TERRE HAUTE —
Terre Haute is on a roll for hosting environmentally friendly conferences. Last October, I attended the West Central Indiana Recycling Summit at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. The conference was organized by TREES Inc., a local nonprofit organization.
The conference opened up my eyes to what local industries are doing to lessen their carbon footprint. It wasn’t long after the conference, where part of my role as a TREES Inc., volunteer was to contact everyone who attended to find what has changed in their lives/office since the conference.
Within days, the positive results started rolling in. Many people/companies reported they started a recycling program at home or in their office. It is my belief that these people/companies wanted to start recycling before they ever attended, but it was the conference that gave them the extra boost to make it happen.
On Nov. 16 and 17 another conference is happening in Terre Haute; it’s called GreenTown. It will be a two-day event conducted on the campus of Indiana State University and organized by the nonprofit Our Green Valley Alliance for Sustainability. The conference will be a second opportunity for people to take ideas and weave them into their own lives.
“The conference is to initiate a public conversation in Terre Haute about the importance of paying attention to ways that we are impacting the environment in a negative way,” President of OGVA Sister Jeanne Knoerle said.
The conference will be headlined by four well-known speakers including Mia Birk, Bob Dixson, Dr. Richard Jackson and Scott Russell Sanders. Birk is the author of Joyride and was Portland, Oregon’s first bicycling coordinator. Birk is a fast-pedaling advocate for creating a bicycling culture in communities. Bob Dixson is the mayor of Greensburg, Kan.
Four years ago, Greensburg was leveled to the ground by an F5 tornado. With help from the Greensburg community, they are rebuilding stronger and greener. Also, Jackson, a professor of health at UCLA, will argue how we can live healthier lives through food, exercise and doing a better job of planning and developing our existing and natural environments. Lastly, Sanders, an Indiana University distinguished professor emeritus, will talk about his perspective on the human place in nature.
GreenTown will also bring in a few mayors from around Indiana to share their sustainability plan and trade ideas. The conversation will include Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett.
“Mayors have a great deal of influence on what happens in their cities. It is important to have people in those positions to come and talk, and hopefully mayors from other cities will be there listening too,” Knoerle said.
When the conference is complete OGVA hopes to have the start of a sustainability plan for Vigo County and eventually the Wabash Valley.
“We want to alert people to what are some of the things we can do to make Terre Haute more conscious of what we are doing to the environment. We want to encourage people to stop doing things that are not good to do, and show them some of the things that are good to do,” Knoerle said.
Hopefully GreenTown won’t be the last notch in Terre Haute’s belt in hosting an environmentally friendly conference.
For more information about Green Town visit: www.greentownconference.com/agenda_terre_haute_2011.asp.
Jane Santucci is an environmental freelance writer for the Tribune-Star. Santucci is a proud volunteer with TREES Inc. and Our Green Valley. She also sits on the Wabash Valley Goodwill Industries Board of Directors. Share your environmental stories and tips with her at JaneSantucci@yourgreenvalley.com.
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YOUR GREEN VALLEY: Environmental conferences good for Terre Haute
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