Near the end of last summer’s Green Sports Alliance Summit in Santa Clara, CA, attendees were invited to share, in brief, 20 second bursts, their “Aha! moments” that drew them to the intersection of Green and Sports. These have now been posted online, as part of “My Earth Changing Moments,” an innovative, massive storytelling project. 

I’ve often heard political pundits intone, in serious, gravitas-laden voices, that we need to have “a national conversation” on this topic or that. A national conversation on race…A national conversation on guns. Whenever I hear this call, I wonder a) how this would work, and b) does this ever happen. I can’t remember any of these national conversations, can you?

Well, it turns out I was part of an ongoing national conversation on the environment via a project that, to my mind, needs a lot more exposure, My Earth Changing Moments.

The program was developed and is managed by the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF), an organization chartered by Congress in 1990. A positive environmental action led by Congress? Signed into law by a Republican President (Bush 41)? Hard to believe–but true. But I digress. NEEF’s mission is to be the nation’s leading organization in lifelong environmental learning, connecting people to knowledge they would then use to improve the quality of their lives and the health of the planet.

My Earth Changing Moments provides a forum for Americans to share “Aha moments” about the environment with their fellow citizens and thus, to engage in a real, yes…national conversation on the environment. Folks are encouraged to tell how an experience(s) changed their perspectives or inspired them to do something differently for the environment. Maybe it was a class, a parental nudge, or a job.

Or, maybe it was the various intersections of Green and Sports. That’s what the videographers were going for when they set up shop at the Green Sports Alliance Summit last July. And they made it challenging by limiting us to 20 second stories. If you know me, you know that getting me to talk for only 20 seconds is a Herculean task. But, when it came time to share my “Aha moment”, I was up to the 20 second challenge–in fact I did it in 19!

What came through in all of the talks I listened to was the passion for, and commitment to turning those “Aha moments” into meaningful actions. Here are some links to 20 second talks from people you’ve read about/heard from in prior GreenSportsBlog posts:

• Shelley Villalobos, Certification Director at The Council For Responsible Sport: Learning to recycle at summer camp.
• Jed York, CEO of the San Francisco 49’ers: Making sure Levi’s Stadium was at the forefront of sustainability.
• Omar Mitchell, NHL Director of Sustainability: My first hockey game.
• Jill Savery, CEO of Bristlecone Strategies, Olympic Gold Medalist and Sustainability Director, 2013 America’s Cup in San Francisco: Learning how to save water while growing up in the face of droughts.

Shelley Villalobos, Certification Director at The Council For Responsible Sport, describing her “Aha moment” (learning to recycle at summer camp) that inspired her to work for a healthier environment and a career at the intersection of Green and Sport (Photo credit: Green Sports Alliance)

You can peruse all of the “Aha moments” from the Green Sports Alliance Summit here. I hope they inspire you, as they reinvigorated me, to take action at the intersection of Green and Sports.

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