Photographing environmental issues for a sustainable future.
Posts Tagged ‘Changents’
Who Wants to Be a Green Guru?
Now through October 16th, we’re holding a gaming tournament on our Earthkeepers Hero: Mission Possible Facebook trivia game to determine who is the Ultimate Green Trivia Guru.
The person that earns the most points and is able to unseat our reigning Earthkeeper Hero Champion, Greena Garbo, will be awarded:
- A CASH PRIZE! of $1000 for themselves
- $500 for the environmental non-profit of their choice
- Bragging rights as the Ultimate Green Trivia Guru (Priceless or tasteless? You decide.)
Enter and start playing today to be the top player in our Hall of Fame, win a fabulous prize, and earn the opportunity to help a great cause.
More details about the contest, including important instructions on how to download and start playing the game, can be found at http://bit.ly/EKGAME_CONTEST.
May the best Earthkeeper win!
Store-Front Sustainability
Earthkeeper Hero Cate Trotter has had a busy month of hosting trend tours , which showcase all that’s hip and green in London. The theme of one of her more popular trend tours these days is “Green Retail” … and as it so happens, Timberland’s Regent Street store is one of her featured tour stops! (We couldn’t be prouder.)
Cate’s retail trend tours are designed to inspire creative teams and entrepreneurs to rethink their own retail spaces with an eye toward sustainability. What makes our Regent Street store sustainable enough to make Cate’s cut?
- Physical elements such as reclaimed timber and repurposed seating (old cinema seats work just as well for weary shoe shoppers).
- Open space, flexible displays and walls with interchangeable panels – key to refreshing the store’s interior design more easily and efficiently, without starting from scratch (and without creating more material waste).
- “Storytelling” elements which speak (quietly, not in-your-face) to our corporate commitment to the environment.
We’re thrilled to be featured in Cate’s trend tours … and would love to hear from you which other retailers you think are showcasing sustainability in an effective way.
To keep up on Cate’s latest trendspotting, follow her story anytime on Changents.com .
Creative Compassion: Impact Designers
The “Impact Designers” are a dynamic duo of Earthkeeper heroes using their design skills to battle social and environmental problems. Sami Nerenberg and Nate Bastien first met at the Rhode Island School of Design where Nate was Sami’s star student, and now both are committed to sharing their professional passion and expertise to create positive impact.
While Sami has been managing a 6-week eco-design boot camp, Nate has been busy with his own project — designing environmentally-responsible products for marginalized communities and the organizations that serve them. First up, a low-cost, durable backpack designed for people experiencing homelessness. The need behind the design, in Nate’s own words:
“Because the shelters are only open at night, you are forced out on the streets between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm every day. And don’t expect the shelter to provide any storage for your belongings, the conditions can be so poor and degrading that some individuals actually prefer to sleep on the streets or in a tent. In both cases, homeless individuals, and all of their belongings, are exposed to the weather every day. Through these conversations I recognized a design opportunity – displaced individuals need a means to carry their belongings that is affordable, durable, and waterproof. And why tap into virgin materials when there are heaps of quality materials heading to the landfill right now.”
The result is a waterproof, durable, adjustable Street Pack, made from discarded materials and featuring a multi-functional emergency shelter / solar blanket. Nate field-tested the pack himself during his 3-day Boston street retreat, and now he’s looking for other volunteers. If you (or a friend) are currently living on the streets and are interested in testing one of the first production Street Packs, please let Nate know. Testers will receive a free prototype of the Street Pack, along with a disposable camera … in return, they’ll be asked to use it and provide feedback (via photos and testimonials) on the pack’s functionality and durability.
Stay tuned as Nate and Sami share their observations and experiences in designing for positive impact both here on Earthkeepers and on their pages at Changents.com.
Portraits of Pollution and Preservation
If a picture is worth a thousand words, Earthkeeper hero Andrea Bakacs has got a lot to say about environmental issues – and solutions – she’s witnessing in New York City. Photographer and photo editor by trade and Earthkeeper at heart, Andrea has spent the past several years putting her personal and professional passions together to raise environmental awareness.
According to one of Andrea’s latest blog entries, summer in the city is hot, wet and garbage-laden:
“Walk around New York City after some torrential downpours, like the ones we’ve been having more and more recently, and you’ll struggle to find clear swatches of concrete near sidewalks that aren’t drowning in water and floating debris. 1/4 inch of rain and runoff starts pouring into the Hudson via pipes underground. 2 inches of rain and the subways start flooding. Sewers are now totally backed up. Sewage, runoff, and the street garbage that floats in it is carried into the Hudson and the Atlantic. Beach anyone?”
Rest assured that Andrea’s photo adventures take her to cleaner, greener spots of New York as well, including community gardens and salt marshes – busting any myths that the great outdoors can’t be found within city limits.
You can find more of Andrea’s updates and photos on Changents.com – and we’ll continue to share her stories here on Earthkeepers, too.
Heroes Among Us
Step off, G.I. Joe – the heroes have arrived.
We’ve already introduced you to a few of the 2009 Earthkeeper heroes … environmental educator and activist Christopher Swain, swimming 1,000 miles down the east coast in the name of cleaner water; eco-trendspotter Cate Trotter, inspiring others to live and work more sustainably by showcasing all that’s good and green in London; and Project Dirt, connecting eco-conscious Londoners with local greening projects via their website. By land, by sea and by internet, our heroes are working hard to raise environmental awareness and create Earthkeeping impact.
We’re excited to add to that roster:
Sami Nerenberg and Nate Bastien (a.k.a. the “Impact Designers”) — creating break-through, environmentally friendly design solutions for impoverished and low-income communities. As part of their Earthkeeping adventures, Nate is creating a ‘Street Pack’ for the homeless made entirely of scrap material, and Sami (one of the youngest teachers to run a program at the Rhode Island School of Design), is busy designing green “makeovers” for environmentally-challenged homes.
Eco-photographer Andrea Bakacs is harnessing the power of photography to deliver eco-messages, capturing on film amazing pockets of nature and a host of green projects across New York City. Ever seen Manhattan’s composting nuns? How about a farm (complete with goats and chickens) located on an east village rooftop? Andrea is creating a visual story of green NYC, one photo at a time.
Passionate, powerful, environmentally-committed individuals excited about sharing their talent for the good of the planet? We feel safer already.
You can follow the Earthkeeper heroes and read / hear / watch their adventures in real time on Changents.com.
Sustainability on the Big Screen
As if Earthkeeper hero Cate Trotter doesn’t have enough on her plate, what with uncovering all the hottest green trends and scenes in London, her latest green vision involves creating a film about sustainability, to further inspire people to live more sustainable lives by showing them exactly what those lives would look like. Think An Inconvenient Truth … only with a lot more optimism.
Given Cate’s passion for the mission and the power of film, we’re betting this is an idea that could really fly. But to get it off the ground, Cate’s looking for some help from her fellow Earthkeepers. Specifically:
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Do you know someone who might be interested / able to make such a video?
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Do you have any business world friends who might be willing to “sponsor” (ahem, bankroll) the project?
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Do you have any NGO or government body contacts who might want to take on such a project themselves?
If so, please let Cate know directly, or feel free to leave your info here. If you don’t have the connections but still want to help, consider forwarding or tweeting this post to get others out there excited and enthused about the idea. And, if you’ve got other suggestions on how Cate might bring her great green idea into reality, by all means let us know.
London’s Ethical Oasis: Neal’s Yard
Earthkeeper Hero Cate Trotter turned us on to this green gem in the heart of London:
A colorful, cozy corner of Covent Garden, Neal’s Yard was started in the late 70s by “alternative activist” Nicholas Saunders. After successfully launching a wholefoods shop, café and dairy in the space, Saunders invited other ethical businesses to join him in the Yard.
Today, Neal’s Yard retailers offer everything from vegan ice cream and Fairtrade skin products to homeopathic medicines … a beautiful, bountiful shopping haven for Earthkeepers (living or visiting) in London.
To learn more about Cate’s favorite green spots, shops and experiences, visit her page on Changents.com.
Sustainable London from the Inside
Enthusiasm for all things “sexy and sustainable” led Earthkeeper hero Cate Trotter to launch Insider Trends – a consulting business that combines the London-based entrepreneur’s knowledge of what’s great and green with her marketing strategy expertise.
The philosophy is hands on – by way of walking tour, Cate’s clients (business leaders, tourists, student groups, conference delegates) get a first-hand glimpse of the best green initiatives in the city – visiting London’s first five-star green hotel, shopping for ethical fashion, admiring eco-architecture and traveling by hydrogen fuel cell bus. The goal of this unique eco-show and tell? To inspire tour-takers to make their own green work smarter, better and more successful.
Here’s feedback from one of Cate’s satisfied customers in her own words:
To learn more about the good work Cate is doing to inspire more sustainable living and working in London, follow her story on Changents.com. Until we find a way to clone Cate and put one of her in every major city, you’ll have to travel to London to get the “insider experience,” but it’s worth the trip – to register for your own personal tour, visit her website.
