EMILY JENKINS: I am Emily Jenkins of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service here at the NCTC for the Student Climate and Conservation Congress on June 30th, 2010, with Mr. Craig Hibberd.
It's very nice for you to be here with us and doing this Podcast today.
CRAIG HIBBERD: Oh, thank you.
EMILY JENKINS: First of all, would you like to tell the audience what you do?
CRAIG HIBBERD: I'm the Energy Programs Director and the Communications Director for the Green Schools Alliance.
EMILY JENKINS: And what is the Green Schools Alliance for anybody who doesn't know?
CRAIG HIBBERD: Okay. Well, we're working with K-12 schools across the United States, and they are schools who are trying to cut their carbon footprint and make a difference in sustainability for their schools, and it's schools working with other schools, primarily.
EMILY JENKINS: What drew you to become a part of the Green Schools Alliance and Sc3?
CRAIG HIBBERD: Right. Well, Sc3 is such a terrific conference because it involves an unbelievable depth of speakers coming to work with 100 students. We get some of the best speakers on sustainability and resource conservation in the world to a small audience. It's such an opportunity for everyone.
And the students who come here are all-- they all apply and have to be nominated by a teacher. So they're some of the brightest and best students in the country, and they're just a terrific, terrific bunch of kids. Very smart, very dedicated, very committed. So it's a lot of fun for me. I really enjoy working with them.
EMILY JENKINS: Do you have any success stories on how an individual or a small group of individuals can make a difference in the environment and the world?
CRAIG HIBBERD: Well, actually, I live in Moab, Utah. We have a little thrift store there called WabiSabi, and they raise money for other nonprofits, and it's interesting how they came about. They started out in a tiny little store with a woman who ran it living in the back room, and she started selling used goods, and she gives-- all the profits go to other nonprofits, and today it's grown into two stores, seven employees, and about $300,000 a year, and people have been donating household items and clothing, cars and trucks, and it's a real big operation now, and last year they gave away $36,000 to other nonprofits, and it's been a terrific success, and I've never seen anything like it. It really builds community, and it's been a lot of fun for me to be a part of that.
EMILY JENKINS: As a group, what do you hope most of the kids take back with them when they go back to their homes?
CRAIG HIBBERD: Well, I think they're learning from each other. Tomorrow we'll see some films they made. And they've got a chance to work with each other. They've got a chance to try out some new ideas and meet some people that are going to be able to help them in the future. I hope they make some lifelong friends. And I'm just convinced these are some of the leaders of our country in the next generation, you'll see some good things from these students. This is a great beginning. It's just wonderful to be part of all of this.
EMILY JENKINS: It's really awesome to hear how passionate you are about them and how much you believe in them. What kind of reforms from this generation do you hope for in the future?
CRAIG HIBBERD: What kind of reforms? Well, I think they're very aware now of some of the failings that have occurred, institutional failings and regulatory failings, and I think that the generation is much more attuned to what needs to be done, they're more committed to action, but I see them very technical and very sophisticated, much more sophisticated than any generation we've seen before. And I think some of the students may be making some career and college study decisions over this week. So that's real inspiring to see that. And we know we'll see some good things from them.
EMILY JENKINS: Is there anything else you'd like to say about the kids, the conference or just the environment?
CRAIG HIBBERD: Well, I have to tell you, it's wonderful to be here and out of a car for a week, and I really enjoyed the eagle TV station. There are no commercials. I've had a lot of fun watching the eagles and really enjoy the staff here and everybody has been terrific. I think you've got a wonderful operation here and it's just a pleasure to be part of it.
EMILY JENKINS: And, of course, he was talking about the Eagle-Cam on the training web site that's been shown throughout the week here.
Thank you very much for joining me.
CRAIG HIBBERD: Thank you, Emily. Thank you very much.
