Along with an increasing number of eco-conscious hotels and convention centers, planners also have an increasing array of options for green off-site venues.
In San Francisco, the California Academy of Sciences (www.calacademy.org) is reopening in its original location in Golden Gate Park. The new Academy is designed to consume 30 percent less energy than required by local codes, get 5 to 10 percent of its electricity from solar energy, and its living roof is constructed to absorb nearly 2 million gallons of rainwater per year. The building is in the running for a LEED platinum certification.
The Academy is focusing on eco-friendly policies such as banning bottled water during events.
“We try to do all documentation and communication via e-mail. Caterers adhere to sustainable food guidelines,” says Anne Rianda, convention and events sales manager at the California Academy of Sciences. “We’ve asked our clients to consider sustainability when they are decorating. Here, you don’t need a lot of decor there is so much eye candy in this building. We can’t be the police, but we can help people to be thoughtful and mindful.”
Being green is a large part of the appeal for groups.
“Clients that want to have events here because of their affiliation with a similar green philosophy are appreciating what the Academy is doing about being green,” she adds.
The new venue offers about 40,000 square feet of rental space, comprised of 12 different venues, including a natural history museum, planetarium, rainforest, aquarium, and open air piazza in the middle of the building.
In Madison, Wis., the Olbrich Botanical Gardens (www.olbrich.org), certified by Travel Green Wisconsin, which recognizes eco-conscious, tourism-related businesses, features 16 acres of outdoor display gardens as well as the Bolz Conservatory, which houses and displays 750 tropical plants as well as birds, fish and reptiles. Several venues are available for group events, including an atrium that accommodates up to 125 people and features a view into the arbor.
The venue focuses on offering caterers who use local and seasonal foods, according to Pat Jorenby, the facility’s rental coordinator. Also available are adult education classes and workshops focusing on sustainability.
The Cayuga Nature Center (www.cayuganaturecenter.org) in Upstate New York, has over five miles of trails, a lodge filled with indoor exhibits and live animals in both indoor and outdoor exhibits. The highlight is a 44-foot-high, six- story North American tree canopy observational tower, constructed by the local community in 2000. On the premises is a Team Challenge Ropes Course program available to groups with lodge rental.
Las Vegas is getting into the act with the Springs Preserve (www.springspreserve.org), a 180-acre site that was once home to natural springs that were a source of water for local Native Americans. Today it offers more than 50,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor space. On-site is the Desert Living Center at the Springs Preserve, with five buildings, meeting space and gardens. The preserve in 2009 will also become home to the Nevada State Museum.
In Mexico, Cancun is stepping up its sustainable tourism with a new community-based alternative tourism network called Puerta Verde, or Green Door. The new program features a sea and jungle route operated by 14 cooperatives from seven different Mayan communities in the municipality of Lazaro Cardenas. Cooperatives get paid directly for the services they provide while a percentage of the proceeds are reinvested in environmental and cultural improvement projects in the region.
The new circuit features 23 activities, including cave exploration, kayaking on lagoons, camping in the jungle, and swimming with whale sharks. The easiest way to take advantage of the Puerta Verde route is through an organized tour with Kanche (www.kanche.org), a nonprofit organization that brings about sustainable development in the rural communities of Quintana Roo and the Yucatan states.
Mayan people from the various communities run the activities, which opens a window into the local culture.
Kanche can accommodate up to 10 people together in one activity, but up to 40 a day split between different activities.
