Inspired by the legacy of Rachel Carson and 50 years of conservation in her name, Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge has developed a voluntary community conservation collaborative called Rachel Carson’s Conservation Champions: Businesses for a Greener Future. 

Our goal is to inspire at least 50 businesses in southern Maine to implement at least one environmentally sustainable action within a one-year timeframe. 

Rachel Carson’s Conservation Champions is a voluntary community conservation project that partners the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge with the southern Maine business community. Our mission is to increase public awareness of environmentally sustainable efforts and motivate all people within the community to participate in environmentally sustainable practices by partnering with local businesses to promote change within the community.

This project is focusing efforts in the towns that the refuge calls home (Kittery, York, Ogunquit, Wells, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Biddeford, Old Orchard Beach, Saco, Scarborough, and Cape Elizabeth), but is open to any and all businesses throughout Southern Maine that would like to participate!

Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge hosted a virtual Earth Day event, which was recorded and can be viewed below. You'll learn how local businesses in our southern Maine community are partnering with Rachel Carson NWR to take steps toward making their businesses more environmentally sustainable. You'll hear from a partner organization, The Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission, about how small businesses can increase energy efficiency and about financial assistance that is offered to do so. You'll also hear from EarthShift Global, a local business that has joined Rachel Carson’s Conservation Champions: Businesses for a Greener Future.

Get Involved

Consider joining Rachel Carson’s Conservation Champions today! Business owners can sign up here. Refuge staff will be available to facilitate implementation and planning as needed and are happy to provide expertise and support.

By signing up, you are showing your intention to implement at least one environmentally sustainable action and reach your implementation goal within a one-year timeframe. For example, if your environmental action is to switch your business lighting to LED lights, you can slowly install them over a one-year period, which will also help spread out the burden of costs to reach your implementation goal. Actions are not limited to one year and we encourage all participants to continue into future years! 

Interested in participating, but not sure which action(s) your business may be able to implement? We would be glad to go over options and help brainstorm ideas. Get in contact with us!

Get Inspired

Our vision is that this project will help provide people with the tools and knowledge they need to make decisions about how they can best contribute to conservation, leading to actions (however small) that will affect change and benefit the environment and local habitats of southern Maine, either directly or indirectly.

We encourage you to research environmental actions that interest you and best fit your business. Below is a short list of environmental action examples with links to more information to get you inspired.

Keep Our Oceans Clean and Reduce Waste

• Choose not to provide plastic straws to customers unless requested.

• Encourage customers to purchase and bring reusable bags for their shopping (once safe again according to CDC guidelines) or switch to recyclable paper options.

• Phase out current cleaning products and switch to eco-friendly cleaning products.

• Phase out and switch from styrofoam products to recyclable products.

• Begin composting, which could also contribute towards creating a pollinator habitat garden, or join a local composting program with curbside compost pickup. Learn more about composting at: https://www.maine.gov/dep/sustainability/compost/index.html. A list of businesses in Southern Maine that offer composting services can be found at https://www.nrcm.org/sustainability/maine-composting-companies/.

Provide Habitat for Pollinators

• Make your landscaping regimen pesticide- or herbicide-free.

• Beautify your store front and provide pollinators with food by planting native flowering plants in front of and around your business. Learn more:  https://extension.umaine.edu/gardening/manual/plants-pollinator-gardens/

• Establish annual or regularly scheduled invasive plant species clean-up days. Learn more: https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mnap/features/invasive_plants/invasives_gallery.htm

• Take part in "No Mow May, a new movement that provides early emerging pollinators with food and promotes biodiversity. Learn more: https://www.gardensillustrated.com/feature/lawn-mowing-when-flowers-may/

• Mow with monarchs in mind to promote milkweed growth (upon which monarch caterpillars are dependent) and monarch survival during the summer. Choose to mow only from October 1st to May 1st and refrain from mowing when monarch eggs and caterpillars are present. Learn more: https://monarchjointventure.org/images/uploads/documents/MowingForMonarchs.pdf

Businesses Looking to Make a Big Change

• Partake in an all-employee volunteer day with a local conservation organization of your choice. A short, non-comprehensive list of local volunteer opportunities can be found here.

• Invest in renewable energy options or reduce electricity use. The Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission (SMPDC) Energy Audit Program provides low-cost energy audits to small for-profit businesses (as defined by the Small Business Administration) in the SMPDC region. Learn more about your eligibility for funding and how SMPDC can help your business achieve increased energy efficiency by visiting https://smpdc.org/energyaudit or emailing the SMPDC Sustainability Coordinator, Karina Graeter, at kgraeter@smpdc.org. Additional resources on this topic can be found at https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/save-electricity-and-fuel.

• Source local farms or companies for food and drink options at restaurants.

• Feature in-season collected invasive species menu items, such as the green crab, garlic mustard, or Japanese knotweed. See links for info and ideas:

  • Green crab: https://www.nhpr.org/post/if-you-cant-get-rid-it-eat-it-making-seafood-out-green-crab#stream/0

  • Garlic mustard: http://foragedfoodie.blogspot.com/2013/05/why-you-should-forage-eat-garlic.html

  • Japanese knotweed: https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/ingredients/article/japanese-knotweed-recipes

Get Collaborative

We will soon have a Facebook forum hosted by The Friends of Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge Facebook page up and running: A place for participants to keep in touch with the refuge and build community collaboration by sharing ideas, best practices, and individual experiences with other Rachel Carson Conservation Champions.

More details for Champions coming soon!