NATICK, Mass. -- The Massachusetts Audubon Society's Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary does something that most of us can only dream about. The organization has almost no carbon footprint.

Building Produces Own Power, Heat

The Broadmoor nature and visitor center, which sits on a 626-acre refuge, produces all of its own electricity and heat.

NewsCenter 5's David Brown reported that this is something anyone can do.

The wildlife sanctuary in Boston's Metrowest is becoming better known for its environmental stewardship.

The visitor center is a retrofitted 1911 barn that was converted long ago to produce energy and be green.

"Nobody wants to suffer to save money or to do the right thing. They want to live in a nice, comfortable, well-lit place ... and they can," the Broadmoor Sanctuary's Elissa Landre said.

The "right thing" started a quarter of a century ago when the sanctuary's two-story sun space was built onto a barn.

Single-paned glass allows the maximum amount of heat from the sun to come in, and then the heated air is brought into rocks in the foundation where it is stored and circulated through the building.

The roof top generates the electricity with 128 solar panels covering the roof, providing power and saving money.

"Every contribution goes to education, to advocacy and conservation, and not to electrical bills or heating bills," Landre said.

"We have not spent a penny on fossil fuel for heating the building in 25 years," she said.

The water bill is low as well. Rainwater is collected and used on the native plant garden. The composting toilets have saved the sanctuary more than 2 million gallons of water over the past 20 years.

The Audubon Society is taking aggressive measures that are gentle for the environment -- inside and out.