Field Trip Last Stop: Duke Energy Center

Our last stop was a visit to Wells Fargo’s Duke Energy Center in Uptown Charlotte.  This building is a Platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certified building utilizing a wealth of green techniques to make the building sustainable and green.

Our tour guides shared a great deal of information with us and led us on a tour from the underground section of the building (100 ft below street level) up to the green roof.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The building has an intricate water system that collects and recycles over 35,000 gallons of water per hour from the surrounding area.  This water is recycled and used withing the Duke Energy Center.  The green roof, electronic blinds, motion sensor lights, and overall design of every aspect of this building make it a platinum member of LEED because of the amount of energy the building saves.  The students were amazed and optimistic about the environmental solutions that will lead us into the future.

Carolina Thread Trail

We all took a walk along the Carolina Thread Trail with Amanda Anderson to learn about how the rail is impacting the environment, community, and even the economy in a positive way.

    

Along the trail we met Daniel McCormick, an Environmental Artist who manipulates the earth to creat ephemeral art installations that help the local environment by resolving watershed issues.

    

We learned that in ten years, this art piece will transform into a shapely green landscape that will continue to provide relief for the local watershed.

By Alejandra Sablana

Imagine a bright blue sky

and the sun that shines over

mountains so high

deep blue seas

and dark green trees

no more gray smoke in the sky

or gray shadows blocking the

sun over mountains so high

or garbage in the seas

or plastic bags hanging in the trees

Students at work and at play in the Charlotte Nature Museum

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Writing Poetry in Nature

Students were asked to write or free-write poems relating to given prompts.  We then gathered on tree stumps and listened as students shared their poems.

Next stop, the Charlotte Nature Museum

At the Nature Museum, we learned about the importance of outdoor play for young children in cognitive development.  Their nature playground includes no toys – simply plants, textures, gardens, ponds, and many other things to spur imagination.

We were asked to let our guard down and play in the space using all of our senses.  Q asked us to reflect on childhood, environment, and the future.  Jen had students photograph as they played.

Foxxy meeting

We had an exciting, serendipitous moment at Harvest Moon Grille.  Mayor Foxx was in the house and students from Olympic HS that have been conducting water tests in Mecklenburg Co. approached him about their findings.  They asked the mayor what he could do about it and expressed their concern.

He was appreciative of their work and promised to put them in touch with his water quality crew.  He learned that the lunch at Harvest Moon Grille was a part of The Light Factory’s Earth Exchange program.  Jen Crickenberger thanked him personally for taking the time to speak with the students.  It truly meant the world to them.  They were ecstatic that they had just completed their first lobbyist experience with a real politician!

Sustainable lunch

A lunch and learn session was hosted by Harvest Moon Grille in downtown Charlotte.  Cassie, the Executive Director, Head Chef, and local farmer spoke to our students about the importance of clean food, shopping local, and making a difference in your community.  The food was great and Cassie truly is an inspiration.

A visit to The Light Factory

Next, we stopped by The Light Factory Contemporary Museum of Photography and Film for students to view the Street Wise and The Night Time is the Right Time exhibits.  They were excited to see the gallery where their final exhibition of photos and poems would be on display in January 2012.

Household trash

Before leaving the center, we got a peak into where all of the household trash goes.  This room is a temporary holding zone where trash is constantly dumped and then moved to Columbia, SC.  Our tour guide said that it never fills up to the top, but it comes close during the holidays.