Going Green with Wolf Trap

With Earth Day just around the corner (April 22), we thought it best to give everyone some ideas on ways to go green that Wolf Trap has seen work well in our own daily lives. Maybe being more Eco-friendly was your new year's resolution? Well fear not. The year may be a quarter over, but there’s still time; and with the lovely weather lately, it’s the perfect time to celebrate our earth!

Cut Down on Electricity Use

There are plenty of ways you can cut down on energy use. The most simple and no-hassle way has to be turning off your air when you leave for extended periods of time. Why pay money to heat/cool an empty house/office building for almost half the day? You’re not only saving on energy use, but on your bill too! To take it one step further, you can install things in your home/office such as windows that lock temperature in, appliances that run more smoothly, and letting in more natural light vs. pulling the blinds and clicking on the lights. It’s light out past 8—take advantage of it!

Plant Some Green

I think we can all agree that the world would not be hurting one bit if we added a few more flowers, bushes, and trees. Not only are they nice to look at, but they cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and provide a stable habitat for other plant life and animals. Additionally, larger plants can provide shade for your building and keep it cooler than having the entire building in direct sunlight. Feel like doing some gardening but don’t have your own outdoor space? Join us! Wolf Trap National Park will be planting 20,000 trees in the dimple meadow on Friday, April 27th from 9am-3pm. If you’d like to assist, email Mandy Chidsey at wotr_volunteer@nps.gov for more info.

Commute the Smart Way

There are plenty of ways to go green when it comes to transportation—and many of them have become even more and more trendy lately! The most obvious, of course, is to trade in your gas-guzzler for a hybrid or electric car. Not only have they become the rage thanks to many a green celebrity over the past 5 years or so, but they help keep the air clean more than you can imagine. (Speaking of electric cars, did you know that, thanks to GM, Wolf Trap has electric charging stations available for patrons both at The Barns and at the Filene Center?) Not in the mood for a new car quite yet? Carpool! Even if you don’t have a colleague who works closely to you, chances are that there are plenty of commuters who work and live near you. Just check out Commuter Connections to find a few!

And, of Course, Recycle!

Recycling has to be the easiest way to go green. Not only does it take very little effort, but everyone around you has made it easier to recycle. More and more public places have separate receptacles for recyclable materials, while trash pickup services are giving companies and households separate bins for recycling, giving everyone even less of an excuse not to.

There are plenty of other ways that you can go green both in your home and your office. Feel free to take a page (or several) out of Wolf Trap’s book and learn more about what we've done here to help our environment and the things it’s done for us. And from everyone here at Wolf Trap, Happy Earth Day!