On this 40th Earth Day, its ideals may be celebrated as we open our new gallery building, welcome visitors to the Museum Park, and complete the Pond restoration. Here, art is connected to nature, completely. NCMA is taking a leadership role in sustainable design. Our day lit galleries are beautiful and reduce energy consumption, as does an advanced HVAC system for the collection. Rain water is collected to replenish pools and irrigate a sustainable landscape for sculpture. Our Park is preserving open space and introducing the community to contemporary art in nature. And we are building a unique and innovative storm water management pond to reduce sedimentation and point-source pollution to the state’s rivers and streams. We may not be saving the world, but we think the Museum is contributing in a significant way.

Read more about the green features of the Museum in our green statement.

Tomorrow, the Museum Park comes to life for Earth Day at the NCMA, a celebration of art and nature.

While green demonstrations, activities, and workshops will inspire more earth-friendly lifestyles, we’ll also be doing our part to put on an earth-friendly event.

We’re hosting our celebration in a Park for one thing, which makes our event pretty green to begin with. Doesn’t it just make sense to celebrate Mother Earth in a park rather than surrounded by parking lots?

Think twice before you throw that fork in the garbage. Throughout the festival, new recycling stations with bins for recyclable materials, compost, and trash will help reduce waste.

We’re also helping the planet and people in need by collecting gently worn shoes for donation to Soles4Souls, a nonprofit that recycles and reuses footwear around the world. Collection areas will be set up at the festival.

Lunch items and concessions from Blue Ridge Restaurant will come with compostable serving materials. Decorations—larger-than-life flora—were made from reusable materials from The Scrap Exchange. Much of the signage is being reused from last year’s festival. And we won’t be passing out festival maps and event schedules, so on that note take a look at the event map here before you come—and in honor of Earth Day—don’t print it out! (If you need help finding your way around the Park, friendly Museum ambassadors wearing Earth Day T-shirts will be around to help.)