At Oregon Coast Aquarium, we believe that protecting our Blue Planet starts with Going Green. Our oceans are heavily impacted by our actions on land. The invasion of millions of tons of plastics into the sea, a changing climate, and habitat loss have all taken a serious toll on marine life. Over one third of marine mammals are threatened with extinction, and more than half of all ocean life has disappeared from its historic range. Yet over 3 billion people depend on the ocean for their main protein source. And ALL of us need a healthy ocean – and the photosynthetic algae that live there – to supply most of the air we breathe.
It’s up to all of us to help conserve marine life and ecosystems. Here are some ways the Aquarium is doing our part.
MISSION: We work to integrate sustainability into all aspects of daily operations and continuously grow our green practices. We empower our staff and volunteers to make sustainable choices at work and in their own lives by modeling and communicating green practices across the facility.
VISION: As a leader for sustainability in Oregon, we incorporate and model best practices across our facility. Our staff and volunteers consciously and regularly make environmentally-responsible decisions which reflect our organization’s sustainability culture.
Read below to see some of the ways we’re Going Green at Oregon Coast Aquarium!
Reducing Plastics
Our Gift Shop has switched from plastic price tags to paper, doesn’t offer single-use bags for purchases, and sells a number of sustainable products including metal straws, water bottles, and recycled clothing
Our Husbandry Team sanitizes and reuses medical equipment when possible, uses recyclable gloves, and returns shipping materials to the supplier for reuse
Our Administrative team recycles our printer ink and toner cartridges, purchases pens made from recycled materials, and chooses non-plastic office supplies whenever possible
At our Café, we give straws only upon request, and use compostable bio-plastic utensils and cup lids
Our Marketing team purchases eco-friendly giveaways including zero waste stickers, recycled denim pencils, and bamboo utensils
Reducing Packaging
We have transitioned to digital Membership cards so we no longer need to print or mail physical cards
We save and reuse most of the boxes, bubble wrap, and other packaging that we receive
We have created a letter we send to our vendors asking them to reduce the amount of packaging they use, and providing ideas for some more sustainable alternatives
Conserving Electricity
We’ve replaced our lightbulbs with high-efficiency LED lights
We recycle our light bulbs
Our Life Support team has updated many of our pumps with high-efficiency equipment
Conserving Water
We have installed water bottle fill stations across our facility
We use only native plants in our landscaping, which require far less water, and irrigate our grounds only when necessary
We partner with the Surfrider Foundation’s Blue Water Task Force to test the water quality of local beaches every week
Helping Ecosystems
Our grounds are a Certified Wildlife Habitat
We use only Oregon native plants in our landscaping
We use only organic, non-toxic fertilizers and weed killers such as vinegar and clove oil
Composted food waste from the Cafe is used as soil
We’re transitioning to electric rather than gas-powered landscaping tools
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