| About The Green Museums Initiative |
| The Green Museums Initiative |
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About the Green Museums Initiative
There is an exciting movement sweeping across the museum field in
California: the Green Museums Initiative!
It is appropriate that the California Association of Museums (CAM) is
spearheading the greening of museums. The reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions and energy use, as well as the protection of the environment
are major priorities in California. California leads the country in
ambitious efforts to shift energy production to renewable resources, in
adopting stringent emission standards for motor vehicles and in the
development and implementation of energy efficient technology.
The purpose of the Green Museums Initiative is to inspire California
Museums to develop green business practices, eco-friendly facility
management and sustainable programming.
The initial goal of the Green Museums Initiative, established in 2006, was
to "green" the daily operations, conferences, workshops, and events of
CAM. By changing the way it conducts its own operations and programs,
CAM provides a model for other institutions and decreases its own
ecological footprint.
Today Green Museums Initiative continues broadening its work to
support sustainable, green museums.
We encourage and invite you to join us in this meaningful work!
Current Green Museums Initiative Programs
The goal of the Green Museums Initiative committee in 2009 is
to provide the California museum field with the information and
opportunities to make a difference in their own operations, programs,
and communities.
This website will serve as an information center and a forum for museum
professionals to communicate their green operations and programs by
serving as a reliable, accessible source for inspiration, greening how-to’s,
case studies and information sharing between colleagues. Sharing our
stories builds community and broadens our understanding of our world.
Visit Green Museum Stories to learn how you can share.
Committee Members
The Green Museums Initiative committee members are leaders and
experts in the implementation of environmentally-friendly strategies,
policies, and programs in museums. The current committee members are:
CHAIR: Tim McNeil, Assistant Professor and Director, Design
Museum, University of CA, Davis - Tim is an influential advocate
for the role a director plays in championing green initiatives within the
museum environment. The Design Museum has implemented sustainable
exhibition design practices that are intended to serve as a model for other
museums to follow. Tim is currently researching green design methods
and technological advances that are applicable to exhibition
environments. He is also prototyping a range of interpretive exhibit tools
to convey green building principles in LEED certified structures, with the
goal of eventually promoting sustainable behavior in other residential
and commercial environments.
Alan Baker, Executive Director, Charles Paddock Zoo - Alan
came to California to engage the Charles Paddock Zoo in Atascadero in
active conservation breeding for endangered species from around the
world. The zoo’s entire master plan of Biodiversity hotspots is designed
to maximize green technologies for their zoo. Alan also supervises a new
project for the zoo that partners with local companies that use green
practices for their products that are grown or imported from areas that
the zoo represents. He just instituted the zoo’s first Green Committee and
is involved in the design and use of green practices in the new front
entrance/gift shop building that the zoo is constructing this fall.
Kate Davies, Curator/Writer - Kate is the Past & Founding Chair of
GMI. Kate has 30-years experience in contemporary art and cultural
media as well as 20-years in the sustainability/ecology field. She attended
the U.N. Earth Summit in Brazil in 1992. She recently completed
curation for an innovative new museum project that is deeply green,
immersive and a demonstration site for sustainable design, energy/water
conservation and green living. In 2011, she curated the exhibition Ignite!
The Art of Sustainability for Exhibit Envoy (formerly CERA) featuring
works by California’s leading artists whose focus is on the ecology of
place. The exhibition will travel to California Museums through June
2015. Kate is currently working on a book about Art and Sustainability.
Barbara Long, VP, Government Relations and Special
Projects, Aquarium of the Pacific - Barbara’s work has included
overseeing major projects such as the LEED platinum environmental
education classroom. She is on the City of Long Beach’s Green Ribbon
Committee, an appointed citizen group responsible for developing the
city’s green building policy for private developers, and on the city’s
Energy Efficiency Task Force. Trained in LEED NC, she oversaw the
Aquarium’s efforts to register its greenhouse gas emissions with the
California Climate Action Registry —the first museum in the nation to
successfully do so—and is the executive sponsor for the Aquarium’s
Green Team.
Adrienne McGraw, Executive Director, California Exhibition
Resources Alliance - Adrienne is an informal educator and content
developer, with experience in museums and environmental
organizations. She received an MA in Museum Studies from John F.
Kennedy University, and was awarded the Gail Anderson Award for
Social Responsibility. Her master’s project was entitled Acting Locally:
Community Museums and Grassroots Environmental Organizations in
Partnership. McGraw has a BA in Environmental Studies and an MS Ed
with a focus on Environmental Education. She has published articles in
museum journals, contributed to conference presentations, and
organized exhibitions based on issues of environmental sustainability.
Aaron Pope, Manager of Sustainability Programs, California
Academy of Sciences
Janice Lyle, Center Director, The Annenberg Foundation at
Sunnylands Trust
| "The purpose of GMI is to inspire and support the development of Green Museums." |
| Contact GMI Phone: 831.471.9970 Fax: 831.471.9381 Address: Green Museums Initiative c/o CA Association of Museums PO Box 1455 Santa Cruz, CA 95061-1455 E-mail: gmi@calmuseums.org |
