Reaching out for more ideas...

Last Tuesday, I met with Andrea Cook at the Center for Sustainable Energy in San Diego www.energycenter.org and we brainstormed some more ideas as to ways I can help people live more green.  My initial plan was to give out tattoos and cartoons to the kids and reusable grocery bags to the adults.  But what if I gave people a head start by creating an enviro-gift pack within the bags?  Compact fluorescent light bulbs, local produce, a tip sheet including easy ways to save resources and reduce money spent in the home.  What else is portable and relatively inexpensive?

I would also like to donate recycle bins at all of the events.  Upon collecting enough funds to rent these bins, I plan on collecting the plastic and aluminum myself and taking them to a recycle center and refunding the money spent on the bins.  This money making project is another way I hope to excite entrepreneurial type kids about the advantages of recycling.   

Throughout this process, I would also like to create greener practices in the ways that volleyball tournaments are run.  In the major AVP events, giant coolers of water are placed on the courts accompanied by sleeves and sleeves of paper cups.  These cups are used once, then thrown away since players play on up to 4 different courts throughout one day.  My goal is to find a sponsor who produces reusable water bottles that will replace the paper cups.

I am still in the brainstorming process and welcome new ideas.  Lets make living green fun and easy for everyone!    

Comments

[steve]

I love the idea of getting entrepreneurial kids excited. Maybe some way can be found for them to hunt all of the waste and sell it to a recycler. Figure out a way to get them to do it for their neighborhood! Some recycled things - like cans - save lots of energy and carbon.

We know someone who made an agreement with their kid. They figure out how much electricity is saved after a year of the kid helping doing things like turning off TVs, lights, keeping the AC on less and things like that. It turned out to be about $600. The 11 year old kid got half of that, which is a good deal! One of the big items was them replacing their refrigerator. John helped them hunt down a super efficient model - after all, he was going to get half of the savings.

Many states and cities have "green" programs. Do you think the AVP could be talked into providing booth space for them in return for a little publicity and just showing the public they care?

[Trudy Johnson-Lenz]

Message in a Bottle
Reusable water bottles you'll actually want to use.
By Laura Moser
Posted Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2007, at 3:05 PM ET

http://www.slate.com/id/2172541/

Article recounts Laura and friends' tests of a number of different brands of bottle.

SIGG Reusable water bottles
144 bottle designs, 22 interchangeable lids

http://www.mysigg.com/index.asp

[fleetknuckles]

This is a series of good, solid ideas. As a family, we try to instill in our own kids ideals that the land is not ours to abuse, but rather that we are privileged to be part of a larger ecosystem. We adults can lead by example, and it's so important for the subsequent generations to be more aware too.

[sara]

you are so awesome colleen. getting kids excited may even get their parents doing things. i'm a poor college student and can't help with money, but i will think about things you can do with kids.

when i was 12 it was easy for me to get into projects in a big way. anything that was fun and might involve money was totally cool. kids can pick up cans and other stuff for recycling and that saves energy, but what about them getting some of the money they help their parents save? it can be their job to turn off electricity, use the least amount of water and heating and ac. they could get what it would cost in gas to run errands for their parents on their bikes.

[Jheri]

Kids without a lot if space can do container gardens. I do it in Denmark in flower pots.

[stefani newman]

colleen, what you're doing is wonderful on so many levels. it's great to get out there and talk about climate change, but just as important to inspire kids to be outside and get active. do you have a schedule of where you'll be this summer? it would be great to put a link on teensygreen.com so people can find you!

best of luck, and keep in touch! stefani newman

[steve]

seedboming http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/video/2008/apr/25/seedbombing

a bit of compost, clay and seeds made into little balls that can be put in areas where it would be nice to have plants. I wonder if they could be made a bit bigger and still hold together. With your throwing arm all kinds of creative things could be done and kids would probably love the idea. There is a bit of edge to it.