Green Team Academy

Violent conflicts between herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria led Dr. Daniel Gbujie to change his focus from medicine to climate action. In order to understand what is climate change and what we can do about it, Daniel attended the Climate Reality Project training in Denver, Colorado in 2017, which is where I met Daniel.  

Daniel went on to start Team 54 Project, a nonprofit registered in the U.S. He helped start a new app called RepClime and is asking people to voice their support to ask Google to support it. 

Team 54 Project uses a strategy called "All-Inclusive Concept".  The idea is that everyone can "come as you are". Use whatever skills you have. Daniel gives an example of a spray-can artist who didn't know anything about climate change. By working together through ideas, the artist created a "Parallel World" painting, using nontoxic paints. The painting has been used to raise awareness about our impacts. 

Team 54 Project started to focus on the then 54 African countries. In three months after the training, Daniel gave 100 presentations. It expanded and now works in 169 countries and over 200,000 members in just two years. With their eight creeds, Team 54 helps people get together online, then do actions in their own communities.

What types of projects? For example, Team 54 Project provides ideas for youth-based advocacy programs with art and sports. 

• One simple activity is to work with young children by providing them photographs of natural scenery in their area. The students are encouraged to paint it accurately. Through that activity, that spurs conversations around comparing how their areas look versus clean, natural landscapes, and what can be done.
• Another example is hosting soccer matches, starting with a climate presentation then moving on to Team Climate Action vs Team Climate Change. Because soccer is a top interest for youth around the world, this allows local teams to raise awareness about climate action and bring it to the community in a way that is relatable.

Another initiative spurred by David Gbijue is an idea for a new app called the RepClime app, for "Reporting Climate".  The goal of the app is to facilitate climate mitigation and adaptation by allowing people even in remote areas to report what they are experiencing and ask for assistance. This could be areas that are experiencing droughts, floods, food insecurity or any issue. 

The RepClime App would be a real-time reporting system that will enable people, young and old, to become environmental stewards by speaking up and sharing live reports of climate incidents happening at their respective locations. 

Learn how to voice your support for the "RepClime App". 

To voice your support for this campaign, click "I agree". The app needs 100,000 votes to get Google's support to make it a reality.

 

About Daniel Gbijue

Dr. Gbujie Daniel's major interest is the promotion of sustainable development goals SDGs (SDG13). He is the Founder/ CEO of the non-governmental organization called TEAM 54 PROJECT, they raise awareness globally about the impact of climate change and the need to take actions. He is an advocate of better health care delivery and the environment. Gbujie has published many articles, editorials and made numerous international presentations on climate change impacts. He is a multiple international award winner and an associate memb

Episode 049: 2019 Earth Week Virtual Summit Overview

Take a tour of the 2019 Earth Week Virtual Summit! www.EarthWeekSummit.com 

What is it?

Originally aired April 22 - 28, 2019, the Summit features a total of 24 interviews featuring community leaders and experts.

Each session provides tips and actionable advice from people who are making a real eco-impact on the ground. Save yourself years of wasting time, by learning proven strategies that are working right now!

Can I still access the Summit?

Yes! The Summit is available on-demand. Purchase access for just $97. Download the audio. Get video access. You'll also get access to a valuable training how to host your own virtual summit. 

Who are the speakers? What is the schedule?

Visit www.EarthWeekSummit.com to view the entire schedule, read speaker bios and find out about the sessions.

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Here's an overview of the line-up:

Day 1: The Power of Music

• Michelle Romero, Green For All 
• Laurie Goldman, The ClimateMusic Project 
• Laurie Dameron, Spaceship Earth, What Can I Do?

Day 2: Waste Not, Want Not

• Luke Stahmer, Arc Thrift Stores 
• Michael Forman, Pure Love Sustainability Inc
• Sandie Weathers & Andrea Guajardo, Zero Waste Services

Day 3: Food, Health and Community

• Beverly Grant, Mo' Betta Green MarketPlace 
• Brad Allen Reubendale, SAME Cafe
• Scott Clobes, Roots In Nutrition and Highland United Neighbors

Day 4: Climate Action

• Dann Diez, Sustainable Energy and Enterprise Development for Communities 
• Dr. Ingo Stuckmann, Zero- Footprint.com
• Helga Luest, Give a Shift, Climate Reality
• Steve Stevens, Personal Footprint Renovator, Golden, CO 

Day 5: Youth & School Initiatives

• Leala Pourier, Earth Guardians & Stronghold Society 
• Mugisha Derrick Emmanuel, Fika Afrika Advocacy Foundation
• Lisa Dewil, Green Team Superheroes
• Barb Mills-Bria & Mary Gilkison, Sustainable Green Mountain 

Day 6: The Work of Eco-Changemakers

• Deb Matlock, Wild Rhythms, LLC 
• Martin Ogle, Entrepreneurial Earth, LLC
• Lauren McNeil & Laura Charlier, Group14 Engineering 

Day 7: Telling Our Stories, Building a Movement

• Ean Thomas Tafoya, Colorado Latino Forum 
• Joseph Kerski, ESRI Story Maps
• Beth Leeds, Lifelong Activist & Ocean Protector
• Joan Gregerson, Green Team Academy

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Your Podcast & Virtual Summit Host:

Joan Gregerson, founder of Green Team Academy and owner of Positive Energy Works LLC. Having wasted decades doing ineffective stuff, then by trial and error, I finally figured out what works and what doesn't. I now mentor people who want to make a huge eco-impact fast. Through the Green Team Academy, I offer a podcast, free resources, online courses and coaching. www.GreenTeam Academy.com

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Get access to the Earth Week Virtual Summit:

Upgrade to Premium now for just $97! www.EarthWeekSummit.com/premium

The planet needs us to be effective! I'm bursting with gratitude for all the speakers and everyone who is stepping up to care for our lovely Mother Earth.

*Attend the free Earth Week Virtual Summit for seven days of inspiring stories and solutions!*

Greta Thunberg's life story so far is a profound example of how to be effective. See links and videos below to learn more about Greta.

Rather than internalizing the pain and feeling that there's nothing one person can do, find a small action you can take. Allow others to join you. Don't be surprised if you do end up changing the world for the better!

Inspired by Greta's weekly school strike, the movement spread. On March 15, students in more than 90 countries and more than than 1,200 cities around the world plan to join the school strike for the climate in what could be one of the largest environmental protests in history. 

Caution: Don't get distracted by the details of the stories of youth activism. Instead, stay committed to action.

Detailed show notes at GreenTeamAcademy.com

Have you dreamed of starting a community garden in your neighborhood, school, faith community or business? Skip past the common mistakes with guidance from an expert who has been gardening around the world. 

Tune in to find out how to take a spiritual approach to starting a community garden in my interview with Frank Holzman, author of Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming. 

Show notes:

Take a spiritual approach:

Embrace everything and treat it as if it's a living organism. Try to coexist with the land, rather than trying to tame it or dominate it. 

Healing land: There's no shortage of land that needs remediation. Traveled around the world, working in deserts, mountains, rainforests. 

"It wasn't so much that I found it, as much as it found me."

Joan's engineering background taught her to isolate situations and ignore interactions. Gardening teaches you interconnectedness. 

Yes, hands on learning is important, but it's nice also to have studied agriculture and horticulture. 

Frank grows flowers because they are food for the soul, but they're also a good market item and they attract beneficial insects. 

Strive to create a healthy ecosystem. If you're not moving with nature, you're going to move it against it. And you'll never win. 

 

As the garden grows, so does the gardener.

 

Tips for starting a community gardener:

• Get a commitment that the spot will be available for the long haul, if possible.
• Consider protection from animals to avoid the heartbreak of having your garden destroyed overnight. 
• Make sure you have access to sun and water.
• Be prepared to spend time building the soil with compost.
• Have an enthusiastic group of people that can work together. 
• Most gardens have one person who is willing and able to do what needs to be done. Be willing to embrace that.
• Look at it as a learning process.
• The garden and the gardener will change and grow together over time.
•  Why not do it like you're going to do it for the long term? Do it like you're going to do it once. 
• It's gotta be fun.

Living things are like that. If you invest in them, they pay you back. If you invest in the soil, it gets easier because it pays you back.

"The ideas of farming correctly means that it gets easier. Problems are diminished. Yield goes up. Your quality goes up. And your workload goes down." - Frank Holzman

The first few years are the honeymoon. You gotta love it. It's a godawful amount of work. 

If you're not doing it well, it will teach out. You can make educated mistakes. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. 

How do you improve your soil?

Add compost. It adds the microbial array, including worms that are working round the clock to improve the soil.

Or start a worm bed using California red wigglers. 

 

Live each day as if it's your last, but garden as if you're going to do it forever.

 

We've all seen the data about how many more resources it takes to produce food based on animals, compared to plants. We also know that many animals today are raised in conditions that are abhorrent to the average person, and the pollution from concentrated animal agriculture.

But, most Western cultures and many worldwide are serious meat eaters. This meat-eating habit is tied up in seemingly every aspect of our history and family traditions, as well as current culture. 

If you are someone who is concerned about this and wants to bring about change, what can you do? How can you even bring up this topic that seems so sensitive? 

In this episode, we look at how to use film to facilitate those tricky conversations.

"At the Fork" is a great place to start. 

Visit www.GreenTeamAcademy.com for free resources to help you launch and grow a thriving Green Team and make a big impact, fast!

"Personal action is a great place to start, but a terrible place to stop." - Annie Leonard

Ladder of Engagement:

• Personal level - individual choices
• Community level - team efforts
• Policy level - school board, city, state

Every year when you plan out your strategy, make sure you consider how to operate at or at least partner with others who are operating at every level of the engagement ladder.

Yes, there are restrictions around what percent of time registered nonprofits can operate at a political level, but it may not be as restrict as you assumed. Get some expert advice to be sure.

Just remember that our government is 'representative'. Let's take the time to let them know what we care about so they can indeed represent us.

Free resources: www.GreenTeamAcademy.com

​I have a really great great-niece. Tune in today to listen to my interview with Elena Magnie. Elena is 8 years old and lives on the island of St. John in the Virgin Islands. In today's episode, hear about how she did the research to produce a video on plastic pollution. Listen in as Elena and I brainstorm ideas for how she could start a Green Team with her friends.

I contacted Elena after watching this video that she researched and created, with help from her cameraperson ​(mom!).

 Watch her video on Youtube.

Elena's interest in ​plastic in the ocean ​was based on hearing about, reading about it in books and on the internet and from seeing it firsthand on the beautiful beaches of St. John. Instead of just feeling sad and angry, Elena created a video to help raise awareness about the issue of plastic in the ocean. 

Elena summed up her research on plastic pollution:

"It has to go somewhere. Usually it ends up in the garbage can, which ends up in the ocean, which ends up in fish and all the other things that eat fish and sea animals. It just gets everywhere and it's hurting the environment."

​Elena and I discussed ways she could start and grow a Green Team:

• Find one person to start meeting with regularly.
• Plan an event: community clean-up or Earth Day festival
• Or plan to table with information at a festival
• Choose a name for your team
• Focus on: getting together, making a difference and feeling better

​Elena's advice for anyone who cares about the earth:

"Remember to always help the earth because it can't get better on its own."

 

To find out more about how to make a big impact, fast, grab your seat at the upcoming live webinars!

More resources at www.GreenTeamAcademy.com

There are seemingly endless demands on a parent's time. But like everyone, parents have 168 hours per week. How do we choose to spend those hours and why? ​And can we dedicate 1.2% of our life to the environment as part of our overall goal to help ​the younger generations thrive?

Save your spot in the upcoming live webinar at www.GreenTeamAcademy.com

Recently, I've been waking up to participate in a daily phone call for a 12-step program related to personal finance and debting. 

I'm ​finding that many of the lessons I'm learning apply directly to recovery and spirituality of Green Teams. Tune in to find out how!

​p.s. While you're here, grab your​ spot on the upcoming live webinars​! ​

Have you wondered if your faith community could start a Green Team? Tune in to hear from Mary Ellen Buning and Barbara Fahmey ​of the Care for Our Common Home team of St. Ignatius Loyola Catholic ​Parish in Denver, Colorado.

​Resources:

• Overview of the Laudato Si (Jesuit Post)
• ​Learn about Laudato Si (Global Catholic Climate Movement)
• Interfaith Power & Light
• Envirohub

More resources at www.GreenTeamAcademy.com