- Northwest Earth Institute
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The Northwest Earth Institute is a nonprofit organization in Portland, Oregon, committed to "inspiring people to take responsibility for Earth."[1] Started in 1993 by native Oregonians Jeanne and Dick Roy, the Northwest Earth Institute develops and implements programs designed to motivate and empower individuals and organizations to take action toward a sustainable future.[2][3][4] Their hallmark program is a series of eight discussion courses that are designed to be used by small groups and self-facilitated. These discussion courses address various topics related to the environment and sustainable living and aim to motivate people to explore their personal attitudes and values and positively change their behaviors affecting the earth.
History
The Northwest Earth Institute was founded in 1993 by native Oregonians Dick and Jeanne Roy. Dick had been working as a corporate lawyer since 1970 and Jeanne had been working as an activist on air quality and solid waste issues. In 1993, Dick decided to resign his job as a lawyer and volunteer full-time with Jeanne.
With $45,000 in start-up grants and thirteen volunteers, the Roys formed the Northwest Earth Institute with the goal of "taking earth-centered programs into mainstream workplaces."[5] The first program they implemented was a discussion course on Deep Ecology. By the end of their first year, 97 discussion groups had been formed in the Portland area.
As demand for the discussion course spread outside of workplaces and the Portland area, a team of Northwest Earth Institute volunteers developed a discussion course on Voluntary Simplicity. The institute also started offering a Home Eco-Party Program and the Oregon High School Earth Club Program. The Northwest Earth Institute has currently discontinued the Earth Club Program due to lack of funding. As of June 2010, over 120,000 people have participated in NWEI discussion courses throughout North America. Starting in 1997, Sister Earth Institutes formed throughout North America, and there are currently 25 affiliate organizations throughout the United States and Canada.Courses
Currently, the Northwest Earth Institute publishes eight different discussion courses. These courses are:
- Global Warming: Changing CO2urse
- Choices for Sustainable Living
- Menu for the Future
- Voluntary Simplicity
- Healthy Children, Healthy Planet
- Discovering a Sense of Place
- Exploring Deep Ecology
- Sustainable Systems at Work
References
- ^ http://www.nwei.org/
- ^ http://www.onearth.org/article/how-to-save-the-planet-over-dinner
- ^ http://www.lakeoswegoreview.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=118296379598648200
- ^ Greene, Stephen G. "Learning to Make Do with Less." The Chronicle of Philanthropy XII.22 (2000): 1+.
- ^ http://www.nwei.org/about_us/history
Categories:- Environmental organizations based in the United States
- Organizations established in 1993
- Organizations based in Portland, Oregon
- Oregon organization stubs
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