It's All About the Baby Steps

July 16, 2010

This process of blogging is another one of those habits that’s been difficult to establish. But it’s finally dawned on me that it is a great way to report many baby steps. I’ve been trying to find the time to write more complete stories- to report on the small steps I’ve taken and turn each of them into bigger things than they are. But now I see that process of taking baby steps is exactly what I’ve set out to impress upon us all.

So here then are a few of the baby steps I’ve taken during the campaign to make connections and educate myself. I plan to report on some of them more fully later on.

• Launched the campaign at the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce Environmental Committee’s “Green is Good” Mixer and Expo held on April 15, 2010. This was a well-attended event that I helped to market and get speakers for.
• On April 22, 2010, I had the opportunity to share the campaign and teach about earth day and the importance of caring for our environment with my son’s fourth grade class. (see the previous entry about that experience).
• Met with and joined the Fairfax County Restoration Project. As a group, we are working together to make a significant visible impact in the area. You should know about possiblities this public/private partnership provides. Visit www.fcrpp3.org to learn more and get involved.
• Attended educational field trips organized by the totally excellent Doug Guernsey of Guernsey Office Products, chair of the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce Environmental Committee. The trips included tours of Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc., headquarters in Gainesville, VA - Virginia's first facility certified "Gold" by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification system; the Upper Occoquan Service Authority (UOSA) in Centreville, VA, who provides state-of-the-art treatment for all wastewater generated in the Occoquan Watershed, and most recently, the Covanta Energy-from-Waste facility in Lorton, VA, where they convert virtually all of Fairfax County’s Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) into energy which then powers 85,000 of the area’s homes. These trips were awesome and I’ll definitely write more about each one of them.

These baby steps are giving me a deeper understanding so that when I stop and think about my choices I make more informed decisions. In the weeks to come, I’ll share some of this gained knowledge so you can too.