Sustainability at

the NC Botanical
Gardens
By Madison Lawson
(photo credits to Madelyn
Coble unless otherwise
stated)
Passive Solar Design
Passive solar design is when the sun’s
energy is used (though not stored) or
blocked for heating and cooling
purposes.

The Allen Education Center has many walls

of windows. In the Winter, these
south-facing windows allow sunlight to help
heat the building. The roof is made from a
reflective material and has a significant Photo sourced from
https://www.architectmagazine.com/pr
overhang. These features help block the oject-gallery/north-carolina-botanical-g
Summer sun, keeping the building’s interior arden-education-center-6300
2 cool.
Active Solar Design
Active solar design is when the
system captures and uses energy
from the sun.

The Recreation Center’s use of

photovoltaic cells is a type of
active solar design.

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Energy Efficiency
If something is energy efficient, it
requires less energy to perform
the same task as the “standard”
model

Since the Recreation Center’s

photovoltaic cells use solar
energy instead of fossil fuel
based energy, they make the
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building energy efficient.
Daylighting
Daylighting is simply when a
building is illuminated by
natural light.

The Reeves Auditorium’s walls

of windows serve more than a Image sourced from
https://ncbg.unc.edu/about/facilit
heating purpose. They allow y-rental/event-venues/
enough sunlight into the
building to greatly reduce the
need or artificial light sources.
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Water Conservation
Water conservation takes many
forms. In its simplest, it is
reducing consumption of water
as a resource.

The gutter system on the Image sourced from

Recreation Center collects https://www.landscapeperformance.or
g/case-study-briefs/north-carolina-bot
rainwater into the large metal anical-garden
containers pictured. This water is
then used to water the plants in
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the garden.
Reuse of Materials
Sustainability applies to more
than just the construction of
the buildings. At the NC
Botanical Gardens, all trees that
were cut down in order to make Image sourced from
room for the gardens and https://journalnow.com/gallery/news/p
hotos-north-carolina-botanical-garden
buildings were turned into /collection_88406aa3-cbaf-5efe-91ab
furniture. -62c6c037c150.html

(Information credit to Dr.

Schmalbeck)
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Ecosystem
Conservation
The NC Botanical Gardens is
centered around the idea of
conservation. Conservation is
when species are put in a
location in order to preserve
them. One plant I photographed
from the garden is the Hardy
Tiger’s Claw. It is pictured here.
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 Stormwater
Management
Stormwater management is the
prevention of runoff and pooling that
would occur after heavy rains. Runoff
is an issue because it is how many
chemicals enter the drinking water
system.
The parking lot at the NC Botanical
Gardens is made of porous materials
that allow large amounts of water to
easily absorb into the ground. This
prevents runoff.
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Human/Nature Interface
Human/nature interface is the
interaction between humans
and nature.
The gardens themselves are a
wonderful example of this
concept. They facillitate
positive interaction between Image sourced from
humans and nature, and exhibit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Ca
rolina_Botanical_Garden
ways we can coexist without
causing harm.
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