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To The Arctic opens Friday at Discovery Place

To The Arctic opens Friday at Discovery Place

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - An extraordinary journey to the top of the world, the documentary adventure To The Arctic tells the ultimate tale of survival. Narrated by Oscar® winner Meryl Streep, the film takes audiences on a never-before-experienced journey into the lives of a mother polar bear and her twin seven-month-old cubs as they navigate the changing Arctic wilderness they call home. Captivating, adventurous and intimate footage brings moviegoers up close and personal with this family’s struggle to survive in a frigid environment of melting ice, immense glaciers, spectacular waterfalls and majestic snow-bound peaks.

Event Details
Dates:  Opens Friday, April 20th
Tickets:  $5 to $10
Venue:  IMAX Dome Theatre at Discovery Place
Address:  301 N.

Digital Photo Scavenger Hunt

Digital Photo Scavenger Hunt

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Stop by the nature center any Sunday in April for a scavenger hunt list filled with fun and adventure for your family. Use our free loaner camera, or bring your own digital camera and your sense of exploration.  All ages welcome!

Event Details
Dates:  Sundays in April
Time:  1pm
Free Admission
Venue:  McDowell Nature Center & Preserve
Address:  15222 York Rd., Charlotte

Need more information?  Please click HERE or call 704.588.5224.

County puts out ‘hit’ on beavers at Beatty and Park Road Parks

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation’s Nature Preserves and Natural Resources Division will soon begin wildlife management projects that will focus on the reduction and removal of the beaver populations at Beatty Park and Park Road Park. The purpose of these projects is to prevent further damage to the numerous trees that surround the lakes, to protect the trees surrounding Lake Pointe Hall (Beatty), and to improve public safety. The projects will begin as early as March 2012.

Staff will address the issue by laying wire fencing around shoreline trees to prevent further damage caused by beavers. In Beatty Park, more than 50 trees have already been protected. As a last resort, the County will hire a wildlife damage control agent to set up traps to control the beaver, and captured beavers will be put down.

Beatty Park

CMS design for Pineville school wins Energy Star rating

CMS design for Pineville school wins Energy Star rating

PINEVILLE (Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools) - Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, in collaboration with Cort Architectural Group, has received Energy Star recognition for the planned replacement of Pineville Elementary.

The designation recognizes that the school’s design is expected to achieve Energy Star rating when the building is in operation. The finished building will be eligible for an Energy Star rating after one year of operation if it meets the federal standards.

The new school, expected to be ready for occupancy in February 2013, will also be the subject of a case study by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which confers the Energy Star ratings for buildings.

Catawba-Wateree basin improves to drought watch

CATAWBA COUNTY (The Catawba-Wateree Drought Management Advisory Group) -  The Catawba-Wateree Drought Management Advisory Group (CW-DMAG) today announced the Catawba-Wateree Basin is starting the new year with an improved drought condition.

The 4,750 square-mile Basin has improved to Stage 0 drought level of the Low Inflow Protocol (LIP) compared to Stage 1 during the fall of 2011. Local water suppliers will provide additional guidance on actions for their jurisdictions as appropriate.

A glimpse of the future? Recycling tops trash in November

MECKLENBURG COUNTY – It’s official. For one day last month in Mecklenburg County, a little more went into the recycling bin instead of the trash can. Why is that a big deal?
 
Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011 represented the first day ever that the amount of waste received by the County for recycling exceeded the amount of garbage disposed at the landfill. When you’re talking in terms of millions of pounds of stuff, it’s a major milestone in public sanitation.
 
“While this performance isn’t yet the norm in Mecklenburg County, it does give us a very good indication of what could be our future,” said Bruce Gledhill, director of Solid Waste for Mecklenburg County.