Kickstarter and Green Museums: Cynwood Station

The crowd is helping to fund a  green preservation project: Kickstarter supporters have contributed more than $5000 to fund the stormwater management project that will keep water out of the Cynwood Train Station and help preserve it long term. In the process, the project creates a welcoming space, provides educational/demonstration opportunities, and improves local water quality to boot.  What’s not to love?

The station is part of the Cynwood Heritage Trail in Lower Merion Township, PA. It is an active-use public transport station being revitalized as part of a more sustainable approach to community living.

Sarah Francis is a project board member and green consultant (LEED-AP for existing buildings) for the Cynwyd Station Revitalization Project.  This project was her idea – on the ground and on Kickstarter – and it’s part of the green vision for the site.

Here’s a description from the Kickstarter site:

The sustainable landscape was designed by North Street Design, LLC, in conjunction with students of the Engineering School at Villanova University. The most impressive element of the initiative is its innovative, multifunctional rainwater harvesting system, designed specifically for the station. Tanks made from recycled materials can also be used as benches for trail users and commuters, and the collected water will irrigate surrounding gardens, lowering our tap water use, while also preventing runoff from causing more soil erosion in the gardens.

They have already fully-funded the project, but the rest of the money raised in the next two days will contribute to additional stormwater management on site. Sarah Francis writes:

the extra money will go towards the other elements of the ...site, including plantings and supplies for 2 rain gardens, and a planted trench along the foundation of the station.

I’ve contributed.  I hope others will consider supporting this project and using it as an example for their own work.

Is anyone else out there crowd-funding their green projects?

Revisit - The PILOTs are Coming!

This article in MassNonprofit discusses the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) fees being paid by nonprofits in Boston, MA. 

Scroll down to the end of the article and the note about the Museum of Science and New England Aquarium declining to pay the voluntary fee based on their provision of services to the City.

Darned right they provide services!  And I bet they can quantify the green steps they've taken as part of those services.  Think of the value of managing stormwater runoff on behalf of Boston's Harbor, reducing water consumption on behalf of Boston's municipal water system, and reducing electricity consumption in support of the grid shared with the City.

I worried about these troubles for museums in my May 10, 2010 blog post on PILOTS. 

So, to reiterate - what avoided costs and important benefits do your green practices offer your community?  Can you quantify them, value them monitarily and avoid the PILOT fees coming your way? 

Are you ready?

Twelve Green Museum Days of Christmas...

Here's hoping for a green holiday for all museums everywhere:

On the first day of Christmas, donors gave the museum a Building Management System

On the second day of Christmas, donors gave the museum two green roofs

On the third day of Christmas, donors gave the museum three living walls

On the fourth day of Christmas, donors gave the museum four PV Arrays

On the fifth day of Christmas, donors gave the museum five car-charging stations

On the sixth day of Christmas, donors gave the museum six stormwater cisterns

On the seventh day of Christmas, donors gave the museum seven bioswales

On the eighth day of Christmas, donors gave the museum eight motion sensors

On the ninthday of Christmas, donors gave the museum nine recycle stations

On the tenth day of Christmas, donors gave the museum ten operable windows

On the eleventh day of Christmas, donors gave the museum eleven low-flow faucets

On the twelfth day of Christmas, donors gave the museum twelve composting toilets

Quadruple Bottom Line: People, Planet, Profit AND Program

Believe it or not, the world is beginning to get used to a Triple Bottom Line, not just the usual single one of cold hard cash.

The Triple Bottom Line is the 'valuation' of the good an activity does for three important criteria: the people (staff, customers, community, the world). the planet (from the immediate surroundings, to your bio region, to the world), and for profits.

Well now it's time for a Quadruple Bottom Line - add a fourth "P" - Program.

For museums this is critical. We always consider our mission - our program - in decision-making. Well when you're considering a green practice, it matters how green affects, supports, or interferes with programming. So add it to your equation as you try to balance it all.

Here's an example: Someone has suggested that when you replace the roof membrane on your building, that you consider a green roof. After you get through sorting out whether or not your structure is appropriate for a green roof, consider the good it does for each of the four "Ps".

People: With a sturdy fence around it, and the right construction, the green roof can be good for People because it provides a green outdoor space far more pleasant than a classroom, more flexible than an exhibit, and way more relaxing than a picnic table by the loading dock.

Planet: It's good for the Planet insofar as it reduces energy use: by reducing heat-island effects it reduces the cooling needs inside your building and in the area around your building, and it provides more insulation in winter. It also creates a teeny bit of natural habitat, and helps manage stormwater runoff by slowing down the runoff and cleaning it up. If you capture and reuse the runoff you help the Planet even more.

Profit: Up front the green roof may not help profit, but if you have to replace parts of the roof anyway, the first-costs are well under control; and since a green roof by nature protects the membrane from sun degradation, you'll get a longer life out of your entire roof. So by saving energy, reducing water use, making the roof last longer, and timing the build with a necessary renovation, it's sounding like a great investment.

Program: And if you can use this space for educational programs like growing a Victory Garden or teaching about bugs and butterflies; or you can use it for financial sustainability: to compliment your cafe (like the one at the MCA Denver in the photo) or to host fundraising events, or as a setting for yoga for mom's while kids play, you're on the plus side again.

So, when you make that next decision about a green practice or project, consider the whole bottom line, QBL, so your choice makes sense for the whole museum, not just one quarter of it.