Photo: (The Big Green Bus)
What are your summer plans? For thirteen Dartmouth students, the summer months are going to consist traveling across the nation in a veggie-powered green bus to teach people about how to help take care of the environment at a grassroots level. This is the eighth year Dartmouth's Big Green Bus is hitting the road, and we chatted with crew member Sam Parker so she could tell us more about this cool earth-friendly endeavor.
ACT: Where did the inspiration for the bus come from?
SAM: Fifteen Dartmouth College students conceived of The Big Green Bus as an effort to spread information about alternative fuels and environmental and social responsibility through the Ultimate Frisbee community. Also, to show that even a small group of dedicated individuals can effect positive change in the world.
Left to Right: Kate Desrochers, Sarah Bourne, Lorenzo Carlisle, Ari Koeppel, Sam Parker, Emerson Skufca. (Photo courtesy of Sam Parker)
The fulfillment of these goals originally relied on the bus team and on the nationwide community of Ultimate Frisbee players to help connect The Big Green Bus with people in each new locale. In addition to informative presentations at Ultimate Frisbee tournaments, The Big Green Bus promoted alternative fuels through environmental action fairs, local alternative fuels interest group meetings, and other similar community gatherings.
The bus has certainly evolved over the years and although we have maintained many of the original goals of the bus, we no longer depend solely on the Ultimate Frisbee community to spread our message and raise awareness. This year specifically, we are focused on inspiring grassroots action at the local level in communities across the nation.
ACT: What sort of grassroots work are you going to encourage people to do?
SAM: We hope to have local environmental and community groups present at our events, so that we provide the inspiration, and they provide the understanding and resources to tackle the most important local environmental issues. Through this approach to our summer tour, we will encourage people to take actions like picking up trash, getting involved with community gardens, visiting local farmers markets or taking public transportation. This grassroots approach is more sustainable than a single event with the Big Green Bus, because it encourages people to be involved after we leave, and uses local resources to make meaningful change.
Left to Right: Sam Parker and Sarah Bourne. (Photo courtesy of Sam Parker)
ACT: What success stories do you have?
SAM: On our website, we have a link on our education page titled "success stories" with several examples. Essentially, our success stories center on organizations and companies that are mission-based with the general notion of creating a better tomorrow for future generations through sustainable practices. A good example is a company based in New Hampshire called White Mountain Biodiesel that converts waste vegetable oil to biodiesel. The company was established in 2008 and in just four years this company has rapidly increased its biodiesel output to 5,000 gallons a week, creating jobs, providing an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels, and decreasing our dependency on foreign oil.
ACT: Can people who aren't Dartmouth students get involved?
SAM: Yes! Anyone can check out our website and follow our blog, Facebook or Twitter over the summer. People can also check out the links on our Education page for local resources such as recycling centers, compost facilities, locations for farmers markets, locally grown food, etc. Ultimately, the best way for people to get involved is to find an environmental-based local initiative and get involved. The bus' ultimate take away this summer is to link people with local initiatives through our events in the cities we visit and inspire them to engage their friends and family members as well!
