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Environmental Statement
The Nature Place is part of
the Colorado Outdoor Education Center and has a long-standing history of teaching
about and caring for the environment dating back to the properties original
purchase in 1948. We now own 6,000
acres of land, of which only 400 are used for the campus, where our staff and
guests live. The remaining 5,600
acres will never be developed. We
continuously update and implement new techniques, technologies, and ideas in
order to improve our environmental stewardship. Our goal is to act in environmentally consciousness ways and to educate
people, experientially, about our interconnected global system in which we are
a part.
Guests at The Nature Place can
participate in our linen re-use program, saving water, energy and waste. Most
of our cleaning products are non-toxic and biodegradable. We have passed AVEDA’s stringent
environment and sustainability protocol and use spa quality amenity products in
the rooms that are designed for environmental sustainability.
Recycling: Our guests participate in our
ranch-wide recycling program, whether they know it or not. We recycle
cardboard, aluminum and tin cans, paper, glass, and plastic #’s 1-7. Computers are taken to a recycler or
re-user. All scrap metal is
recycled. Worn guest towels are
given to our maintenance department for them to use. Worn mattresses, blankets and linens are given to local
shelters and elder facilities.
Green Purchasing: All of our departments purchase
environmentally responsible products. Our store sells organic cotton t-shirts
and other organic wear. Our
kitchen buys organic and local foods when requested and uses chlorine free
products such as paper cups of recycled content, napkins and paper towels that
are made of 100% recycled material.
Our housekeeping department uses Greenworks products by Clorox to clean
and the laundry uses 100% biodegradable detergent. All departments buy in bulk quantities to reduce the carbon
footprint made by transporting these products to our facility. Most of our light bulbs are compact fluorescent
and our exterior lights are mostly on timers. We purchase energy star appliances in our staff lodging
facilities.
Green Education: Signage encourages our guests
to conserve water and energy and to recycle the many materials that we do. This signage explains the why it is important to do these things. We offer our
guests access to a full-time naturalist on staff. Our naturalists lead general nature hikes or “activities with a focus” including: wildflowers,
birds of the ranch, search for the Elk herd and other mammals, geology or
astronomy using our 17 ½ inch telescope, one of the state’s largest. We can also make available programs
that give leaders new perspectives of their human organizations by using our
natural systems that are on site to teach about change, transition, systems
thinking, innovation, the importance of “now,” all to help create the desired,
sustainable future state. We
strive to be forward thinking in our work and provide programming that helps
participants be forward thinking too.
Land and Forest Restoration: We implement ongoing fire
mitigation projects each year aimed at restoring the forest to its natural
state by working with the State of Colorado Forest Service, Pike National
Forest and other organizations.
Our working cattle ranch operation offers a living-learning center on
sustainable ranching practices. We
are using more and more xeriscape practices in our landscaping around buildings
in order to reduce our water usage and to be more sustainable.
Building Construction and
Remodeling: During the winter of ’08 – ’09 The
Nature Place has remodeled eight of its original Studio Apartments. Materials that were used were tile,
recycled content carpet and Low E windows. When older hot water heaters fail, we replace them, where
appropriate, with energy efficient on demand type heaters. We have a newly developed committee
whose mission is to pursue new energy efficient and sustainable technologies as
they become technologically and financially available. Ideas for our immediate future include: pre-heating the indoor pool and Jacuzzi
water via the sun, producing some percent of our electricity off of
photovoltaic and wind systems. And
we will consider using straw bale or solar mass technologies in order to reduce
our carbon footprint with any new construction or remodels that we do.
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