Green Mission Statement
At Maple Ridge Lodge we provide environmentally sound initiatives that are both nationally and Vermont code approved through the thoughtful design, build, and operation of our community. In particular, we emphasize energy conservation, reuse and upcycling, and protection of our natural resources in everything we do.
And then, we go over and above what is required and recommended to do even more to lessen our carbon footprint. We represent nearly one hundred households in our community, and we take that responsibility seriously.
Finding the place where environmentally sound management and our residents’ enjoyment of our community intersect is the true goal of The Lodge GreenSeniors®. Join us in our journey to help our seniors leave a legacy of care and preservation for their children and grandchildren.
- We limit the use of plastic and paper products at The Lodge, but when paper is necessary, most paper products used are made from recyclable material.
- We make available to our residents and staff reusable fabric bags for shopping and combine our shopping trips to cut down on emissions pollution.
- We set aside bins in our communities to separate and collect recyclable materials, including newspapers, white paper, aluminum, plastic beverage bottles, batteries and LED light bulbs so they don’t go into the landfill.
- We will plant our own herb gardens and blueberry bushes for use in our kitchens and to stabilize the soil.
- Our activity program will work closely with our kitchen and maintenance department to reuse and upcycle packaging to create beautiful craft projects.
- We use non-toxic, environmentally safe, biodegradable cleaning products.
- We use broad-based environmentally protective mattress covers to cut down on waste in needing to replace them.
- We provide community van transportation rather than use individual cars to transport residents in groups to cut down on air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, oil consumption and the costs of fueling.
- We encourage our staff to car-pool to the workplace.
- We are committed to our Buy Local program where we buy locally produced items whenever possible, including paper goods, produce and other comestibles. It reduces the amount of fossil fuels required to transport the things you buy from other parts of the country or the world. It also reduces the amount of plastic and paper products consumed in the packaging of such far-traveling products.
- We encourage our residents to buy local by sponsoring local shopping trips and events as we believe buying local reduces the consumption of valuable natural resources and encourages more local business initiatives.
- We source food locally when available and incorporate it into our chef-run Harvest dining program.
- We use seasonal menus to take advantage of food that is grown regionally as often as possible, cutting down on transportation costs and maintaining our residents’ traditions of having corn when it is ripe and fresh strawberry rhubarb pie, house-made, when spring provides this bounty.
- We seasonally compost our green organic kitchen waste and use it to plant herb gardens to flavor our meals.
- We feature delicious plant based meals alongside old favorites in our dining program.
- We have a vendor for our grease waste to keep it out of the landfill, and instead provide feed for farm animals.
- We use Low Flow Water Valves in all of our resident apartments
- We train our staff on methods to reduce use of energy and water such as efficient, yet comfortable showers for our residents.
- Our communities are Energy Star rated through our installation of low lumen and LED lighting and energy star rated appliances
- Where practical we use motion sensor lighting to reduce energy use
- We are committed to sustainable and non-toxic landscaping techniques, through preservation of tree and the use of indigenous plantings when landscaping to enable the use of less watering and fertilizing
- Our landscape will include plantings specially selected to provide food for bees
- We are planning to incorporate a Certified Butterfly Garden to protect the species and allow our residents full enjoyment of the outdoors.
- We have insulated the building in accordance with the most updated and energy efficient edition of Vermont Commercial Building Energy Standards. In fact, our insulation standards exceeds Vermont CBES.
- We installed high performance doors and windows to reduce heat loss and prevent drafts while retaining the health benefits of natural light in the apartments and commons.
- We used high efficiency heating and air conditioning systems to better conserve resources.
- We provide independent HVAC systems in each resident’s apartment to allow individual apartments to be heated or cooled, depending on the season, unit location, and the resident’s personal preferences, while minimizing energy use in unoccupied apartments.
- We provided programmable electronic thermostats to save energy and allow the user full control of their HVAC system in order to satisfy their personal needs., adding both savings and user satisfaction.
- We used state-of-the art energy recovery units to capture wasted heat and/or cooling for a more efficient building. We have (2) energy recovery units.