When
I was thinking about how to begin this blog, many ideas came to mind and many more
were suggested by my colleagues. Together we came up with several great
ideas and a few that weren’t so great. None of the ideas sounded like a
good place to begin, so I thought deeper about what I wanted
others to gain from this blog, what I hoped to accomplish, and what the greater
picture was. I was drawn to the tag line on my emails, “Sustainability….
Not just for treehuggers anymore”. I have loved including that on my
emails for years and it’s what I want to encourage others to do.
So
that was it. I want to convince others that sustainability is not just
for treehuggers like me. It is for everyone and that is what I want to
help other people see. At that point I suddenly had a harsh realization that
I must confess to you, my readers. I
don’t hug trees! I have tried it in the past, but never really understood
the point. Perhaps a tree shunned me years ago; it never wrote or
called. Perhaps I just didn’t see how the hug benefited either me or the
tree. The trees just continued to stand there enjoying a great deal more
benefit from continuing to stand than from being hugged while standing.
In truth, as long as the tree remained and had not been cut down to make fax
paper or to make room for a new parking lot, it seemed happy and I was happily
breathing the oxygen it gave me.
Honestly,
if I look at my history as a self-proclaimed treehugger, I really have never
done it for the trees. I started on this journey because I fell in love
with the animals that lived in the trees and realized we needed to keep the
trees to keep the animals. Later, when I had children, I wanted to keep
the trees for them as well. I wanted them to grow up in a world with trees
and with the animals that live in and near them. I also wanted to find
better solutions to help them live healthier lives. They needed healthier
air, healthier food, healthier water and all of this was dependent on having a
healthier planet.
I
turned my thinking toward what specific things I can do to make this
happen. And this is what I am here to share with you. Project
GreenPath has done more than you probably are aware to help your campus and
Berkeley College to be more sustainable, greener, and healthier too. I
have made big changes in my home. These beliefs are what led me to
develop Sustainable Solutions. Through this work and the collaboration of
other staff, faculty and students here at Berkeley College we have developed great
ideas. Great ways you can help make a difference in your lives and the
lives of those you love.
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Some
of my ideas might sound crazy or over the top. Do what you will with
them. Use what works for you! I admit some of my favorites are the
ones where people remind me of how much money they saved while doing the right
thing for the planet. All of the things you’ll read here will help make a
difference for someone and I hope that someone is you.
Welcome
to Harstés Green Scene!
