Our team put the “Green” in the Greenheart Global Leadership Conference
By Kyle Trebotich (Greenheart Travel) and Haldis Toppen (CCI Greenheart, Work and Travel)
You many have already heard about the Greenheart Global Leadership Conference from a few of the other facilitators, but trust us when we say that there is a lot more to share. It a bit hard to grasp the meaning behind such an amazing week, but Kyle and I were lucky enough to be on the “the best team ever” (sorry Amber [hyperlink to Amber Hayes’s blog]), the Environmental Awareness track! Here is the breakdown of what we did:
Green America Exchange
We visited Green America Exchange as our first stop for the week on Tuesday morning. We were met with Denise and Fran, both Directors at the organization. They gave us a overview of their wonderful organization that is focused on creating a socially just and environmentally friendly society through the power of good consumerism. Their organization provided a stage for green companies to showcase their goods to environmentally conscious people. Green America also supports its individual members by publishing news articles and educating consumers on good purchasing practices.
Our team had a log of great questions, and the meeting turned very much into a dynamic conversation about conservation and how their ideas translated back into countries like Nigeria and China.
U.S. Green Building Council
Our second stop on Tuesday was an afternoon visit to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). This organization is the one that assesses commercial and residential buildings and their “greenness.” They have developed a set of ideas and paradigms to help the human element match with environmental concerns. Furniture should be made of these sorts of material, this type of lighting should be used, this is the best way to manage climate control, etc. Each of these practices aims to reduce a building’s environmental footprint while making people more comfortable.
You have probably been inside a building that fits within theses rules. The USGBC is the organization that evaluates for LEED certification.When a building earns a level of LEED certification, they often display that award on the main entrance.
This visit really got our Alumni thinking about one thing that isn’t normally at the top or their minds: the source of building materials. Collins, one of our participants from Ghana, commented that when he looks at a tree, he sees it as a resource for wood and building a home. After our visit to the USGBC, he now has the additional context of what role that tree plays in the natural environment.
U.S. National Arboretum
First thing on Thursday morning, we traveled to the U.S. National Arboretum where we volunteered. The U.S. National Arboretum is part of the USDA and works to “enhance the economic, environmental, and aesthetic value of ornamental and landscape plants through long-term, multi-disciplinary research, conservation of genetic resources, and interpretative gardens and exhibits.” While we were there, we helped the Friends of the National Arboretum to prepare plants for a new exhibit opening in the next year. Experiencing one of the leading horticultural organizations in the country and working outside on a beautiful day, really helped to put “Environmental Awareness” in perspective for our group.
Pachamama
Concluding our time together as the Environmental Awareness group, everyone experienced the Pachamama Alliance’s “Awakening the Dreamer” symposium. This two hour exercise helped to synthesize all the knowledge from the past week, and inspire each conference attendee to make a commitment to change the world for the better.
It is hard to believe that our team only spent two days together exclusively, because we bonded so closely with each other and with the idea to help the environment. But if there was one thing that we learned during the conference, it’s that bringing Environmental Awareness to our communities and to the world is not something that can be accomplished on its own, it will also involve working with our partners in Social Justice and International Mission-driven Business to make real change we can believe in – and we are excited to make that happen.