bird & Garden, 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.
RobertsonCape Fear’s Going Green is distributed free through Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, Onslow, and Pender counties. If you have a business and would like to receive multiple copies for the public to pick up, please contact us.
When we think of green building, it’s easy to only look forward: to new or innovative technology. But designing to maximize comfort while conserving resources is not a new idea. We can learn much by studying older buildings.
Construction on the Bellamy Mansion was begun in the fall of 1859, before central heat, air conditioning, city water, sewer, or trash service, electricity, refrigerators, fans, washing machines and dryers. When the Bellamys moved in in 1861, they had no idea what fossil fuel was, much less were dependent on it. Even though
the mansion may seem large and opulent by today’s standards, the Bellamys were interested in conserving resources and saving money, too. A walk through the house with a critical eye can help illustrate many conservation ideas we may be able to use in our own homes.
From the outbuildings along the back of the property to the mansion’s daylight basement, from the main floor pocket windows to the belvedere at the mansion’s very top, most of the home’s design features come down to control of temperature, light, and air movement—all concerns of today’s coastal Carolina dwellers.
Let’s start in the yard, where a stone slab covers the 6,000-gallon, brick-lined cistern. The home’s gutter system drains rainwater from the roof to two catch basins on either side of the back entrance, and then into the cistern. This water was in turn pumped by hand into the house each day, to the kitchen for use in cooking and cleaning, and also up to an attic-floor water tank to a gravity-fed water system for use throughout the house.
The carriage house, one of the two remaining outbuildings, stabled the horses, the nineteeth-century mode of transportation corresponding to our gas-fed automobiles. It also housed the family cow, which produced fresh milk. The poultry shed—long-gone—provided fresh eggs and chickens for the dinner table. Today’s local food movement would love this! The animals ate scraps from the kitchen and in turn produced fertilizer for the gardens.
Water pumped from the cistern was stored in this zinc-lined oak water tank on the top floor, where the children spent much of their time. Also pictured here is a baby’s bath tub. A gravity-fed system carried water to the original bathroom on the floor below, for use in bathing.
construction provide shade and insulation from the elements.
As you enter the back of the house at the lowest level, you walk into the “English” or “daylight” basement. Instead of being completely below ground, half of an English basement is buried below ground—for coolness in summer and moderate temperatures in the winter—
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“It has been suggested by my friends that I write a description of my home, 503 Market Street, and add to my Memoirs which I began to write April, 1937, now nearly two years ago.” wrote Ellen Douglas Bellamy. One of the nine children who lived in the house, Ellen was nine years old in 1861 when the house was completed. Her story of daily living offers a look at what it was like to live in such a house in the 1860s.
Of the second-floor windows leading out to balconies overlooking the front porch: “The tops of these windows are arched beautifully but hard for fitting curtains.”
system
the
the roof.
the back of the house, where it descends through one of two downspouts into a catch basin and then into a 6,000-gallon bricklined cistern in the back yard.
Originally, water for use in the house was pumped each morning from the cistern up to a storage tank on the attic story of the house (behind the small shuttered window on top floor). Although the advent of city-wide plumping caused local cisterns to be decommissioned in the 1940s, the Bellamy Mansion cistern still fills when it rains; some of the water is used to hand-irrigate the gardens.
In the other corner of the yard, the slave quarters with its laundry room still stand. The laundry was done here to keep the heat and moisture away from the Bellamy home; the laundry was hung outside to dry on clothes lines. No electric or gas washers or dryers here.
The garden has crushed oyster shell pathways—a permeable surface so rain water is returned directly to the water table and topsoil is not washed away. Trees planted after the home’s
Ellen Douglas Bellamy’s memoir, Back with the Tide, is available at the Bellamy Mansion Museum gift shop, open museum hours.
The Bellamy Mansion Museum of History and Design Arts is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday. Guided tours are given on the hour, and self-guided audio tours are available:
Tuesday – Saturday 10am to 5pm
Sunday 1pm to 5pm
Admission $10 adults; $4 children 5–12. Contact the museum for group tours. (910)251-3700 or www.bellamymansion.org
Green Lessons from 1861 – continued
while half is above ground, giving air and light, creating more livable space than a full basement. This is actually a medieval Italian villa design that was carried to England and then on to America.
The house’s south-facing façade allows all the front rooms to receive the full force of winter light. Large “pocket” windows— they slide into the wall to maximize open space and airflow—allow the porch to easily be used as an additional living area. Opened just a few inches, and coordinated with the opening of the belvedere windows, they can create an airflow that is surprisingly effective in moving the air throughout the house.
In the formal parlors huge gilded mirrors not only add to the rooms’ elegant ambience but reflect the natural light flooding the room through the large pocket windows, helping to brighten and warm the rooms in winter. This was augmented by the suspended gasoliers.
The first gas used in Wilmington for lighting was tar gas, manufactured (or recycled) from a by-product of the local tar and turpentine industry.
The two-story porch allows the upper windows to receive light in winter when the sun is low, but blocks heat and light from entering on long summer days.
All the windows on the outbuildings as well as the main house have working shutters with moveable louvers. This allows the windows to stay open in summer with the shutters closed during the day to provide shade, while the louvers can be adjusted to aid in allowing movement of air. The shutters can be adjusted to allow cooler night air to enter the house.
On all three floors central halls with windows or doors at each end allow the free flow of breezes through the house. Even on the third floor, where the roof design leaves little room for exterior windows,
Wilmington boasts many examples, new and old, of the green designs found in the Bellamy Mansion:
– A working belvedere can be seen on the de Rosset House. 23 So. Second Street.
– Williston Middle School has a new 2,500-gallon above-ground cistern, wrapped with wood, that collects rainwater used for irrigation and mitigating flooding. 401 So. 10th Street.
– The Latimer House features a daylight basement containing areas for cooking and eating. 126 So. Third Street. Look for others across the downtown historic area.
– A 2,500-gallon above-ground cistern can be seen in a demonstration site next to the New Hanover Government Center offices. 230 Government Center Drive.
The square belvedere atop the Bellamy Mansion served as an early form of air conditioning. Hot air collecting under the black roof rises into the belvedere through louvered openings; opening the belvedere windows allows the air to continue up and out of the house.
Wide overhangs over the wrap-around porch shade south-facing upper windows from the hot sun in summer but allow more sunlight to enter the house in winter, when the sun is lower in the sky.
White pathways through the formal gardens, made of crushed oyster shells, were used by Mrs. Bellamy to define her decorative gardens, with the added beneift of allowing rain to filter into the ground rather than pool in the yard.
– Pervious paving has been installed in the parking lots of Best Buy, Independence Mall, the YMCA, and in Toomers Alley next to Bailey Theater Park. 12 No. Front Street.
– The roof of the NC Aquarium at Ft. Fisher was designed with six movable translucent panels over the conservatory that can be opened to aid circulation by venting hot air, or to allow rain and direct sunlight into the space.
Why not walk (or drive) by and see how many you can spot?
We’d love to hear what you discover! Write us at editor@ GoingGreenPublications.com, or send us photos of such features from your town.
Green Lessons from 1861 – continued
interior windows leading from the side rooms to interior hallways promote ventilation.
earth day
Environment support, action
cyclists!
Council promoting entrepreneurship as growth, income (CFGBA) environmentally live Science stories cultures programs.
Association Carolina personal communi-
ty to learn beekeeping and to stay up-to-date on successful beekeeping. email: methods.gldeagle@bellsouth.net
Cape Fear River Watch
The crowning touch of the house is the belvedere—or “beautiful view” in Italian. This small room right on top of the mansion is typical of Italianate architecture and is also extremely functional. Windows on all sides of it can be opened to encourage ventilation from the lower floors throughout the house. In addition, the louvered vents just under the windows are connected to the air space under the roof. Heat can build up quickly under the house’s black metal roof: these vents allow it to dissipate through the belvedere. On a warm day this air literally pours out, drawing cooler air in behind it, much as an attic fan does today.
Environmental education, advocacy and action for the Lower Cape Fear River basin. www.cfrw.us
Carolina Farm Stewardship Association
As we increasingly think about conservation, depletion of natural resources, and ways to reduce our footprint, it’s useful to realize that we have a rich, centuries-old green building heritage to draw upon. Before the days of heat pumps, program-
Carolina Farm Stewardship Association’s mission is to promote local and organic agriculture in the Carolinas by inspiring, educating and organizing farmers and consumers. Produces Carolina Guide to Local & Organic Food. www.carolinafarmstewards.org
Center for Environmental Farming Systems
Historic Wilmington Foundation offers a variety of services for owners of historic buildings, from educational programs to assisting with resources. They offer workshops on restoration of everything from wooden windows to cemeteries. Their website provides links to preservation resources, and they hold a tour of historic homes in April.
The Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) develops and promotes food and farming systems that protect the environment, strengthen local communities, and provide economic opportunities in North Carolina and beyond. CEFS is one of the nation’s largest centers for the study of environmentally sustainable farming practices. www.cefs.ncsu.edu
City of Wilmington Stormwater Services
A new service offered by the Historic Wilmington Foundation is their “Preservation Resources Network,” a special membership group of area professionals who work, consult, or invest in the field of historic preservation.
Maintains and improves the City’s stormwater drainage system for the protection of the community and the environment. Provides comprehensive stormwater management that takes into account both the quantity and quality of stormwater runoff. Stormwater education, outreach, and public involvement are important components of this mission. www.wilmingtonnc.gov
Coastal Conservation Association (CCA)–Cape Fear Chapter
If you need a professional, this resource can help you find historic preservation professionals to work on your property. If you offer a preservation service and would like to join the Preservation Resources Network, please contact the Foundation office.
Historic Wilmington Foundation will relocate in February 2011 to the Superintendant’s Lodge of the Wilmington National Cemetery, 2011 Market Street. www.historicwilmington.org (910)762-2511
The purpose of Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina is to advise and educate the public on conservation of marine resources. The objective of CCA is to conserve, promote and enhance the present and future availability of these coastal resources for the benefit and enjoyment of the general public. www.capefearcca.com
mable thermostats, and hot water on demand, previous generations were of necessity savvy about home design that would make their living spaces as comfortable and functional as possible, with little waste of available resources. Although each generation faces unique challenges, we can almost always learn something by studying how previous ones built their homes.
Dogwood Alliance
Nonprofit works to educate people about the importance of forests and the negative environmental impacts of business-as-usual paper production. Having achieved systemic change throughout the paper industry through public campaigns against office super stores--the largest retail paper sellers in the U.S.--they are now addressing protection for Southern forests and forests all over the world. www.dogwoodalliance.org
Earth Day Alliance
Organizers of the Lower Cape Fear Celebration of Earth Day. www.wilmingtonearthday.com
Madeline Flagler, Director of Wrightsville Beach Museum, was for eight years the Education Director and Volunteer Coordinator for Bellamy Mansion Museum where she developed and led “green tours” for adults and school groups using much of the information in this article.
Electric Vehicle Automobile Association (EVAA) – Coastal Carolinas / Wilmington Local chapter provides e-mail of current developments and legislation www.eaaev.org or e-mail: pagepaterson@mac. com
Flagler lives in Wilmington with her husband, black dog, orange cat and three fish. She and her husband have two grown daughters.
(continued on page 14)
There is plenty of advice out there for folks preparing to sell their houses to help make them more marketable: invest any spruce-up dollars in the kitchen and bathroom, for instance, or in curb appeal and aesthetics. But what if you plan to keep your house, and want to make it a more efficient, comfortable and healthful place to live?
Today’s economy has many homeowners deciding to stay put. Making the most of the home you already have can be satisfying and thought-provoking, and ultimately be one of the greenest choices possible. Green information and technology is more accessible than ever to the average homeowner. But all this information can be overwhelming: it’s hard to know where to begin, or even where to end.
Navigating the maze of tax credits, sustainable landscaping, and energy efficient windows, appliances and lighting can be confusing. What projects will give you the most return for your money and effort? And what is best for the health of your family? Solar hot water or tankless? Add a sun porch or seal the crawl space? Tear up that ‘70s carpet or clean the ductwork?
Wouldn’t it make sense to hire a team of professionals to assess your entire house and property for efficiency and sustainability? They would come look into and under everything, ask plenty of questions to determine your needs and interests, then write a comprehensive plan outlining the steps you might take to meet your goals. You’d then be able to work on your house at your own pace and budget, knowing that you were making the most of your time and money.
Wilmington now has just such a resource available: the Sustainable Design Collaborative (SDC), where a half dozen “green” professionals have joined forces to help homeowners make smarter choices. Combining the disciplines of architect, contractor, landscape architect, interior designer, and energy rater, the team at SDC offers area homeowners a chance to map out their property and prioritize their remodeling projects with the entire system in mind. (See photo caption this page for the complete list of specialties represented.)
In today’s economic climate, people are inclined to keep their homes longer, renovating instead of trading up. Investing one’s remodeling dollars carefully can result in a home that costs less to heat and cool and is more comfortable to live in. Architect and SDC organizer Jay DeChesere has been assessing the housing market, and is concerned that “such a great percentage of existing houses are so energy-inefficient.”
The members of SDC joined forces with just this in mind. According to industry estimates, retrofitting a building using green concepts can reduce its operating cost by an average of 8.5%.
Not only are we increasingly cost- and energy-conscious, we are becoming more aware of how our home’s design and
construction affects our health, and the health of the planet. Often it seems we are being asked to choose between one or the other.
Fitting together these pieces of the puzzle can be challenging—and that’s where the SDC comes in. By combining their various skill sets with their knowledge of local code and permitting needs, they offer the homeowner an unusually complete view of their property
And their integrated team approach means the homeowner comes away with a plan that makes sense as a whole. The SDC likes to use the analogy of treating the human body when they describe their approach: just as a person might enjoy better
health if their doctor were to treat them as an entire system, so too a house benefits from being viewed as an integrated whole rather than as a collection of unrelated parts.
”If you affect one part of the ecosystem, it’s going to affect the rest, and the same thing applies to our houses,” says general contractor Bill Christopher. By considering the entire package at once, the group is able to make suggestions that make sense not only economically but systemically. “If you think about something in advance— holistically—you’re less likely to have to come back to it later,” adds Lara Berkley. A landscape architect, she is usually not called into a project until near the end, but relishes the opportunity to offer input right at the start.
Most remodeling or building projects are conducted in a linear fashion. Architect Scott Ogden calls this the “kick the can” method, where the project gets worked on by one professional or group, then handed off to the next with little continuity. “Most people don’t know there’s another way of doing things.” he says. The SDC teams finds there are great benefits to all of them being involved from the beginning. This team approach fosters a heightened awareness of what is happening in each area, and often results in more creative and efficient solutions throughout the home. Team members enjoy learning about one another’s fields. Interior designer Jennifer France explains how a recent client benefited from their collective approach when called in to address a mildew problem. “[Whereas before] they might have gone in and retiled the bathroom to get rid of the moldy smell, in fact it was their HVAC that was the problem.”
SDC members first worked as a group when they were part of the team DeChesere assembled to renovate his parents’ home, where he now lives. All members of the Cape Fear Green Building Alliance, they shared an emphasis on energy efficiency in their various industries. Christopher remembers that as the end of that project drew near, they were sad to think of everybody disbanding and moving on. “We started wondering if there was something else we could do with what we had started.” France
adds “Jay’s enthusiasm for that project was contagious, and I think that carried all the way through and set up the groundwork for this collaboration.”
After this first project was so successful, (see page 10 for more about the award-winning Talon Court renovation) the group decided to continue making their innovative approach to home assessment available to area residents. “Most consultants work in a
linear, product-driven way,” says DeChesere. “Here, everybody understands the value of all the consultants coming together as they design a project.
Hiring the group starts at $500 for a 1,500 square foot home, with additional services available as requested or needed. The homeowner fills out a questionnaire designed to identify areas of concern as well as plans and dreams for the home. The team then visits the site to do a sustainability assessment and analyze all the systems of the house. They then prepare a comprehensive written report with prioritized steps designed to help protect the house and meet the homeowner’s stated goals—including available incentives. Team members then meet with the home-owner to answer any follow-up questions.
The report is merely a road map: there is no requirement that the homeowner buy a particular brand or service, although some people choose to. Having gotten acquainted with the members of the team, some feel most comfortable hiring the companies represented by members of the SDC when it’s time to tackle one of the projects on the list.
The homeowner can then choose to implement any or all of the recommendations in the plan, on their own timeline and as their interest and finances permit. The team is available in an advisory capacity if
the homeowner has questions about their particular projects. “By the time people complete the assessment with the team, they have all the answers in one room,” says DeChesere.
Suggestions for homeowners considering a remodel? Consult the group early on to save money. “Homeowners usually call me after they’ve done a number of things.” says energy rater Mark Jabaley. Although spending money on a report that one might otherwise be putting toward a new heating system or correcting a drainage issue may seem unusual, in the long run the cost savings of planning ahead can be significant. Hiring each of the various professionals individually to do a home study would add up quickly. “We give the homeowner the analysis,” says France,” and we’ve done it in a really cost-effective way.”
And SDC members are taking this team model to heart—and back into their own fields of expertise. “The collaborative model is so useful I have been trying to use it more in my own field, by bringing together the plumber, the electrician, the framer, the insulator,” says Jabaley. “If I can get them talking, then everybody understands the common goals and can work together more efficiently. “
Learn more about the Sustainable Design Collaborative and find links to each member’s individual business at http://sdc-team.com.
When Shawn Ralston got behind the podium at the Sixth Annual Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Development Awards ceremony, she explained that she was missing one slide she’d wanted to present. Earlier in the day she had gone online to Google Earth, intending to capture a snapshot of Blue Heron Ranch development. She wanted an aerial view she could show during the awards banquet to show how little this award candidate had disturbed the trees. The problem was, she couldn’t even see the development from the air, as it was obscured by the trees. “I tried to pull it up, but you couldn’t see the houses,” she said.
More and more developers are rethinking the traditional building approach that dictates that clearing a lot is
2010 Award Winners
Outstanding Stewardship
James E. L. Wade Park – Wilmington
Significant Achievement
Midori on 29th – Wilmington
Special Recognition
Green Roof, New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Betty Cameron Women’s and Children’s Hospital – Wilmington
a necessary first step in any new building construction. The Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Development Award program was established to offer guidelines and encouragement to developers who are willing to try things a new way, with less compromise to the environment. The result can be a property that is good not only for the environment, but for the developer as well, since buyers are increasingly willing to pay more for a home that has well-established trees, or includes features that minimize stormwater runoff.
The program honors development projects in the Lower Cape Fear region that demonstrate outstanding environmental stewardship. Award recipients are honored at an annual Awards Banquet.
This year’s banquet was held in the Brunswick Association of Realtors Building, in Supply, North Carolina. Four projects were given awards for 2010. Below are some details on the award-winning projects.
Blue Heron Ranch (Pender Co.)
Blue Heron Ranch is a 100-acre low density development bordering on Moores Creek
James E. L. Wade Park offers enjoyment of nature coupled with amenities for visitors. It is located on Bethel Road, off Waltmoor Drive in Wilmington.
new and existing construction, but special focus will be placed on their application to existing homes. The curriculum is tailored to prepare trainees for certifications and jobs in the emerging home retrofit industry.
During the on-site training sessions, trainees will be able to apply the techniques they learn in the classroom to existing homes. These green retrofits are being performed through a collaboration with Wilmington Area Rebuilding Ministries (WARM), a non-profit organization that performs repairs on the homes of economically disadvantaged individuals.
Additional grant partners are Building Performance Specialists (BPS) and Sapona Green Building Center. BPS will provide instruction, energy audits and project management for the retrofits. Sapona will act as purchasing agent and materials supplier.
General registration is now open. The complete list of workshop topics and dates is posted below:
May 12 – Building Science/ House Characterization
in Western Pender County. The project is divided into 16 buildable lots of approximately 5 acres each with an additional 20 acres of conservation land. With a large amount of wetland and riparian area on the site, the developers and land owners endeavored to maintain the pristine quality of the area by disturbing as little of the land as possible. Restrictive covenants on the property limit structures to no more than 3500 heated square feet with the area cleared for structures not to exceed 500 square feet over structure footprint. Covenants also strictly regulate the removal of trees on site with allowing only those trees six inches or less in diameter or those whose removal is necessary for placement of primary residence. A variance was granted for the existing and historical access road into the project to allow the developers to keep the road in its preserved state and not impact the surrounding environment with unnecessary improvements.
205 Green Rooftops Green Walls www.mottlandscaping.com (910)254-0500 Award-winning See green roofs at May Envelope May June June July July Aug Aug Characterization Aug Envelope Sept Sept For visit www.cfgba.org
The is a non-profi the mission building CFGBA through industry public. second informational and open
Wade Park is a 17-acre dual purpose park incorporating watershed protection and recreational use in one project. Formerly an industrial site, the land was acquired with funding provided by the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund to construct a 12-acre stormwater wetland for water quality improvement in Hewletts Creek. The project diverted two major stormwater outfalls from the surrounding neighborhoods into the newly constructed wetland in an effort to remove pollutants before discharge back into the creek. This wetland now treats approximately 590 acres or 10% of the entire Hewletts Creek Watershed. Additionally the area now serves as prime habitat for native and migratory birds, animals and plants. Park amenities include a .5 mile path around the wetland with observation boardwalk, picnic shelter, restrooms, playground and interpretive signage throughout. Pervious pavement was use in the parking area and around the picnic shelter and dog waste stations were installed throughout the project to further protect water quality.
Midori
Located in Wilmington’s Beaumont neighborhood, Midori on 29th is a six-home “infill” development on a 0.64-acre site on 29th Street in Wilmington. The buildings take up little space on the lot. Other low impact site improvements include pervious sidewalks and driveways, rain barrels, and site tree preservation. Green building materials and methods were used, and the garages are to be fitted with 240-volt charging stations for electric vehicles. Each home is climate controlled by highly efficient ductless heat pumps and insulated with superior spray foam insulation. Standard interior features will include bamboo flooring, low VOC paint, Energy Star appliances and natural fiber carpeting. The homes are designed to qualify for an Energy Star quality rating as well as a silver rating from N.C. Healthy Built Homes.
This project entails the construction of a green roof on a portion of the new Betty Cameron Women and Children’s addition at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington. The over 1,000 s.f. vegetated roof consists of an impermeable membrane with a heat treated crushed slate planting medium that facilitates the large number of various plantings. Because of the porous nature of the media each square foot is capable of absorbing two gallons of rain water, which necessitates minimal irrigation and significantly reduces stormwater runoff.
The green roof also reduces heating and cooling loads on the building by adding mass and thermal resistance value and by evaporative cooling. (See article on page 11 of the Winter/Spring 2010 issue of Cape Fear’s Going Green, Vol. 3, Iss. 1.)
A Wilmington renovation has been awarded the Outstanding Single Family Award for 2010 by the U.S. Green Building Council at the Greenbuild international conference and expo in Chicago. It is a prestigeous award for a project that had already scored high marks from two certification programs: LEED for Homes and NC HealthyBuilt Homes.
Jay DeChesere’s renovation of his parents’ house on Talon Court utilized an advisory team in addition to a design team. The advisory team consisted of design professionals and a mortgage broker, appraiser, real estate broker and surveyor. The project engaged the members of the Cape Fear Green Building Alliance, a grass roots non-profit educational group, as designers, vendors and subcontractors. The total renovation includes a vast array of green strategies, including geothermal, renewable energy, solar thermal, a green roof, rainwater harvesting, pervious pavement, efficient lighting, and use of recycled, renewable and salvaged materials.
The energy-wasting fireplace was removed and its chimney converted into a light shaft to bring daylight down into the house. A totally new door product was developed using scrap lumber and plywood. A television series is being created documenting the process and an ongoing web site continues beyond project completion.
Ninety-one percent of the construction waste was diverted from the landfill, and the expected post-renovation energy savings are expected to be 72%. The project achieved a “gold” certification from NC HealthyBuilt Homes, and “platinum” from LEED for Homes.
The Talon Court house remains an ongoing learning lab to show ways any homeowner can incorporate “green” into their life. It is a normal suburban home. During the project, DeChesere and his wife purchased the home as their residence. They frequently open their home for the public to view, because this allows the community to see and understand its
many green strategies. This green renovation is North Carolina’s first gut rehab of an existing home under LEED for Homes standards. It was also the first home in the North Carolina to be renovated following the dual path of LEED for Homes and North Carolina’s HealthyBuilt Homes Program.
LEED for Homes is a voluntary, thirdparty certification program developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED promotes the design and construction of high-performance green homes, and encourages the adoption of sustainable practices throughout the building industry. (See www.usgbc.org/homes.)
The NC HealthyBuilt Homes Program provides a certificate for homes meeting “green home guidelines” built by residential builders and developers who practice sustainable, high performance building strategies making the home a comfortable, healthy and affordable place to live. (See http://healthybuilthomes.org/.)
• long-term care
• short-term assistance
• postoperative or new mother care
• medication monitoring
• relief for family or other caregivers
• accompaniment to appointments
• meal preparation
• assistance with daily living
• supplemental assistance in nursing home
• alternative setting care at vacation site
• short-term care for special-needs visitors
On February 1 the Cape Fear Green Building Alliance opened a building performance training center in the Murchison Building in downtown Wilmington. The center will be the permanent home for classes that show workers how to make homes more energy efficient.
Cape Fear Green Building Alliance (CFGBA) is an affiliate of the Building Performance Institute (BPI). As such, it can present BPI-recognized training that is designed to prepare trainees for BPI professional certifications. BPI develops national standards and credentialling for the residential energy efficiency retrofit industry.
The new CFGBA center is funded by a grant awarded by the NC Green Business Fund, with money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. For information on classes, see www.cfgba.org or contact CFGBA Executive Director Joy Allen at (910)470-5697.
Three area companies with a focus on green building ideas have moved to a new location at 1608 Queen Street in Wilmington. Renovated by ILM Design Build, the new location was designed to house not only the ILM offices, but those of CF Rainwater Harvesting and Carolina Green Building.
There will be two local Earth Day celebrations in 2011, both on April 30. Earth Day is offically on April 22, but because Easter falls on April 23 this year, area Earth Day celebration organizers have opted to hold their events the following weekend.
Clear the Air is the theme of the Wilmington celebration, to be held in Hugh MacRae Park on Sunday, April 30 from noon to 6 p.m. For information on being an exhibitor or a vendor, visit www. wilmingtonearthday.com or contact Shannon Culpepper of the Earth Day Alliance at (910)798-4452.
Pender County will hold its celebration at Poplar Grove Plantation this year, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.. It will feature live music as well as nature hikes and a litter clean-up onsite at Abbey Nature Preserve. For more information email the Pender Earth Day Committee at penderearthday@gmail.com or see www.PenderEarthDay.org.
Every other year the Department of Energy sponsors a solar decathlon, where twenty teams of university students are challenged to design and build a fullyfunctional 800 square foot home powered entirely by the sun. The completed homes are dismantled and transported to Washington, D.C. where they are reconstructed into a solar village, open for view by the public and competition judges.
Appalachian State University was selected to be one of this year’s participants.
Each team’s home is judged in ten different arenas, among them Architecture, Comfort, Affordability, Market Appeal, and Energy Balance. The team with the highest points in any one category wins in that discipline, while the team with the highest overall points wins the Decathlon.
Track the process of the North Carolina team on their website as they build their entry, a self-sustaining zero energy home they’ve named The Solar Homestead. The URL for their site is www.thesolarhomestead.com, or you can learn about the all the teams at www.solardecathlon.gov.
Visitors to Boone, North Carolina can request a tour of the Appalachian State entry in process. All the houses will be on display in Washington, D.C. from September 23 to October 2, 2011. The event will be relocated this year to the National Mall’s West Potomac Park, on the bank of the Potomac River along the path between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials.
Twenty teams will participate, one each from Belgium, Canada, China, and New Zealand, and the rest from the United States.
“You must be nuts,” I muttered to myself as I stared into a cardboard box filled with my memorabilia. “Why have you kept all this stuff?”
It was one of two dozen such boxes that I’d accumulated over decades, each one crammed full of the paper trails of my meandering life—outdated clients’ files, old clothing receipts, magazine articles and brochures mixed in with family photos, letters from friends, diplomas and so on. The time had come to sort them out, keep the best and chuck the rest. But where could I put the documents I decided to save so I could refresh my memory, cherish my keepsakes and actually use the reference material? What was the point of sorting through everything if I would just repack the remains into boxes that would sit neglected in our attic for another decade?
So I decided to go on a treasure hunt for more stuff!
But not just any stuff. I needed filing and storage cabinets, and they had to fit into a closet in a spare bedroom (limiting my size options), and fit into my meager budget, which would force me to buy used equipment—my preference in any case, since I’m an environmentalist.
Fortunately, the local university’s surplus store was having a serious clear-
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ance sale on used office equipment. And although almost all the filing cabinets were too deep for my closet, I managed to find two that would fit, for $6 apiece.
Judging from their sturdy steel construction and olive-drab military color, I surmised that the two files were manufactured just after WWII. I so admired their construction that I looked them up online to see if perchance I could find out anything about the manufacturer, General Fireproofing of Ohio.
Sure enough, some guy has a Web site devoted to steel office furniture, and it turns out that General Fireproofing, founded in 1902, pioneered the manufacturing of today’s familiar filing cabinets, desks and even the first all-aluminum chair. Furthermore, my “vintage” filing cabinets are ostensibly worth $450 each! (They’re not for sale—they’ll outlast any new filing cabinet I could buy for a comparable price.)
My sliding closet doors blocked the access to my new files and had to be replaced. I decided to donate them to the local Habitat for Humanity “ReStore” outlet, a building-materials exchange facility. While there, I would shop for the last storage unit for my closet, a three drawer kitchen base cabinet for storing miscellaneous supplies.
tools, lighting and plumbing fixtures, get a tax write-off for their donations.
Although national figures are not available because each store is a semi-autonomous Habitat affiliate, the ReStore manager in Helena, Montana, stated that his modest facility alone kept 1.2 million pounds of trash out of the landfill in its first five years of operation. A reasonable estimate is that the country’s 700 hundred ReStores combined would redirect at least 200 million tons of building materials a year.
The Helena ReStore also generated enough money in its first five years to build 13 houses in Montana. Overall, America’s ReStores could build more than 2,100 houses a year.
My ReStore couldn’t resell my closet doors; they already had too many on hand. But they did offer to recycle them.
And luckily, I found the kitchen cabinet I was looking for, but it cost more than I’d budgeted. As I pondered the purchase, a ReStore staffer in a clown suit approached and told me that I could buy the cabinet for 40 percent off if I’d only worn a costume, as it was Halloween.
So I agreed to let her paint my face, and left with my cabinet and a free homemade cookie.
PEOPLE, BIRD AND ECO-FRIENDLY
The ReStores, run by mostly volunteer staffs, are win-win-win organizations: they keep used and surplus construction materials and supplies out of the dump, resell them to builders and the public at steep discounts, and spend their entire profits building truly affordable homes in their local communities.
Contractors, building suppliers, businesses and homeowners who donate everything from cabinets and lumber to
Area Habitat for Humanity ReStores
Ocean Isle Beach: 7011 East Beach Drive
(910)579-8346
Southport: 4170 Long Beach Drive
(910)457-1772
Wilmington: 1208 South 3rd Street
(910)762-4793 (formerly “Homestore”) Find a ReStore near you: www.habitat.org.
In the end, your memories are all you have, and it’s worth a little trouble to preserve them at your ecological house.
© Philip S. Wenz, 2008 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.
You may have seen this scenario around town…you’re driving to work or dropping the kids off at school and someone is using a leaf blower to blow everything (leaves, grass clippings, dirt, trash) into the street or to the nearest storm drain. Did you realize that this activity is not only illegal, but can cause significant flooding and water pollution? Let’s look at this more closely.
Storm drains and ditches are designed to carry stormwater away from property and into our creeks. These creeks eventually flow into the Cape Fear River or Intracoastal Waterway, and ultimately into the Atlantic Ocean.
When yard “waste” like leaves, grass clippings or pine needles clogs storm drains, flooded streets, homes and businesses often result. Yard waste that ends up washing all the way through the storm drainage system adds excess nutrients and herbicides to our waterways. This nutrient imbalance can lead to algae blooms or low oxygen levels, and can ultimately kill fish and other aquatic wildlife.
Choose hand-powered or electric tools over gas-powered ones. Rakes are cheaper and more effective than leaf blowers— plus, you’ll burn a few calories.
In 2009, Wilmington passed new stormwater regulations that specified the proper disposal of yard waste (Chapter 12, Sec 12-29). The ordinance, entitled “Debris in the Stormwater Drainage Systems,” includes the following provisions:
• It is unlawful to rake, sweep, blow, wash, direct or place any debris into the street or storm drainage system. (The storm drainage system consists of streets, storm drains, ditches, swales, creeks, lakes, rights-of-way, dedicated easements, etc. Debris is defined in the Wilmington City Code as “yard waste [grass clippings, leaves, pine straw, etc.], sediment, trash, litter or debris of any kind.”)
• Property owners are required to keep all ditches, drains, swales, and other drainageways on their property free from obstructions so stormwater can flow freely.
• Fines for non-compliance with the City’s yard waste ordinance are $250 per occurrence.
The following best management practices (BMPs) can help you to follow the law and keep from clogging the drainage system and polluting our waterways. A good first step is to start looking at leaves, grass and pine needles as resources to be used and reused in your own yard instead of “waste” to be disposed of.
• Grasscycle! Cut no more than 1/3 of the grass height and leave the clippings on the lawn to recycle natural nutrients back into the lawn. They decompose quickly and deposit nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and moisture back into the soil, which can greatly reduce the need for added fertilizer.
• Compost yard waste and use the resulting nutrient-rich material in your vegetable garden or landscape beds.
• Cover garden beds for winter. Leaves, either whole or chopped by a power mower, make great winter cover or can be turned directly into the lawn. Pine needles break down very slowly; they make a long-lasting mulch.
• When mowing, blowing, or raking, direct yard waste back onto the lawn or landscaped area, and away from hard surfaces like streets and sidewalks, so it doesn’t wash away.
• The City of Wilmington provides weekly yard waste pick up with your regular trash service. Collect and contain smaller debris such as leaves and pinecones, but don’t put them in the city trash cart because North Carolina state law prohibits yard waste from being deposited in landfills. Yard waste collected by the city is taken to a facility that processes it into mulch or boiler fuel. Call City Solid Waste for more information, (910) 341-7875.
(continued on page 14)
• Although North Carolina and many other states have banned grass, leaves and other yard debris, this sort of debris still accounts for approximately 18% of our waste stream nation-wide. This varies by season—in summer up to 50% of the waste going into our landfills can be made up of grass clippings, while in autumn over half can be leaves.
• Grass clippings are 20-30% protein.
• About 20 million tons of yard trimmings were composted in 2006, representing a five-fold increase since 1990.
• Incorporating compost into sandy soil helps hold in moisture and nutrients; mature compost can cure several plant diseases without the use of synthetic fungicides or fumigants.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
7:00 - 8:30 p.m. lecture with book-signing to follow Northeast Branch
New Hanover County Public Library
1241 Miltary Cutoff Rd., Wilmington (910)409-5160 • nsbuck@charter.net
Yard Waste – continued
• If you do not have yard waste collection service, you can dispose of waste at a legally authorized yard waste collection facility. You can often find these facilities listed under “mulch” in the yellow pages.
• Property owners and contracted landscapers can ensure that storm drains, ditches, and pond outlet structures located on private property are maintained and kept clear of debris on a regular basis.
Witness a yard waste violation? Let us know.
Report it to the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Hotline at (910) 341-1020 or online at www.wilmingtonnc.gov/ reportstormwaterpollution
Leave as much of the following information as possible: date, time, location and/or address of the property being maintained, landscaping company, etc.
Without prescribed burning, the longleaf pines in Boiling Spring Lakes and across the region would disappear. So, too, would the red-cockaded woodpeckers, venus flytraps and a host of other carnivorous and rare plants that need fire to thrive and survive. The importance of prescribed, or controlled, burning is cause for a daylong festival at Boiling Spring Lakes Community Center on March 12 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. In the case of extreme weather the rain date is March 19.
The highlight of the festival will be a demonstration of a controlled burn to
For a complete list of green events, bookmark our online calendar:
www.goinggreenpublications.com/calendar.html
Follow us on Facebook – we post a couple of fun events each week on “Cape Fear’s Going Green.”
allow festival-goers the opportunity to see how burns are conducted and learn more about the importance of fire to the ecosystem. The burn is scheduled to take place at 1 p.m., weather permitting. Fire equipment will be on display and Smoky the Bear will be a special guest. Games, food, live bluegrass music, animals, raffles and face painting are also on the day’s agenda. Children’s games are free with the donation of a non-perishable item for the Boiling Spring Lakes Food Bank.
The Festival will be hosted by the local office of The Nature Conservancy. Boiling Spring Lakes Community Center is located at 1 Leeds Road in Boiling Spring Lakes, North Carolina.
A complete list of the day’s speakers can be seen at http://fireinthelakes.weebly. com. For more information contact Liz Rivers at (919)618-1278 or Angie Carl at (910)395-5000 or acarl@tnc.org.
I had no intention of getting a dog. I work long hours—even a short freelance assignment might turn into a ten-hour stint. I don’t keep a normal routine. Actually, I don’t keep any routine. I can go for days—weeks—without exercise. So I had no business reading the “Pet of the Week” copy I was typesetting for the local newspaper.
But I knew I was a goner when I kept “Macy’s” story, and kept rereading it. And when I put her picture on my computer screen to admire. And then emailed her foster mom—more than once—to see if she’d found a home yet.
I couldn’t believe nobody would take such a sweet-looking face home with them. I was half hoping someone else would adopt her, so I could quit worrying about her.
Publisher’s note:
When this article first appeared in the January 13, 2005 edition of The Beach Weekly News, I wasn’t thinking about pet adoption as a form of recycling and reusing. But as stewards of the Earth and all that is upon it, we need to be mindful of the millions of pets who remain homeless—and the numbers are rising as the economy continues to challenge many of us. Surprising someone with a gift of a pet is rarely a good idea—pet ownership is a responsibility that requires careful thought and agreement by all members of one’s family, including existing pets. And before purchasing a new puppy, why not consider adopting one of the millions of pets who await a forever home at one of the many public and private shelters in the area? If you are fond of a particular breed, contacting one of the many breed-specific rescue groups may allow you to adopt just the dog or cat you have been waiting for.
By the third week it was clear I was hooked. I began listing the pros and cons on a steno pad, and researching the costs of dog ownership: from food, to toys, routine medical care and ways to fend off fleas. Did I really have time to take care of an animal properly? Exercise her? Train her? Since she was being treated for heartworm I had to be prepared to see her through the remainder of her treatments, this meant taking her to the vet and keeping her calm for days afterward.
I know a lot about dogs, but I didn’t know a thing about the adoption process. This particular animal had been rescued by the Pender County Animal Shelter, after a month there the folks at Adopt-an-Angel purchased her and made a commitment to getting her medical treatment and to finding her a permanent home.
After thinking about it carefully for several days, I decided the joys of a little furry friend would outweigh the occasional inconvenience of having to rearrange my schedule to meet her needs. Besides, surely it would be good for me to have to go home for lunch rather than work so many hours non-stop. I contacted Macy’s foster mother to learn more about the dog’s habits, and obtained a copy of the
non-profit’s two-page questionnaire. The application form itself was a great tool—if I hadn’t already known what was involved in caring for an animal, working through my answers would have helped me determine whether my personal circumstances were appropriate for owning a pet.
I faxed in my completed form and crossed my fingers. The staff at Adopt-anAngel staff review these answers thoroughly, this helps increase their success in placing animals in a successful long-term situations.
Once I was accepted into the program, I finally let myself meet Macy. I knew it would be hard to leave her once we’d met “in person,” and I’d decided that unless I discovered a serious obstacle I would adopt her. What might these be? On the way to her foster home I ticked off the list: I could be allergic to her, she might hate my significant other, she might not get along with my mother’s dog. I keep Taffi, an Australian Shepherd, while Mom travels, and I work with her part-time so it was mandatory the two dogs get along.
My partner came with me to meet her, so we knew right away that Macy liked
(continued on page 16)
him—she didn’t even mind his hat! Dogs often are fearful of people wearing hats, it changes the shape of their heads so they don’t look quite right. My petting her sleek black and tan coat prompted no sneezing or coughing—yay, no allergies! And Macy’s gently waving tail said she liked it, too. The last hurdle—meeting Taffi— also went well: There was no antagonism or jealousy, even on the part of Mom’s “only child.” I was ready to become an adoptive parent.
Can’t adopt but want to help homeless animals? Volunteer your time as a walker or foster home, or donate money, food, blankets, or other supplies. Contact individual shelters for needs and for adoption details:
New Hanover County Animal Control (910.798.7500)
180 Division Drive Wilmington, NC
www.nhcgov.com
New Hanover Humane Society (910.763.6692)
2405 N. 23rd Street Wilmington, NC
Pender County Animal Shelter (910.259.1347)
Burgaw, NC 28425
Pender County Humane Society (910.259.7022)
www.penderhumane.org
Brunswick County Animal Services (910.754.8204)
www.animalservices.brunsco.net
429 Green Swamp Rd, west of Supply Columbus Animal Shelter
(910.641.3945)
288 Legion Drive Whiteville, NC 28472
www.columbusco.org
Columbus Humane Society
(910.640.3700)
Adopt-An-Angel
(910.392.0557)
www.adoptanangel.net
Paw’s Place
(910.845.PAWS)
3701 E. Boiling Spring Rd. Winnabow, www.pawsplace.org
Sunburst Foundation Canine Rescue (910.622.0011)
www.sunburstfoundationofwilmington.org
A more complete list of area organizations can be found at the website of Paw Prints magazine: www.pawprintsmagazine.com.
Information on adoptable pets nationwide is available at www.petfinder.com.
The Adopt-an-Angel folks keep the process simple, while making sure new owners are ready to provide for the pet’s long-term needs. By the time I met her, Macy had seen a vet, been spayed, and started treatments to eradicate the adult heartworms invading her body. She had received all shots appropriate for her age, and already had a rabies tag. All I had to do was obtain some dog accessories (a collar, and leash, food, and bedding) and pay the nominal adoption fee, which helps offset some of the medical expenses already incurred on her behalf.
Adopt-an-Angel paid for her final heartworm treatments and for six months’ worth of heartworm prevention medication—I just had to take her to the appointments.
So, just before Christmas, 2005, Macy came to live with us. Sharing my life with this new little animal has been a joy and a daily source of surprises. Like many new mothers, the log I kept to track Macy’s “firsts” to report back to the vet may seem a bit too detailed at first. “Coughed several times throughout the night,” or “tail droopy today.”
But looking back, the log included many endearing milestones that point to her improving health and increasing comfort level in her new home. “Ten days ago she played for the first time.” “We heard her bark for the first time.” “She proved she was feeling better by doing a standing broad jump onto the couch.”
Has this changed my lifestyle? Since Macy moved in, I’ve lost four pounds—and she’s gained four. I go home for lunch every day. I walk to the park. I think about squirrels. I enjoy my own back yard now. I’ve met scores of dog-owning neighbors, in the neighborhood where I’ve lived since 1997.
I knew Mom was a goner when she met Macy and said, “Hi, Darlin’—I’m your Grandma.” My sister said she knew I was a goner when she asked for a photo by email and received a whole series, entitled, “Macy sleeping position No. 1,” “Macy sleeping position No. 2,” “Macy sleeping position No. 3...”
Valerie L. Robertson is the publisher of Cape Fear’s Going Green.
More and more pet owners are purchasing health insurance for their pets to help offset unexpected expenses due to injury or illness. These policies use terms similar to human insurance: deductibles, copays, pre-existing conditions, etc. Check with your veterinarian.
What about the seniors? So often the senior pets are passed by in favor of a young dog or puppy—in the mistaken belief that one must raise a dog from a young age in order to bond with it or have it fit into one’s household. But by adopting an adult dog, you know what you are getting—in size, temperament, habits. And there is a special joy is adopting a senior—they seem to just fit right into one’s home. They are usually housebroken, are past the chewing stage, often know basic commands, and require less exercise. Why not give these seniors another chance?
Editor’s note: I’ve raised Norwegian Elkhounds for twenty years, and when my dog died unexpectedly in July I was heartbroken. I volunteered with local rescue group and served as a foster home, but no dog turned up “just right” for me. Mom and I were visiting friends out of town last week when we noticed an Elkhound listed at a nearby shelter. We drove there in a downpour to discover her time had run out. I had ten minutes to decide…that I couldn’t possibly leave her there. So Cora, eight years old, is enjoying another chance in Eugene. ~M.R.
The first soap formulated by what was to become Glynne’s Soaps was inspired by the untimely death of a family dog, traceable only to the use of a commercial topical flea treatment. Chemist Jennifer Beddoe created a natural dog soap that she and Gayle Tabor could use to control fleas safely on their dogs. The product was so successful that it lead the two women to create a whole line of All Natural Dog Soap, available online and at Wilmingtonarea shops and farmers markets. Their products are all manufactured locally and use no artificial or synthetic scents.
Originally formulated as a safer alternative for dogs, the Glynne’s Soaps product line has expanded to include products for dog owners as well.
It’s a water sport experience your team will never forget! On June 4, try your hand at dragon boat racing, in a 250-meter Cape Fear Dragon Boat race for charity. Proceeds will help two local organizations: Sunburst Foundation of Wilmington (an animal rescue group) and Step Up for Soldiers (an organization that helps disabled veterans). A seat on a dragon boat is $50, and the participant is asked to raise $50 in pledges. Each $100 raised could go a long way to provide services for veterans or help shelter animals.
In the race, 20 paddlers move in unison, combining strength with teamwork in a boat whose elaborate design originates in ancient China. Dragon boat racing is a great sport for men and women of all ages
The 10th annual Paw Jam is coming to Battleship Park in Wilmington on Saturday, May 7 from 11a.m. to 5 p.m. This year’s event will feature local and regional bands, pet-related vendors, educational attractions, and arts and crafts. Bring your pet to the park for activities, contests, and the chance to socialize with others!
April 1 is the deadline to sign up as a sponsor or a vendor. For information, visit www.pawjam.net or call (910)232-1165. This event is a chance to help the homeless animal population in our area, and to show thousands of animal lovers that you support a cause important to them.
Paw Jam is organized by Pets Are Worth Saving (PAWS) of North Carolina, a
and abilities. Anyone can do it: teamwork is more important than strength. Employers and groups can purchase use of a boat with 20 seats for their employees or members. You provide the paddlers, and Cape Fear Dragon Boat will provide the steersperson and drummer. If you would like to participate but don’t have a group of 20 people, festival organizer Blue Hand Home can match you up with an existing team. For more details, visit http://capefeardragonboat.com.
Learn about Step Up for Soldiers at www.stepupforsoldiers.org. Read about the Sunburst Foundation of Wilmington Canine Rescue at their new website, for which the URL is: www.sunburstfoundationofwilmington.org.
non-profit organization that helps no-kill, non-profit animal rescue organizations in North Carolina.
Monty’s Home is seeking trainers to expand its Pawsitive Partners Prison Program, the first companion dog prison program in Southeastern North Carolina.
The program selects appropriate dogs from a local shelter and places them at the facility. Under the guidance of Monty’s Home volunteer trainers, speciallyscreened inmate-trainers train the dogs for nine weeks in obedience and household manners, so they can be adopted by a new family. For more information visit www. montyshome.org or call (910)259-7911.
How come on January 15, biologists charged with protecting striped bass in the Cape Fear River will be rooting for the fisherman instead? Because scientists and fishing enthusiasts hope by working together they can help restore the health of the Cape Fear River fisheries.
Cape Fear River Watch’s annual Striper Tournament not only serves as a major fundraiser for the organization, the day’s activities provide researchers with valuable data. Acknowledging that fishermen
are often better than scientists at catching fish, biologists train the fishing captains in proper handling of the striped bass and lift the moratorium on them for the tournament, allowing teams of fishermen to enjoy a day on the water vying for the largest bass. All fish caught during the tournament will be measured, documented, and tagged before being released—thereby providing the scientists with a trove of information they can use to study the health of the fish population.
Saturday Jan. 15 10:00 to 3:00
Coastline Convention Center River Room
501 Nutt Street, Wilmington, N.C.
All Activities are FREE and open to the public with the exception of the boat rides
The tournament’s goal is to raise awareness of the Cape Fear River anadromous fishery. Anadromous fish—those born in fresh water but spending their adult life in salt water—must return upriver to spawn. Their ability to reproduce can be compromised when manmade structures block travel, and scientists want to learn just how well the striped bass, shad, river herring, and the endangered short-nosed sturgeon are faring.
A Captains Banquet and auction will kick off the two-day event January 14. Tickets are $40 for the sit-down dinner and live and silent auctions, with all proceeds going to Cape Fear River Watch (CFRW). Auction items include gift certificates to local restaurants and inns, fishing excursions, and locally-made art. The banquet, as well as all other activities the following day, will take place at (or leave from) the Coastline Convention Center at 503 Nutt Street in historic downtown Wilmington.
9:00 Boats Away!
Watch the anglers set out from the dock at the Coastline Convention Center for a day of tagging and catch and release fishing for Striped Bass. Wish them luck as they try to beat the Tournament Record of 44 tagged fish.
10:00 to 3:00
Ongoing Adult & Kid’s Activities held in the Riverview Terrace Room of the Cape Fear Convention Center and on the covered porches outside the Center. Many activities will be outside so dress accordingly. Games, displays, boats, fly fishing demonstration, arts and crafts all relating to anadromous fish in the Cape Fear River. Children’s activities are suitable for ages 3 to 12. Speakers will be in the River/Nancy Room. Tickets for boat tours are available at the River Watch booth.
10:00 to 10:45
Frank Yelverton, Biologist, ACOE, on the Cape Fear River Lock and Dam, Rock Weir project
10:45 to 11:30
North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher on anadromous fish in the Cape Fear River
10:45 to 11:30
Family Fish Finding Tour aboard the M/V Wilmington with former RiverKeeper Doug Springer - $5
11:30 to 12:30
Games, Displays, Arts & Crafts ongoing
12:00 to 1:15
River Tour and lunch with Former RiverKeeper Doug Springer aboard the M/V Wilmington - $15
1:30 to 2:15
Roger Shew, UNCW Department of Geography and Geology, on the Cape Fear River Watershed and Local Aquifers
2:15 to 3:00
Dru Harrison, Interim Director, New Hanover Soil and Water Conservation District, on storm water impacts on river water quality
2:15 to 3:00
Family Fish Finding Tour aboard the M/V Wilmington with former RiverKeeper Doug Springer - $5
3:00 Anglers Return
Watch tournament officials analyze catch data and see who wins
4:00 Awards
Award presentation and Keynote Speaker, Keith Ashley, District 4 Fisheries Biologist, Division of Inland Fisheries, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, public invited
Make sure to sign up for the boat tours early: all are first come first served
All proceeds of the 2011 Cape Fear River Watch Striper Tournament support the restoration of the Striped Bass on the Cape Fear River
New last year was a Junior Angler essay contest. The prize? A chance to fish in the tournament—including boat and guide. Sponsored by veteran angler Art Brownell, this was a way to involve the next generation. (Read Dustin Chambers’ winning essay online, in Vol. 3 Issue 1 of Cape Fear’s Going Green.)
New this year: a host of free activities onshore for all ages while the tournament is in progress. Kay Lynn PlummerHernandez, CFRW Environmental Specialist, says “we are excited to incorporate educational activities into this year’s Striper Tournament.” She notes the importance of teaching youngsters about a variety of wildlife and habitats in protecting the water quality of the lower Cape Fear River.
Cape Fear River Watch, founded in 1993, offers a variety of environmental education, action and advocacy programs for all residents of the Cape Fear River watershed, including educational seminars, eco tours, school presentations, and a monthly paddle series.
For more information, to buy tickets or contribute auction items, contact Kemp Burdette or Carrie Frohling at (910)762-5606. For other activities offered by Cape Fear River Watch, visit www.cfrw.us.
Thursdays, Jan. 27 – May 12
12 sessions • 10 a.m. – Noon
$50 OLLI Member; $80 Non-Member
The River to the Sea Bikeway (WMPO Bicycle Route 1) is an 11-mile, on- and off-road bicycle route that follows the Historic Beach Car Line, which carried vacationers from downtown Wilmington to Wrightsville Beach by trolley. The bikeway comprises neighborhood residential streets, off-road multi-use paths, and a few busy arterial roadways.
Science and Environmental Academy (SEA and Coffee) meets weekly to present relevant environmental and science information. UNCW professors and knowledgeable community presenters share their expertise and offer opportunities for enjoyable interaction in a friendly, relaxed setting.
For residents of Brunswick County, check out Wednesdays in Nature, an 8-week environmental series held at the Leland Town Hall Center (see below). For more information visit www.uncw.edu/olli or call (910) 962-3195
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) has developed a “Wednesdays in Nature” (WIN) program. There will be 8 sessions featuring local environmental specialists discussing the flora and fauna of the Cape Fear Region. It is similar to the existing society—Science and Environmental Academy (SEA) and Coffee—but makes it convenient for those who live in the Leland area to enjoy these types of environmental classes.
It begins at the foot of Market Street at the Riverwalk, within sight of the Battleship USS North Carolina. The bikeway then traverses the Old Wilmington, Bottom and Forest Hills neighborhoods before crossing Independence Boulevard and passing by Empie Park. From Empie Park to South Kerr Avenue, the bikeway follows Park Avenue, a quiet local street that passes by Audubon Station.
After merging with South Kerr Avenue and crossing South College Road, the bikeway passes through the
WIN is a joint effort of OLLI and Leland Parks & Recreation Department. Classes will be held on Wednesdays from 1–3p.m. in the Education Annex at the Leland Towne Center.
Ann Street Bicycle Boulevard Grand Opening Celebration
Celebrate the opening of the fi rst bicycle boulevard in North Carolina with Mayor Bill Saffo on April 17, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center on So. 8th Street.
River to the Sea Ride
Take part of a free group bicycle ride from downtown Wilmington to Wrightsville Beach and back on May 1 at 8:30 a.m., starting at the foot of Market Street in downtown Wilmington.
Guest speakers for the Spring 2011 Wednesdays in Nature Semester will be:
Feb. 23 Alligators
Thomas Padgett , District 4 Wildlife Biologist, NC Wildlife Resources
Mar. 2 Saving the World - a Yard at a Time
Charley Winterbauer, Audubon
Winter Park area on Pine Grove Drive and McMillan Avenue, before joining up with Park Avenue again. Between Wallace Avenue and 52nd Street, the bikeway utilizes an off-road path, with a spur to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (WMPO Bicycle Route 1A) via Wooddale Drive. Between 52nd Street and Hinton Avenue, the bikeway follows on-road bicycle lanes on Park Avenue. Beyond Greenville Avenue, the ride is much more uncomfortable for recreational cyclists. Oleander Drive and Wrightsville Avenue are busy arterial roadways with few bicycle facilities and high-speed traffic, and there are several bridges to cross. This section is not recommended for recreational cyclists.
Mar. 9 North Carolina Coastal Land Trust
trailhead, follow U.S. Highway 74 toward Wrightsville Beach. At the intersection of Salisbury Street and North Lumina Avenue, continue straight on Salisbury Street to the on-street parking area. The bikeway begins on Salisbury Street west of North Lumina Avenue. Follow the bicycle Route 1 signs. There is also additional parking at the Wrightsville Beach municipal complex
Vann Pearsall, Director of Development
Mar. 16 Climate Change and Sea Level Rise
Lawrence Cahoon, Ph.D., UNCW
Mar. 23 Environmental, Educational and Recreational Opportunities with Cape Fear River Watch
Kemp Burdette, Cape Fear Riverkeeper
Mar. 30 Rice Cultivation in the Lower Cape Fear
Amelia Williams, NC Maritime Museum at Southport
To reach the downtown Wilmington trailhead, follow U.S. Highway 74 toward Wilmington; take the Wilmington DOWNTOWN exit. Proceed south on North 3rd Street. Take a right onto Market Street and follow west to Riverfront Park. Parking is available on-street or in the city of Wilmington parking deck located at Market Street and North 2nd Street. The bikeway begins at the foot of Market Street at Water Street. Follow the bicycle Route 1 signs.
call (910)341-3258 or visit www.wmpo.org.
Apr. 6 Offshore Energy Sources - Fossil Fuel & Wind
Roger Shew, Ph.D., UNCW
Apr. 13 Why We’re Called Tarheels
Harry Warren, Director of the NC Forestry Museum
To reach the Empie Park parking area, follow U.S. Highway 76 to Independence Boulevard northbound. Take a right onto Park Avenue and an immediate left into the park driveway. The bikeway is on Park Avenue. Follow the bicycle Route 1 signs.
LocalHarvest.org
Brunswick Community College’s Center for Economic and Workforce Development has created a Green Information and Training Center (GITC) to help the community with information on what is happening in sustainability.
The Center will foster sustainability in several ways. It will provide training and information to support businesses and organizations working towards sustainabiility, and keep up to date on sustainable trends in energy and tax incentives for businesses, organizations and educational institutions. It will host events to educate the public about area resources.
For more information, or to suggest programs or classes, contact GIT Center Coordinator Marilyn Graham at (910)7558561 or visit the Continuing Education Programs section of www.brunswick.edu.
Brunswick Community College and the North Carolina Military Business Center will present the first Sustainability Symposium and Expo for Southeastern North Carolina on Friday, March 25, 2011, from 8 to 3.
This will be an opportunity for businesses, agencies, and citizens to learn about sustainability efforts in North Carolina in construction, energy, agriculture, tourism, green certifications, and sustainable communities. The NC Military Business Center will offer computer labs for companies interested in doing business with the Federal Government, and assist in the registration process for CCR.
The event will take place at Brunswick Community College’s Center for Economic and Workforce Development, 2050 Enterprise Drive (Leland Industrial Park off HWY 74/76), Leland The symposium costs $35 and includes lunch. Vendor and exhibitor displays are $100.
For registration information, call (910)755-8084 or visit the BCC website: www.brunswickcc.edu.
Cape Fear’s Going Green is starting an environmental book club! We’ll read both recent work and some of the classics, starting in April, 2011. The discussion group will meet the first Tuesday evening of each month at Old Books on Front Street, located at 249 No. Front Street. Social time will start at 6:30, and our book discussion will begin at 7 and run for an hour or so.
Coffee and snacks will be available for sale from Sugar on Front Street, located inside the book store.
The publisher of Going Green is preparing a list of titles for the rest of the year, and welcomes your suggestions. Books can be on any environmental topic. Email your suggestions to editor@goinggreenpublications.com, or call (910)547-4390.
The book we’ll discuss in our inaugural meeting will be The Sea Around Us, by Rachel Carson, so come join us on Tuesday, April 5 for a discussion of this classic.
Wild Bird & Garden has scheduled several bird workshops for spring. On March 12 Dr. James Parnell will discuss Bird Breeding behavior and give clues to nests you might find in your backyard. March 26 Liz Rogers will give a Painted Bunting workshop, and April 9 she will hold a workshop on Eastern Bluebirds. On April 16 Ameria Mason will explain the basics of bird rehabilitation, and will discuss what to do if you find an injured bird.
All sessions are held at Temptations Everyday Gourmet in Hanover Center. Call
Wild Bird & Garden at (910)343-6001 to sign up for any of these free workshops.
Cape Fear Museum of History and Science was recently awarded top prize for exhibition excellence from the Southeastern Museums Conference.
Land of the Longleaf Pine, the newly visioned first chapter of the Museum’s core Cape Fear Stories exhibit, won the SEMC Award of Excellence for an exhibit with a budget of more than $100,000. The exhibit was judged alongside others in its class on several criteria, including concept, design, education and research.
On March 4, the museum will open an exhibition celebrating the Big Savannah, a 1,500-acre tract of land in Pender County. “B.W. Wells: Pioneer Ecologist” features breathtaking nature photography and tells the story of Wells’ efforts to save the Big Savannah from development.
Lee Padget has started Green Safe South East, a new Wilmington distributor of compostable and biodegradable plastic and paper products for restaurants. All products are made from renewable resources and recycled material. The company carries a variety of biodegradable cold/hot cups, biodegradable plates, compostable utensils, PLA carry-out food containers, and biodegradable bags as well as other Earth-friendly alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics.
Green Safe can be reached at gsse@ earthlink.net, or by calling (910)547-8791.
Actuary Alan Jameson uncovers a plot that threatens to blow the life insurance industry sky-high! Follow his adventures in this elegantly-plotted murder mystery.
“A gripping, fast-paced story”
“I could not put it down” “Cloaked with mystery”
Read the latest from the former Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration.
Now available for your Nook or Kindle from Barnes & Noble or Amazon Fun
If every American family were to wrap just three gifts in reused or reusable materials this year, we’d save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields, the Sierra Club reports. Carolina Beach entrepreneur Stephanie Lancaster became increasing concerned about the amount of trash we produce, and decided to create a new product that could diminish
the impact of gift-wrapping that’s used once and discarded. Her alternative? A line of festive fabric bags and wraps that can be used and re-used many times.
Learn more about Fabricwrapper by visiting www. fabricwrapper.com, or call Lancaster at (910)795-9393.
silverpendantmystery.com The Silver Pendant by Haeworth Robertson Venture Books • Washington, DC
Buy it today: Old Books on Front Street
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North Carolina has a chance to become the top bird-counting state in the country in this year’s Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), which will be held from February 18-21, 2011. People of all ages and skill levels are needed to count birds in their yards, neighborhoods, or other locations across the United States and Canada. Simply tally birds for at least 15 minutes on any day of the count, then go to www.birdcount. org and enter the highest number of each species seen at any one time.
Each checklist submitted by these “citizen scientists” helps researchers at National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology learn more about how the birds are doing—and how to protect them and the environment we share. Last year, participants turned in 97,331 checklists, creating the continent’s largest instantaneous snapshot of bird populations ever recorded.
North Carolina birders increased their records in 2010, submitting 5,047 checklists in 2010, compared to 4,764 in 2009. North
Carolina came in third among all states for most checklists submitted. The state came in sixth among states reporting the most birds. Charlotte (#3) and Durham (#9) were among the top ten cities that submitted the most checklists. Birders around the state recorded 185 species of birds, with Northern Cardinal being the most common bird and Common Grackle being the most abundant.
“Gathering information about birds isn’t just for scientists,” said Andy Wood, Education Director for Audubon North Carolina. “The Great Backyard Bird Count is an opportunity for anyone to connect to the science that goes into bird research. Information collected by thousands of volunteers across the country adds great value to our knowledge of bird migration and wintering habits.”
On the www.birdcount.org website, participants can explore real-time maps and charts that show what others are reporting during the count. The site has tips to help identify birds and special materials for
One of the last undeveloped barrier islands in North Carolina is one step closer to permanent protection. Thanks to a generous donation from Fred and Alice Stanback, Audubon North Carolina has purchased a 35.7-acre tract on Lea Island, an undisturbed barrier island in Pender County. The nonprofit organization purchased the property in a bargain sale from James Johnson of Coastland Corporation. The island is one of the most important havens for shorebirds and waterbirds in North Carolina, as well as an important nesting site for federally threatened loggerhead sea turtles. Audubon North Carolina will manage the tract as part of its coastal sanctuary system, which comprises 19 other island and inlet bird habitats along the coast.
Located between Topsail and Figure Eight Islands, Lea Island is only accessible by boat and has never been affected by the intensive development found on many
of North Carolina’s barrier islands. The island has escaped the impacts of off-road vehicles and hardened structures, and its beaches are not replenished with dredged sand. It has the natural features and plant communities characteristic of an untrammeled barrier island, as well as the wildlife.
During the spring and summer, the island is a haven for nesting shorebirds such as Piping Plover, Wilson’s Plover, and American Oystercatcher, and other nesting birds including Black Skimmer and Least Tern. The island represents the southernmost documented breeding site for Piping Plover, a federally threatened bird named for its melodic call. At other times of year, numerous migrating and wintering shorebirds flock here, numbering a thousand or more during the peak of migration.
In 2004, the National Audubon Society identified Lea Island as a critical component of the 5,461-acre Lea-Hutaff Important Bird Area.
educators. Participants may also enter the GBBC photo contest by uploading images taken during the count. Many images will be featured in the GBBC photo gallery. All participants are entered in a drawing for prizes that include bird feeders, binoculars, books, CDs, and many other birding products. For more information about the GBBC, visit www.birdcount.org. The Great Backyard Bird Count is made possible, in part, by generous support from Wild Birds Unlimited.
Audubon North Carolina is the state office of the National Audubon Society representing 15,000 grassroots members and nine local chapters across the state. Audubon strives to conserve and restore the habitats we share with all wildlife, focusing on the needs of birds. Audubon North Carolina achieves its mission through a blend of science-based research and conservation, education and outreach, and advocacy. To learn more, visit www.ncaudubon.org.
Cape Fear Audubon, the National Audubon Society chapter serving Brunswick, Pender, New Hanover, and Onslow counties, meets the first Monday of each month, in Southport or Wilmington. Visit www. capefearaudubon.org or call (910)452-7012.
by Andy Wood
This winter marked the 111th annual Christmas Bird Count, an event dating back to the National Audubon Society’s very beginnings as a bird conservation group. The Christmas Bird Count (CBC), initiated by a gentleman by the name of Frank Chapman, began as an alternative to a rather grisly Christmas tradition known as the “Side Hunt.” The Side Hunt was a Christmastime activity whereby hunters would set out to bag as many birds and other animals as they could between Christmas and the New Year. The birds were shot on sight, any and all of them, and heaped on porches for passersby to see and praise. Frank Chapman, an Audubon Society Founder and avid bird lover, took exception to this practice and, with the help of sympathetic and influential members of society—wives especially—he was able to turn the Side Hunt into a bird count instead.
The first Christmas Bird Count in 1900 was conducted by only a couple dozen people in a few, mostly northern, locations across the country. In all, the dedicated birders tallied some 90 different kinds of birds. Today, the count has grown to include nearly 60,000 volunteer scientists in all fifty states, parts of Canada, Mexico and even some Central American countries. The count is held each year between December 14th and January 5th and the data collected over the past 110 years has proved priceless to bird researchers studying bird population dynamics, including migration and wintering habits.
The CBC operates in a very scientific and statistically-defensible manner. Areas of the country are identified into count circles, each 15 miles in diameter. Each has its own circle coordinator, called a “compiler” who organizes volunteers to conduct the count and then compiles the data birders collect. Some circles have annual CBC data going back over 100 years, making this the longest-running volunteer science effort in the world. More information about this project can be found in the CBC website at www.audubon.org.
North Carolina is one of the most active CBC states with 44 count circles, including its newest circle right here in
southeastern North Carolina. Called the Holly Shelter-Lea Island circle, abbreviated NCHL by Audubon, this new circle will enable us to collect bird data from a variety of habitats including: long leaf pine savanna where rare Red-cockaded Woodpeckers dwell, bottomland cypress swamps with their suite of waterfowl and winter warblers, and on out to coastal marshes, dunes and beaches where Piping Plovers and a wealth of other shorebirds spend winter. This new circle also encompasses a bit of open near shore ocean water where Northern gannets, Common Loons and Brown Pelicans hunt for fishy prey.
In advance of this year’s inaugural NCHL count I went out to get an idea for where the best locations might be, in and around the Lea-Hutaff Island area of Pender County. It was a particularly cold day on the water, with an air temperature somewhere near 35 degrees. I was not alone however. As I made my way up the Intracoastal Waterway I saw three small groups of bottlenose dolphins, their arching backs anyway. Also in and on the water were several flocks of fish-eating ducks called Hooded Mergansers. They were in the company of larger fish-eating Common Loons. I couldn’t help but think they had to be chillier than me, so I continued my trek without complaining.
As I drove the boat out into Topsail inlet at the north end of Lea Island, just south of Topsail Island, I caught a smell that immediately reminded me of small bird-nesting islands located down in the lower reaches of the Cape Fear River. It was the unmistakable whiff of pelicans en masse. I slowed coming around a bend in the inlet and saw fully two hundred Brown Pelican lounging on a sandy marsh beach. Most were up on land but a few were in the water bathing to clean their feathers. This would be a spot to revisit for sure.
Continuing on to Lea Island by way of a narrow tidal creek, I saw several more loons and mergansers, along with dozens of wading herons and egrets hanging out back in the grassy marshes. I secured the boat on the back side of the island and crossed a narrow patch of dunes to reach the open beach where I expected to see
numerous shorebirds working the surf zone for tiny worms and other invertebrate prey. To my surprise, no shorebirds were there. At least that’s what I thought. After a few minutes walking down the beach, the one bird I did spy turned out to be the best I could have hoped for; it was a lone Piping Plover, a rare shorebird that Audubon North Carolina is leading a multistate and nation study of, to learn where this charming little bird spends its winters. From that study, we will work with participating agencies and organizations to craft management plans based on research collected, not just by professional paid scientists, but also by professional, unpaid volunteer scientists, participating in the longest-running research effort in the world: the annual Christmas Bird Count. Andy Wood is Education Director of Audubon North Carolina, and is author of Backyard Carolina.
