Rotary International now has a seventh Area of Focus - Environmental Sustainability. In accordance with this focus area, the 2022 Rotary International Convention in Houston, will feature an environmental service project utilizing the Footprint App lead by Dakota Stormer, a member of the Memorial-Spring Branch Rotary Club in Houston, TX.

 

Houston intends to take event sustainability to an unprecedented level, with the goal of negating the carbon footprint of an event with over 26,000 Rotarians expected in attendance over four days. That is about 500,000 gallons of gas, more energy than we would use in 20 round trips to the moon in our family cars. Negating this size carbon footprint would feed over 2000 people for a year.

 

The program will consist of two components. First, Rotarians who register for the RI2022 conference will be able to download the Footprint App and calculate, track, and reduce their environmental impact before, during, and after the conference. The event will feature a live carbon footprint calculation to show the reductions taken in real-time, allowing event attendees to interact to collectively reduce their impact together. Rotarians and clubs will take pledges to offset their remaining impact by supporting environmental projects that capture carbon naturally in planetary ecosystems. First, Rotarians do it themselves and then Second, they extend it into the community through sponsoring classrooms in their local schools.

 

At our House of Friendship, Rotarians will be able to pledge to sponsor classrooms in their local schools for an Environmental Education Program. Such a program can instill habits that prevent the release of over 200,000 lbs. of carbon per classroom. Such a program will feature the following:

 

 

This program will have roots in society for decades to come - but we are not waiting until 2022 to get started!

 

 

 

Attend this webinar with your club’s Interactors: In recognition of the International Day of Peace on September 21, NewGen Peacebuilders and Footprint App, Inc. are introducing “Environmental Science + peace” to US high school teachers and students in 50 states, making the link between environmental science and peacebuilding.

 

NewGen Peacebuilders was founded by Rotary Peace Fellow Patricia Shafer. Materials are aligned with Unit 5 (Land and Water Use) of the Advanced Placement Environmental Science (APES) course and feature the Pillars of Peace framework and Ecological Threat Register (ETR) produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), a Rotary International strategic partner.

 

 

 

Sponsor a school today: The NewGen Peacebuilders program mentioned above is already available for AP (Advanced Placement) Environmental Science teachers across all 50 states - and Rotarians can help teachers adapt to the virtual learning environment by sponsoring classrooms to use the resources. A classroom sponsorship of $500 will allow teachers to have access to all nine virtual-friendly lessons as well as professional development, technical support, and much more.

 

 

 

Enroll your club in the Footprint challenge: Clubs can begin reducing their environmental footprint together today by registering for the Footprint App 30-Day Challenge. The program costs as low as $400 per club depending upon the size of your membership and will help instill a culture of sustainability among your club members. Additionally, costs to participate are discounted for clubs who also choose to sponsor the education program. Each club will be given a report of their environmental impact as well as recognition for the improvements made and sustainable habits formed among your members.

 

 

 

DAKOTA STORMER

Program Chair, Rotarians GO GREEN for Houston

Rotary Club of Memorial-Spring Branch

832-533-0935 | codystormer@gmail.com