A couple weeks ago I learned that the town I live in has a "green moms" group (http://www.medfieldgreenmoms.org/). It was organized about 6 months ago by a small group of mamas who wanted to go green and be able to support and educate one another through this process. I was SO thriled to hear about it and joined the group last week. Tonight was my first meeting.
I found the group to be very welcoming, non-judgemental, and a mix of mamas at different places of the going green process. This was reassuring to me because although I feel proud of the few things I have done to be more green, I'm far from reaching green nirvana. And I didn't want to be judged because I'm not a vegetarian or driving the Toyota Prius or composting (yet). I didn't feel judged at all and I have to say that I was really happy to be among a group of other mamas really wanting to make things better for themselves and their families.
The topic for this evening's meeting was Climate Change and the guest speaker was Dan Ruben from Green Decade of Newton. He presented briefly on the overall climate change crisis and how it is related to energy use and global warming. This topic always overwhelms me. I felt similar to the way I felt when I saw "An Inconevnient Truth" - sad and defeated...but also informed, fascinated and empowered.
He went into further detail about how to "put your house in order." A great list of "to dos" to follow when considering how to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle. I found it really helpful and affirming. I realized we have done many of the items on this list. But I also found that there are many more ways we can make our home more eco-friendly.
Overall, I enjoyed the meeting. I'm really excited about this group and look forward to learning more about being green and meeting more green mamas. I'm very tired now (as you can probably tell by the writing of this entry) so I'm off to bed. Ciao for now.
2 comments:
Hey Nik, tell me more about the green meeting of mamas and what tonight's guest speaker shared with you. It is very cool that people are being so welcoming and encouraging (rather than the "holier than thou" angle). In my efforts to green up, I've always felt more people working together = more success and better ideas. I think collaborative approaches to problem solving, and good natured competitiveness (who can reduce waste or carbon footprint the most in a specific application or task, like keeping touch with friends and family or maximizing the efficiency and minimizing the harmful impact of a regular gasoline powered car), are great ways to get more people involved. Look forward to hearing more. :)
-tinhart
Hey tinhart. Thank you for your comment. I'm really new to the group so I'm not sure if I can answer all your questions at this point. I notified the group of my blog so I'm hoping they'll read it and then maybe comment on your comment. However, the feeling I got from last night's meeting (in regards to your question) was more of a place to be supported and educated in our community. What are other moms doing? How can we become greener as moms? I think the bottom line of commonality is that we are moms wanting to make our lives and our families lives cleaner, safer, healthier...greener. And there is tremendous passion and power in this group. If any other "green moms" are out there, please comment. Oh and they are also affiliated with www.ecomomalliance.org. Ciao for now.
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