Posts Tagged ‘Announcement’
Sustainability Starts with Your Landscape – Upcoming Presentation
Tuesday, January 18th; 1:30 − 2:30 P.M. at the Indianapolis Convention Center.
Coming up shortly, I’ll be giving my presentation, Sustainability Starts with Your Landscape on January 18th at the Indiana Green Expo.
Integrating nature’s resources for a sustainable site saves money and improves our environment. Rather than minimizing impact, the landscape is one of the few activities that improves the environment. Landscapes filter our air and water, sequesters carbon, creates oxygen and reduces our our heating and cooling needs.
Recognizing sustainability as merely reducing energy waste, recycling, or conserving water is a common misconception. In truth, the greatest impact on the environment you can make is right in your own backyard. In this session, discover how to grow and prosper in the rapidly developing field of sustainable site development.
“Through the increase use of landscapes we can actually improve our environment,” said Barrett. “and through increased awareness of landscapes as a functional part of our community, we can improve our water systems, cleanse our air, and create a better environment for plants, animals and people.” In his presentation, Barrett will explain just how essential some of these tools are to efficiently utilizing and managing resources.
Learning Objectives
• Understanding that stormwater is the largest source of water pollution in the United States
• Sustainability starts with the landscape. Developing a functional landscape is the most effective and efficient means of remediating the environment.
• Combining “green infrastructure” with existing, conventional “gray infrastructure,” as well as combining new technology with old technology creating a sustainable future.
Tom Barrett Announces New Speaking Engagement
Tom Barrett has recently announced upcoming speaking engagements for January 9-10, 2011. Please see the video below for more information.
For more information or to register, please go to www.nationalgreencenter.org.
Tom Barrett to speak at Society of Women Engineers Meeting
Chicago — Local environmental expert Tom Barrett will speak at a meeting of the Society of Women Engineers meeting at the Illinois Institute of Technology, September 29, 12:50 to 1:40. His presentation, “Women as Change Agents in the Emerging Green Economy,” will help to educate and empower young women, and teach them how they can make a difference in their professional careers.
“Women are a critical part of the green revolution,” said Barrett. “I’m excited to talk to these young engineers about how they can make a positive impact in environmental engineering.”
For more information about the Society of Women Engineers, please visit http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org.
. . . More Comments About Tom
In less than a year’s time, members of the sustainability community have earnestly welcomed the most up-to-date voice in sustainable futures and infrastructure development.
Tom Barrett, a veteran of sustainable infrastructure development, has embraced a growing number of enthusiastic followers with his engaging speaking style, approachable manner and wide range of expertise in sustainable development and advocacy. Tom continues to receive invitations and speaking requests from conference organizers and lecture series across the U.S.
Most recently, Tom was guest lecturer at the Chicago Center for Green Technology. His topic “Constructing Rain Gardens and Bioswales: New Tools for Sustainable Site Development” was warmly received. Guests and students of the conference had very positive feedback:
My favorite aspect of the presentation was how knowledgeable and approachable Tom was. I appreciated how clearly he distinguished between bioswales and rain gardens. -Sherry Meyer, Urban & Environmental Geography
Topics were presented clearly. I enjoyed walking through the CCGT garden to provide more depth to the topic, and Mr. Barrett gave a great presentation overall! -Jill Chambers
Tom was able to explain a complex topic such as raingarden and bioswale construction in simple terms. I appreciated his clear, straightforward, and informative presentation style. Tom also did a wonderful job of engaging the entire audience. -John Sullivan
Not only was Tom a great speaker, he did a fantastic job illustrating his lessons in practice. Tom showed us actual raingardens at work, which really helped me develop a three-dimensional appreciation of the process. – Michael Padula
Tom will continue to speak at sustainability conferences throughout the country. For inquiries regarding Tom’s speaking availability, please call 317-569-1396 or email at info@ThinkGWI.com
Bloggers Unite! – WaterAid’s Clean Water for All
How many children did you see today? Children in car seats on your way to work, your own children, or perhaps you are a teacher and you see hundreds of children each day. Consider this, one out of every six children on this planet die (that is one every 46 seconds, according to UNICEF) as a result of unsanitary water conditions. Few if any of the children you saw today will meet that demise, however, in the world there is a large number of children meeting their deaths due to something we take for granted – clean water.
It’s not about thirst . . .
Until I really read some of the articles from the WaterAid website (www.WaterAid.org) and the links I discovered there, I had an unclear understanding of what precisely causes these deaths. While it sounds as though people are dying of thirst that is not usually the case. The greater problem – the overwhelming problem, is that children are unable to get clean drinking water, and therefore die from complications due to diarrhea. Because there is no clean water nearby, people and the things they use every day cannot get washed.
. . . it’s about sanitation!
Since the sanitary conditions in these areas are practically non-existent, water is collected from the nearest source. Often times the water collected is not clean, but it is water, and no living thing lives long without water. That means people are spending hours traveling to and from dirty wells and other water sources to collect water to drink to stay alive and that water is contaminated with fecal matter. Because the drinking water is contaminated, it causes illness and often death. This is a cruel and a completely reversible cycle.
How can you help?
By contributing to WaterAid, BloggersUnite, and other water conscious action groups you can help build wells for clean water. Reading their blogs and reposting them or blogging about them will create an awareness of this electronic call to action. Those of us who watch the water run down the sink as we brush our teeth, and stand in the shower letting gallons of potable water run down the drain as we relax, must consider – if nothing else – contributing money to help this humanitarian cause. As you decide what you want to do this weekend during your free time, remember the mother who must spend 5-6 hours a day traveling to the closest filthy well to fill a jerry-can with water to take back to her waiting children. Make a difference because you can. Pass it on and commit to helping those much less fortunate than ourselves.
What People Are Saying About Tom
Over the past year, folks in the sustainability community have taken notice of Tom Barrett. His speaking engagements have generated a large amount of buzz, and Tom continues to get speaking requests from conference organizers across the U.S.
Just recently, Tom spoke at the Chicago Center for Green Technology. His topic “Constructing Rain Gardens and Bioswales: New Tools for Sustainable Site Development” was received warmly, and visitors to the conference had very positive feedback. Below are some of the reviews of Tom’s presentation, submitted anonymously.
My favorite aspects of Tom’s presentation were the amount of statistics and numbers, the slides, the organization of the presentation, the energy and efficiency, and subject knowledge of presenter, the overview of design concepts for rain gardens, going outside to see the project firsthand, and putting a positive spin on a serious issue.
I took several great lessons away from Tom’s presentation. Some of these lessons were techniques to use in new projects, new knowledge of plant types, incorporation of new ideas into research on historical approaches to managing stormwater, designing landscapes for functionality, and the importance of managing stormwater.
I feel as though several things positively contributed to the “Rain Gardens and Bioswales” seminar. The calculation handouts and powerpoint, the tour of the CCGT landscape, the availability of the presentation online, the energy of the speaker, and several relatable examples all enhanced the overall presentation.
Tom will continue to speak at sustainability conferences throughout the country. For inquiries into Tom’s speaking availability, please call (317) 674-3494 or email at info@thinkgwi.com
Tom Barrett to speak at IICC 2010 Summer Field Day conference
Danville, IN – Local environmental expert Tom Barrett will be the featured speaker at the 2010 Indiana Irrigation Contractor Council’s 2010 Summer Field Day on Thursday, August 26. The event will be held at the Hendricks County Conference Center & Fairgrounds, 1900 E. Main Street, Danville.
Barrett’s presentation, “Developing a Resource Efficient Landscape Irrigation System,” is a hands-on field session where contractors will learn to conduct a water audit. Attendees will even be able to learn about the equipment needed to run a water audit first hand in a working test area.
“An irrigation audit is one of the best ways to ensure that water is being used efficiently,” said Barrett. “Most irrigation systems use more water than they really need to maintain a healthy landscape. The savings in water is well worth the time and effort of an audit.”
About Indiana Irrigation Contractor Council
The primary goal of the Indiana Irrigation Contractors Council (IICC) is to promote professionalism throughout the landscape irrigation industry. The Indiana Irrigation Contractor Council provides legislative advocacy, educational sessions, and networking opportunities in order to advance the success of the professional irrigation community. The Indiana Irrigation Contractor Council (IICC) is a section of the of the Indiana Professional Lawn & Landscape Association.
For more information or to register, please call 317-575-9010.
Green Water Infrastructure announces new strategic partnership with April Hensley
Westfield, IN – Locally-based Green Water Infrastructure (GWI), an environmental consulting company, has announced a new strategic partnership with April Hensley of Leech-Hensley Architects, Inc. Hensley will bring her expertise in landscape architecture and design to GWI on an as-needed basis.
“April’s unique talents and experiences make her a great addition to GWI and our clients,” said Tom Barrett, owner of GWI. “Participating in this partnership enables GWI clients to participate in a more collaborative design approach.”
As President of Leech-Hensley Architects, Inc. April oversees the site planning, space planning, architectural design, and interior design aspects of landscape architecture. She is an active member of the local community serving on the Board of Directors for The Historic Ambassador House & Heritage Gardens.
About Green Water Infrastructure:
Green Water Infrastructure is a consulting company, which integrates water resources for sustainable site development. Green Water strives to utilize one hundred percent of the water resources on a site at the site. The company saves communities money by combining green infrastructure with gray infrastructure, new technology with existing technology, creating sustainable growth – sustainable growth environmentally and socially. For more information, please visit http://thinkgwi.com/.
About April Hensley: Hensley received her Architecture and Environmental Design degrees from the Ball State University. She is a certified landscape architect with the Indiana & City of Indianapolis Certified WBE and serves on committees such as Fishers Town Center Steering Committee, Fishers Town Center Design Review Committee, and Fishers 116th Street & Olio PUDCommittee.
charity:water What’s wrong? It’s so right.
charity:water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe water to people in developing nations. Sounds simple enough, but it’s hard to put a finger on which part of this charity is most amazing. The founder, Scott Harrison, is a former self proclaimed New York City social “influencer” making thousands of dollars a night encouraging the rich and famous to purchase the products he pushed – typically beer and vodka. After tiring of his over the top lifestyle, and coming face-to-face with real world poverty, he decided to make a difference and give back. Join the club, right? Trump, Madonna, and anyone else with billions to spend will throw money at a less fortunate area of the world and smile and nod as they breathe a sigh of relief when the tax man leaves. But this is different. Way different. Scott Harrison and his team are doing far more than throwing money at a problem. After spending some hard time with other altruistic volunteers in Africa via a humanitarian organization called Mercy Ships, Scott decided to really make a difference.
…more than water
charity:water does more than “provide” water to the over 1 billion people who go without clean drinking water on a daily basis. Most Americans cannot fathom going a few hours without running water or a clean shower, when most of the world would be happy with less than one thirtieth of what we use ON A GIVEN DAY. According to the many statistics available on the charity:water website (www.charitywater.org), unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of diseases and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren’t strong enough to fight diarrhea, dysentery and other illnesses. Ninety percent of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are to children under five years old. While the statistics are staggering, the photographs of victims of unclean water are beyond what many of us in the Western World could ever imagine or feel comfortable seeing.
…brilliance
The brilliance of this charity is both in its acquisition of money and its use of those funds. Private donations provide 100% of the cost to run the organization. Everything from plane fares to paper clips are donated or paid for by private donors. That frees up 100% of all public donations to actually go to the source. The water source. As if that weren’t phenomenal enough, once at the source, men and women are taught how to create their own well systems, install them, implement their usage, and govern the rights to them, empowering many (most significantly women), to find themselves for the first time in their lives in a place of significance in the community.
Everyone — rich or poor, happy or sad, regardless of where or how you live, if you are a living thing, you need water. This hits home very quickly. Water is the great connector of human life. Knowing that, everyone can help. There is no donation too small, because even a penny, nickel, dime, or $20 bill is more than nothing, and relatively insignificant compared to saving a human life. Want to know exactly where your money goes? No problem. When you raise enough money to purchase a well, ($5,000 to be exact), your well will be mapped online, and you can actually see where in the world your money went to help not just one human, but an entire community. Add to that the most cutting edge marketing strategies and technical social networks available, stir in some personal challenges to make a difference, and create ownership with donors by encouraging creativity and stewardship, and you have a real success story.
The old saying goes, give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he’ll eat for a lifetime. Give a community the opportunity to help themselves discover their value and help them survive and thrive through the ability to access clean water and a healthier lifestyle, you’ll change the world.
Did you take a shower today? Did you brush your teeth? If you enjoyed the benefit of clean water today please help…
Green Water Infrastructure founder to speak on Rain Gardens & Bioswales at the Chicago Center for Green Technology
Tom Barrett, owner of Westfield, Indiana-based Green Water Infrastructure, will present “Constructing Rain Gardens and Bioswales: New Tools for Sustainable Site Development” at the Chicago Center for Green Technology on July 29 from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
In the presentation, Barrett will discuss how rain gardens and bioswales protects, restores, and mimics the natural water cycle, and how they can help develop a natural approach to water efficiency, and relieve storm water management issues.
“The American Society for Civil Engineers gave the United States’ water systems a grade of
‘D-,’ the lowest of any America infrastructure,” said Barrett. “Through increased use of rain gardens and bioswales, we can improve our water systems and create a better environment for plants, animals and people.”
This program is presented free of charge as part of the Chicago Center for Green Technology’s Green Tech U program. Registration is required by calling 312-746-9642 or by emailing your requested class and contact information to greentech@cityofchicago.org with “Green Tech U” in the subject line.
About Tom Barrett:
Tom Barrett is an accomplished corporate growth and change agent with over thirty years of landscape industry experience. Tom’s leadership experience, holding executive level positions, drives corporate revenue growth through change and innovation for business start-ups, corporate expansions, and divisional turnarounds.
Tom Barrett has been delivering energetic, dynamic presentations and training for over twenty years. These presentations empower people to become masters of change rather than victims of circumstance by developing tools for transformational thinking. For more information, please visit www.thinkgwi.com
About Green Water Infrastructure:
Green Water Infrastructure is a consulting company that integrates water resources for sustainable site development. Their goal is to utilize one hundred percent of the on-site water resources at a site. Green Water saves communities money by combining green infrastructure with gray infrastructure and new technology with existing technology to create sustainable growth — environmentally and socially. For more information, please visit www.thinkgwi.com.
About the Chicago Center for Green Technology: The Chicago Center for Green Technology is the first rehabilitated municipal building in the nation to receive the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ™ (LEED) Platinum rating by the U.S. Green Building Council. Mayor Richard M. Daley dedicated the building in 2002 and it has since become a national model for sustainable design and technology. The Center serves as the most comprehensive green design and educational resource in the Midwest.
