Heritage Museums & Gardens is an expansive cultural campus, located in historic Sandwich, MA, on Cape Cod. It is home to one hundred acres of gardens, woodlands and family-centered activities, and museums focused on antique automobiles, history, and art.
The Museums’ collection of over 18,000 items focuses on the culture, work, leisure, and life of the people of southeastern New England, with a special emphasis on Cape Cod and the Islands. Recognizing the need to act boldly and urgently to help protect and preserve the natural environment comprising the regional landscapes and wildlife, in 2019, Heritage instituted a Strategic Sustainability Plan with the full support of the Museums’ President & CEO, Anne Scott-Putney, and its Trustees and staff. The plan outlined the institution’s strategies and tactics aimed at producing definitive results for reducing the problem that is creating climate change. Their efforts to date have resulted in an earlier-than-anticipated 50% reduction in carbon with a goal of an 80% reduction by 2050 through the development and implementation of a comprehensive and hands-on program called the Heritage Beacon Sustainability Project. Instituted in 2021, the Project is a multi-pronged approach to protect and conserve natural climate-fighting tools such as trees and shrubs, reduce and eliminate Heritage’s greenhouse gas emissions, and develop operational processes that preserve and protect the environment.
Heritage began this undertaking by documenting the current state of land, buildings, and systems in use along with a sitewide energy analysis. A review of 10 years of energy data quickly identified which buildings were the biggest consumers and created benchmarks moving forward. A plan was put into place to systematically make capital improvements and identify state grants. Projects that would result in an immediate conservation of energy, including insulating and sealing buildings that were the largest consumers, were prioritized followed by plans to transfer from fossil-based to electric sources. Actionable steps such as replacing fossil fuel carts and tools with their electric and battery-run counterparts furthered the institution’s goal of moving to cleaner and renewable sources. A commitment to purchasing electricity from renewable sources, with the long-term goal of using on-site solar arrays to power the campus, was put into place. Prioritizing energy conservation resulted in reduced energy use, and carbon emissions fell by 50%.
As Heritage makes significant strides in meeting its sustainability goals with its existing infrastructure, the organization has been planning for a much-needed expansion with GWWO. The new Barbey Family Welcome Center is long overdue, as the existing ticketing and entry facilities are designed to accommodate just 25,000 annual visitors, while today the campus welcomes over 130,000. The project addresses the need for increased capacity, improved circulation, and usability, all while staying in line with Massachusetts’ and Heritage’s decarbonization goals. Following the steps taken under the Beacon Sustainability Project, the Welcome Center is designed with an efficient envelope, including continuous R21 insulation on the exterior walls and a triple-glazed curtain wall, all-electric systems, on-site renewables through solar panels, and demand meters to track energy use. Breaking down the Welcome Center into multiple separate structures enhances the experience by encouraging visitors to explore while allowing the buildings to operate separately and for public-facing facilities to be shut down when the campus is closed. The plaza’s permeable paving filters rainwater into a system below that recharges the ground. Supporting Heritage’s mission to provide leadership in sustainable design, the new Welcome Center serves as a model for sustainable construction and provides interpretation for visitors to learn more about environmentally appropriate practices.
As Heritage worked to lower its carbon emissions, it undertook an on-site initiative to track the campus’ carbon sequestration (the absorption and storage of carbon dioxide in trees and shrubs, and an important metric to understand in tackling climate change). Alongside Heritage leadership, twenty-five volunteers measured every tree and stem across five different 10,000-SF plots that, together, represent the 1,000-acre campus. Over three hundred trees and shrubs were cataloged, and with this information, tables from the International Panel on Climate Change, and 4,750 calculations, it was determined that with just the trees and understory, 136 US tons of carbon dioxide is sequestered. Notably, the rhododendrons, one of the Gardens’ most impressive collections, were excellent sequesters as they perform photosynthesis year-round, and their leaves have a long cycle of decay. Volunteer engagement was vital to the success of this benchmarking project, and they benefitted from the opportunity to work side by side with expert climate and energy advisors and to make a meaningful contribution to understanding the value of carbon sequestration.
While Heritage has made significant advances toward its goal of achieving carbon neutrality, there are still challenges ahead. The list of capital improvements is long and will take time and keen budgeting to achieve. Installation of enough solar arrays to power the entire campus would require removing too many trees, but the new Welcome Center provides an opportunity to start. However, with a strategic plan in place, Heritage is confident in its commitment to achieving a carbon-neutral future.
For those looking to undertake a similar program, start by analyzing your institution's current energy use to develop a benchmark for each building. From there, concentrate on conservation first, electrification second, and deploying renewable energy third. Consider engaging volunteers in the effort to help spread the word and encourage them to institute similar changes in their own homes and workplaces. Later is too late when it comes to climate change.
This article originally appeared in the March 2024 issue of Papyrus and was co-authored by Judith Holt and Kate Scurlock, AIA. Judith is an expert on sustainability with decades of technical experience in building energy management and solar energy. She now serves on the Board of Trustees at Heritage Museums & Gardens. Kate is a Senior Associate at GWWO. Her career has focused on the design of impactful, vibrant, and sustainable life-long learning environments and has included work on nature centers, visitor centers, K-12 schools, higher education campuses, and community centers.
