March 2007

St. Patrick's Day: A Time to "Go Green"

What does St. Patrick's Day mean for you? Do you put on a green shirt or pair of socks to avoid the pinch? Do you put shamrock cutouts in your windows? Do you drink the inevitable green-dyed beer? Thinking green is a big part of March 17, but this year, The Nature Conservancy is asking the public to think differently. You should still think green, but not just parades and leprechauns and so forth—you need to think about greening your lifestyle to help protect the environment. The Nature Conservancy has a list of 17 tips to help people live greener lives. Let's take a look at how you can adapt these tips to your recreation, sports and fitness facilities to reduce your own environmental footprint.

Tip 1: Avoid Invaders
For homeowners, this means learning about what's invasive and avoiding those types of plants in the landscape. You can adapt this to your grounds and open spaces too! Remove infestations of locally invasive species, and try to learn about what you're planting before you put it in the ground. In some areas, some species can really get out of control. If you're planning a new facility or you're renovating your existing grounds, ask your landscape architect to give you some help in avoiding invasive species. What should you plant instead? Check out the next tip…

Tip 2: Go Native
After you get rid of invasive species on your grounds, you can replace them with native plants and trees. You get a double benefit from doing this. Not only do you plant species that look great in your natural settings, but you also are assured that the species you've planted will be most able to adapt to your landscape. Native plants and trees also encourage bees, birds and other beneficial critters to stick around.

Tip 3: Protect the Beach by Removing Garbage
Actually, this goes beyond the beach to any open space. The Nature Conservancy reports that waste attracts predators that prey on shorebirds, including many endangered species. But beyond protecting shorebirds, you should ensure that trash is removed from your sites. It doesn't just protect your local wildlife from potentially dangerous human waste (remember the plastic pop rings?), but it also helps keep your sites beautiful and discourages people from vandalizing the area with graffiti and other damage. Encourage your patrons to do their part by providing sturdy trash and recycling receptacles as well.

Tip 4: Police the Pets
The Nature Conservancy warns people to be responsible pet owners and not to let their cats roam outdoors, where they might prey upon birds and other wildlife. You can help your patrons be responsible pet owners too. No one wants to play in a poopy park. Many urban parks, which might be the only open space dog-owners have a chance to play with their pups, now provide pet-waste stations. These might include handy dog-do bags, just in case people forget to bring their own, as well as a special receptacle for trashing pet waste.

Tip 5: Support Conservation
You can do this by learning more about ways to green up your facilities. Considering a new building or renovation? Ask your architect about steps you can take to earn LEED certification—the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System—for your building. Even just taking a few of the steps toward LEED accreditation will contribute toward protecting our energy resources and environment, and it's likely to save you money in the long run in terms of ongoing costs for running your site.

Tip 6: Get Out There!
The Nature Conservancy on Long Island is encouraging people to "take a hike" and "enjoy our parks, preserves, forests, bays and other natural areas." You can do this in your neighborhood too. Be sure that you provide open areas and hiking trails in addition to your more structured sports fields, playgrounds and skateparks. Give people a place to enjoy the natural environment, and you not only maintain a bit of the ecosystem, but you also help the public learn more about what is natural to their area. Believe it or not, some people in urban areas in particular, might not have ever been exposed to anything other than their concrete-clad environment,

Tip 7: Get Over Your Chemical Fix
Try to reduce your usage of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, which can end up damaging local waterways. Planting native species can help reduce the need for these chemicals, as can avoiding planting species that don't naturally adapt to your area.

Tip 8: Avoid Flying
The Nature Conservancy encourages people to use teleconferencing instead of flying to help reduce carbon emissions. You also can help by converting your vehicle fleet (if you have one) to lower-impact fuels and hybrid models.

Tip 9: Hot and Cold
Heating and air conditioning are big energy drains. If you're considering a new building or renovation, ask your architect about ways to reduce heating and air conditioning costs. Some recreation centers and other facilities have done this by using the heat gain from their swimming pools to provide heat for other parts of the building, for example. In addition, you can reduce your energy needs (and costs) by planning well. Providing plenty of natural light, for instance, can reduce the need for heat in winter, while smart planting of trees can shade the south side of your building during hot summer weather, reducing your need to crank up the A/C.

Tip 10: Toxic Dump
The Nature Conservancy encourages people to dispose of toxins properly. "Do not dump chemicals in sewers or on the ground." If you run an aquatic facility, you surely know the importance of proper chemical storage. If your facility is older, make sure your chlorine storage area is up to snuff. If you're renovating, you might consider one of the newer salt-water chlorination systems or UV disinfection systems, which both can reduce your need for chlorine.

Tip 11: Don't Waste Water
There are many ways to reduce water usage, and to slow the flow of sewage into local waterways. At the Sweetwater Creek State Park Visitors Center near Atlanta, Ga., for example, composting toilets are just one of the ways the designers helped reduce water usage. Check out our coverage of the facility here, http://www.recmanagement.com/200702fp02.php, for more ideas on reducing your water waste.

Tip 12: Protecting Fragile Ecosystems
The Nature Conservancy asks people to avoid boating, anchoring and shellfishing in seagrass beds on Long Island. But if you're not in a coastal area, you can still help protect fragile ecosystems. Learn more about protecting wetlands and other ecosystems that are critical to the environment, and be sure to do your part. Avoid development in these areas, and try to keep them natural and protected. Get involved in local community planning and encourage others to do the same, which brings us to…

Tip 13: Make Your Voice Heard
If you care about conservation, make it known. Talk to your staff, your local government and your patrons about ways to better manage and restore local forests, wetlands and parks. Encourage your community to get involved in local park cleanup days and environmental education events. A birdwatching walk on a local trail can do a lot to teach kids about the species that migrate through your area, and can inform them of some easy steps they can take to protect those critters.

Tip 14: Light it Up
Investigate ways of saving energy—and money—in your facility lighting. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are the new big thing for homeowners. There are also entire lighting systems that are designed to use less energy. Lighting a ballpark for nighttime play? Consider solar power as a way to save energy and costs. Need a new scoreboard? LED lights last a lot longer than their incandescent counterparts.

Tip 15: Recycle
Consider purchasing facility components made from recycled materials. Playground pieces, safety surfacing, artificial turf, synthetic flooring, park benches and much more are now made from recycled rubber, recycled metal and other recycled materials.

Tip 16: Full of Air
This is one piece of advice from The Nature Conservancy that best applies to the public, but if you operate any vehicles as part of your facility, you can ensure that they run efficiently by getting regular oil changes, considering a switch to more fuel-efficient models and, yes, ensuring the tires are properly inflated.

Tip 17: Renew Your Energy
Consider investing in renewable energy resources for your facility, like solar power.

With more than 1 million members, The Nature Conservancy has protected more than 15 million U.S. acres, and more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific to date. To learn more about the organization, visit www.nature.org.