Inspiring one step at a time – GREAT article in the Abbotsford Times after R41P event last week
(article can also be read online here: http://www2.canada.com/abbotsfordtimes/news/community/story.html?id=27c96bf1-6627-4872-8f0d-c87cc4162ed8)
Inspiring one step at a time
Christina Toth, The Times
Published: Friday, June 05, 2009
When they wanted to do something for the planet, Matt Hill and Stephanie Tait started small – hanging clothes to dry instead of in a dryer, using a cloth shopping bag, leaving the car at home for short trips.
Those steps inspired them to do something epic, to inspire others to also do something nice for the planet, through small actions.
So they decided to run a marathon every day around North America – that’s 26 miles, or 41 kilometres a day – for a year.
On May 4 last year they left Vancouver to begin their Run for One Planet. They embarked on a 17,000-kilometre journey of a lifetime, running doggedly through 10 provinces, 25 states, 14 pairs of runners, all kinds of weather, and inspiring thousands along the way.
They talked to more than 25,000 school kids and hundreds of adults.
A year later, on May 8, they returned to a heroes’ welcome to Vancouver, which proclaimed the date as Run for One Planet day.
They believe a lot of small changes can add up and affect the planet – all in a good way.
“This is really about inspiring a continent to look at the way we do things. It all starts with one small step. One action can actually make a lot of difference,” said Hill.
They also hope to raise $1 million for a Legacy of Action Foundation, in partnership with the Vancouver Foundation, to provide seed money for kids’ initiatives, to support peer tutors and a Team Run for One Planet, comprised of kids 12 and under, to run in the annual Earth Run, (which started this April).
“Kids especially understand small actions and personal commitment,” said Tait. “We use the ‘trickle up effect’ – the kids teach their parents, for instance, to stop using plastic.”
On Wednesday, Tait and Hill spoke to Abbotsford Community Services staff about their marathon experience.
ACS is supportive of the ecology and physical activity, said spokeswoman Janna Dieleman, noting that last year, ACS adopted an environmental policy to guide the agency’s actions.
“We’ve always done recycling – the Abbotsford-Mission Recycling is one of our programs. We decided to make it more of a concentrated effort internally for ourselves. So we work really hard to recycle, reduce and reuse.”
Their Montrose Street offices have compost bins, and the non-profit agency looks for ways to reduce consumption of goods, said Dieleman.
This spring, ACS issued pedometers to each staff member for a “walk around the world.” Teams and individuals recorded the steps they walked daily over the six-week program, said Dieleman.