Day 2 has finally come to an end, but by no means is that a relief. My expectations going into this day were greatly exceeded, and I can’t stop thinking about how happy I am to be here right now. There are so many reasons why I feel that way, but I’ll start by talking about my feelings on how today relates to our sustainability focus. The thing that comes to my mind first is how pleasantly surprised I am by all the sustainability efforts happening in Indianapolis. Driving around the city, I couldn’t help but notice multiple signs along the way with statements about helping to make this city more environmentally friendly. The city seems so community-oriented which I absolutely love. It also seems very clean and new, which gives me the feeling that people really care about making Indianapolis a pleasant place to live. That is where the community part comes in too, because it takes a lot of people to complete the projects that help give off that sort of vibe when exploring the city. I particularly noticed how clean downtown was, because I am used to downtown locations being somewhat old and rundown with trash all over and groups of unhappy or unfriendly pedestrians and/or drivers sprinkled throughout.
I noticed a lot of sustainable practices throughout the day today though, not just downtown. For example, working at Gleaners Food Bank was sustainable in the sense that we were recycling unwanted/nearly expired food. We sorted various types of food, checking expiration dates and package quality to then be separated based on type of food. Then it was set aside to be distributed to 250 food pantries in the area. Today alone, in under three hours, we packaged 7,000 pounds of food. It is crazy to think that the minimal amount of time and effort we put in this morning can make that much of a difference. And despite the fact that we had to throw away a lot of the unsatisfactory food items, we saved a lot more that otherwise would’ve been thrown away. After the food pantry, we visited the Traderspoint Creamery for milkshakes. They are sustainable because all of their products are organic, and they have their dairy cows right out back of the restaurant. The bulk of sustainable happenings were definitely downtown though. There, we saw plenty of bike racks where bikes could be rented to ride around the city. We also saw a program called “blueindy” which has electric cars you can rent hourly to drive anywhere, and the charging stations are right on the side of the roads. In addition, they have a lending library where people borrow, return, and exchange books as they please, simply by the honor code. Finally, there were fancy trashcans throughout the city that encouraged recycling and the elimination of litter in the city. It sure seemed to be working too, because downtown was extremely clean.
Needless to say, I experienced a lot today having to do with sustainability, and my eyes were opened to the dedication this city has to improve. Indianapolis has been known for having a large carbon footprint, but it is clear that they are putting in a whole lot of effort to improve, and that involves an entire community of support. We even say new structures being built with the roof completely covered in solar panels. I hope that more communities will follow in Indy’s footsteps in making our way to a more sustainable earth. Hopefully we can bring all of these ideas back to Springfield and start making a difference there.
I just want to end by mentioning something really cool I noticed today. We visited a creamery as I mentioned, but we also toured an antique fan museum, and both places had something in common. I noticed that the people we spoke to at each place were very passionate about the business at which they worked. It was evident that the workers at the creamery loved working there and really understood the goals of the business. I just point that out because it shows that the people who hires employees there truly cares about having people who will uphold the atmosphere of the business and keep it a friendly place where everyone is on the same page. As for the fan museum, the I spoke with and listened to was clearly passionate about these old fans and restoring them. He knew so much about them and put a lot of thought and effort into making old ones look new while still preserving the history and uniqueness about them. I just hope that I, as well as everyone else in this world can follow their passion like those I saw today. I was really inspired by all of the happenings of the day to truly find what I am inspired by and find a way to make something happen, even if it is a small step toward a big movement.
I can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us, but that’s all I have to say for now.
Catch you later!