SF Mayor Gavin Newsom drops in!
Advocacy Workshop- A Wake Up Call Safer Cell Phone Initiative
View Summit Photos on Flickr
RECAP BY TEEN MODERATORS:
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Greening Schools Panel: Melanie Vrabel, Karl Palmer, Mark Stefanski, and Jorge Lee talked about what it meant to be a green school, and how students, legislators, teachers, and company owners could help to create green schools across the country. When we asked what they saw as essential in creating a school possible, they responded that all products should be investigated and replaced if necessary (with EPA DfE certified products, Melanie added), that the maintenance crew should be trained to properly use products, and that students and staff alike should be educated on why the use of green products is important. For a final question, we asked what students could do to help achieve green schools. All the panelists agreed that the work we were doing in our schools so far was excellent, and the next step was to work with chools in our community that were not yet involved in eliminating toxic exposures - to stop preaching to the choir, so to speak. They all emphasized that authority figures are "responsive to demand;" if advocate enough for something that we want changed, they will change it!
- Green Schools Dialogue: Melanie Vrabel, Bruce Akers, and Mark Stefanski talked about what the creation and implementation of a green janitorial closet might look like in a school. Bruce and Melanie debated a bit over the merits and shortcomings of the Environmental Protection Agency Design for the Environment (EPA DfE) label, and how tradeoffs must be made between the functionality and the health of products. We ultimately decided that in schools, it is important to make your own list of chemicals that you do not want in your school (or borrow one from someone else for the sake of not reinventing the wheel), and to then purchase from companies that you trust.
- Global Perspective on Sustainabilty: Eco-star Zem Joaquin spoke of her involvement in so many incredible projects (from ecofabulous to hostingTED's ecovillage to working alongside Bill McDonough to revolutionizing eBay and more!); Marci Zaroff, founder of Under the Canopy and upcoming FASE (Fashion Art Soul Earth), got us all jazzed about this soon-to-be-released label of amazing fashion-forward designs; Olowo-n'jdo Tchala spoke of his deep commitment to social and environmental justice through his remarkable company Alaffia, truly changing the lives of people in villages of rural Togo - what a noble mission! And Kimberly Pinkson talked about EcoMom Alliance's ever-growing audience and enthusiastic response, as well as the importance of understanding global webs of life.
- Rules of Political Engagement: The goal of this panel was to give attendees a greater understanding of their government and how they could be involved. California State Senator Mark Leno spoke of the responsibilites of his job and the importance of teen activism at state versus local level with Susan Adams. Marin County Supervisor Susan Adams discussed the advantages and challenges of being a woman in an elected office. Paul Shramski-Towers, director of Pesticide Watch, explained how his job is to aide citizens in navigating the government when they have a problem that they need to address. Dan Jacobson gave a more defined idea of what lobbying is, and how teens bring a unique element when they lobby for change.
- Eco Lifestyle panel: Karen Stewart Brown explained how fashion can be ethical, such as her own clothing company Stewart Brown; Summer Rayne Oakes discussed what lead her to becoming an eco model; Beth Greer showed her book, Supernatural Home, and suggested ways teens can easily become green; Rachel Sarnoff talked about being one of the first eco-bloggers and how her website, ecostiletto.com, has helped reinforce the spread of the green movement. And founder of Pangea Organics, Joshua Onysko, taught the audience the ultimate skin regime and shared his experience of starting a skincare company.
- Food workshop: We watched people who didn't even know what "sustainability" was learn to prepare a course of the meal and talk about why the origins of the ingredients mattered. The amount of care that each group put into the preparation and presentation of their food was astounding, and the judges certainly enjoyed it as well. The participants had a lot of fun making delicious and sustainable courses of a meal, learning about the ingredients, preparing samples beautifully, and artfully speaking about each of their creations.
Re-Event Workshop- Grand Finale fashion-show with re-purposed and re-styled clothing
TESTIMONIALS
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Thank you so much yesturday, for the great apportunity to have been with you guys at the summit. My friends and I loved it. Specially my mom. The event open my eyes to many new things that I really am going to make part of my everyday life!!!!! Please let me know when something like this or another even will be coming around the bay. I'LL BE THERE !!! - Amy
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Really enjoyed Adam Werbach's talk--very inspirational, informative, geared to kids. I hope we can move from inspirational talk to local action. Your event made a significant contribution to holding the challenge for our kids. Keep up the good work! - Patrick
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I really enjoyed the summit. What was most memorable was seeing Adam Werbach speak. I really enjoyed the eco-lifestyle panel. It was interesting to hear about what we can do in our lives to be greener. I really enjoyed Summer Rayne Oakes because she has had a lot of accomplishments, and I think that it's pretty amazing to be a green model, because not many companies use organic makeup, and hopefully we can change that. - Danielle
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The keynote speaker, Adam Werbach was AMAZING. So inspirational, and really knows what he's talking about. He was also very approachable and able to answer any questions and just talk, which was very important. Susan Adams on the advocacy panel was really great. I liked her a lot. She knows her stuff. I went to the advocacy campaign workshop. We worked on "Abercrombie and Itch". Everyone in the group really knew their stuff and we came up with some great ideas. I really liked feeling like I was involved in TTG. I really liked this year's summit more than last year's. I thought it was more interactive and fun, and I also learned more. The gift bag was really great too because I love the products that came in it and I plan on using those in the future. I think it would be a good idea also to formulate a list of the "best" products. I know there is a list of good companies on the website, but if there was a list of the "best" (both financially AND green-wise) products, like the #1 deodorant, shampoo, bar soap, etc etc. It would make it easier to use these products. The more accessible the product, the bigger chance someone will use it. - Phoebe
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The summit was an inspiring, informative, event that had an re-evolutionary feel to it! So much creative & positive energy filled each of the rooms that I walked into that day!
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I attended the Food panel, which struck me as very powerful. The panelist were passionate & offered an insider's perspective. The founder of Marin Organics stood out to me, as his words still echo in my head and I have already shared those words with many friends! As the time was coming to an end, a comment was made, "It feels like we have been talking about everything that is wrong and identifying a lot of negative practices." Heigel chose to respond, he described how it is possible to reverse global warming, turn this situation around & how simple that would actually be (planting and cultivating just a few acres per year in areas all over the world). He did an excellent job of transforming the entire focus and closing the session on positive note. I left the room with a sense of empowerment that continues to flow into all areas of my life as I make ecologically responsible choices. I represented Natracare in the spa the rest of the day. This was an incredible experience that gave me the opportunity to educate so many women of all ages. I was very happy to increase the awareness about feminine care products that so many women and young girls just don't think about or just didn't know we had a choice. I felt great about being able to offer an alternative to petroleum products for feminine care. Thank you so much for that opportunity! - Molly
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I thought the Summit was inspiring as usual! I I attended as a local parent of small children (I have worked to help green my kids schools and help ther parents with theirs for several years), so I am always amazed to see the teens presenting and advocating. I am always moved by their commitment and their values - truly inspiring. Loved Adam's presentation too. I liked the panel about Food policy, local and organic sourcing, etc. I thought Helge was fascinating and I've always wanted to hear him speak. His passion is moving and his knowledge of all of the interconnected issues in our food system was most interesting to me.- Wendy
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The workshops were really fun, as well as the dialogues. I went to the trio of building campaigns; I enjoyed seeing professional people in politics. Attended my own- Building an Advocacy campaign. It was really fun seeing what people had in mind. - Alejandra
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This was amazing! The man who talked about DOT and the fashion show stood out as the most memorable! I liked the one with the model and Pangea Organics man! RE workshop- I loved it! I had so much fun doing the fashion show!- Heather
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Thank you SO much for the opportunity to participate in your FABULOUS, incredibly-inspiring, and very well-organized event yesterday! It was so heartwarming to learn of what TeensTurningGreen is doing to make a difference in our world! Thank you also for the lovely bag of goodies too! What fun it was to see the surprises lurking in that bag! In a world often focused on teens in trouble, it brought tears to my eyes more than a few times to see what the TeensTurningGreen teens are up to in our world. - Leslie
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A huge thank to the countless volunteer for putting on an absolutely amazing Summit. The bar was raised this year! For me personally, it was just what I needed – amazing speakers, so many kids of all ages, guys and girls, interested parents and more. The Panels were beyond great. Even though many of the panelists had spoken before ... with the addition of new panelists, great questions for our TTG kids and another year for everyone to experience the green movement, the conversation was fascinating! Then to up the ante ... the workshops. I was a sewer in the Restyled workshop, but the other two workshops looked equally interesting and stimulating. At the end of the day all I saw were smiling tired faces ... and I bet they didn't want the day to end. The best part – the largest attendance yet and the word is out there in our community and beyond! Looks like 2010 is going to be a great year! Kudos!! - Jennifer
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Thank you for co-creating an event that has motivated, informed, inspired, super-charged, and educated scores of teens and adults.!!!!!!!! - David
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The opening presentations by teens on Friday night were the highlight of the Summit for me -- inspired, clear words about significant actions by our young people! - Stuart
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I had the pleasure of speaking recently at the Teens Turning Green Summit -- one of my favorite events of the year. It's just so inspiring to be around young people who are so aware and enthusiastic to take action. There was a lot of great energy in those rooms that made me feel as though it really is possible to change the world. I spoke on a panel about science in the morning with Renee Sharp, Ted Schettler and Tracey Woodruff. Later in the day, Ted, Renee and I did an hour-long Q&A session with about 30 people -- I thought this was a great format to have an in-depth discussion and get to some of the deeper issues. I also sat in on a strategy session where students planned a campaign to take on Abercrombie and Fitch for their policy of spraying their stores inside and out with cologne from air sprayers, without notification (totally inane! This is a great campaign idea that fits right in with our policy work for disclosure of fragrance ingredients). The Teens will be focusing on that project in the months to come. - Stacy Malkan
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