The Wildling Museum of Art & Nature has achieved the status of Innovator Green Business, as designated by the Green Business Program of Santa Barbara County.
Certified Green Business Innovators have met the highest verifiable standards of sustainability set by the California Green Business Network by going above and beyond the basic requirements of Green Business certification.
“It has always been an honor for our program to work with the Wildling Museum. Everything they do, they do with our community and our planet in mind. Being able to recognize them as an Innovator Green Businesses is just one more example of their extraordinary work,” said Frances Gilliland, program director at Santa Barbara County Green Business Program.
Since the Wildling opened its doors in Solvang in 2000, the museum has hosted and organized some 65 exhibitions. It have shared the awe-inspiring works of giants like Ansel Adams, Georgia O’Keeffe, Maynard Dixon, and Carl Oscar Borg.
The museum’s exhibits have surveyed the early history of wilderness art and showcased contemporary artists like Clyde Butcher, dedicated to bringing awareness to specific wilderness areas. The Wildling’s mission is to use art programs and exhibits to connect visitors and the community to nature in hopes it will awaken a desire to protect wild areas and their inhabitants.
The museum strives to collaborate with others for the betterment of local communities, as displayed through the collaboration with the Green Business Program. The Wildling has walked the talk by keeping up with Green Business Network certification standards throughout the years.
“The recertification process was painless, but also served as a good reminder that we can always strive to do better in almost any area of our operation, so it’s both motivating and enlightening.” said Stacey Otte-Demangate, executive director at the Wildling Museum of Art & Nature. “I had a few questions along the way, and the program director was very responsive and helpful.”
The museum has not only been certified and recertified, but this time decided to up their game by reaching the highest level of certification — innovator status.
“Because of our mission, I thought it was important to take it to the next level, which for us was switching to solar. We wanted to be a model for our community and visitors, and live our values,” said Otte-Demangate. “Climate change is real and we are in a climate emergency.
“Going solar was the most impactful thing we could do at this point, and we’re grateful that the Community Environmental Council (CEC) offered a program to help us do it affordably.”
CEC’s Solarize program helps nonprofit organizations install solar systems; and within about six years, organizations will fully own the solar system, translating to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings on electric bills over time.
In addition to the achievement of reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by installing solar, they also implement practices that support the community and promote social equity, and have significantly lowered their environmental footprint by implementing a telecommute option.
The community is invited to honor the Wildling Museum of Art & Nature and other new certified Green Businesses at a virtual certification celebration, Wednesday, March 24. For more about the event, visit https://greenbusinessca.org/SantaBarbaraCounty/news-and-events.
For more about the Wildling Museum of Art & Nature, visit https://wildlingmuseum.org/. Learn about the Green Business Program of Santa Barbara County at https://greenbusinessca.org/SantaBarbaraCounty; and find out about the California Green Business Network at https://greenbusinessca.org/.