Bay Area Green Tours

Unless you are an economist, economics might strike you as B-O-R-I-N-G! But NOT with Della Z Duncan at the helm. Oh no...she engaged us by weaving together bits of history about famous economists and philosophers, her own personal experience, and some fun techniques that we can test out at home. Stay with me…

If you were told by your professor, after studying diligently for 4+ years, “Don’t ever get a job, but cultivate a “right livelihood,” what would you think? Della’s professor, Satish Kumar left her with this challenge. It motivated her to launch Upstream Podcast, and become a speaker and a trainer to create what she calls a “Garden of Right Livelihoods.”

Della offered us Frederick Buechner’s quote, “...the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet” and related it to our job satisfaction, how we can become better environmental stewards, and regenerative economists as individuals.

She treated us to “Doughnut Economics” and even left us with this cool link that you can check out to help you evaluate your own “right livelihood.”

Have you ever heard of “Gross National Happiness” or “GNH? I’ll give you a hint, it started in the Kingdom of Bhutan, and Della is a master trainer for GNH. Intrigued? Here’s another link.

The Solutionary’s Speak conversation between Della Z Duncan and Anne Freiwald of Vital Cycles was filled with thought provoking questions. If you were not able to attend, I encourage you to watch Della and Anne on our BAGT Youtube channel.

10 Sustainability Topics You Need to Know

12/21/2020

Buzzwords in the environmental world keep evolving. Here is our list of top 10 sustainability terms you need to know.

10) Sustainability. At first, everything and anything related to the environment was “green.” Like most terms that go mainstream, it became overused. “Green” has now become “sustainable.” Sustainable systems seek to maintain and to not take away. However, we have discovered that sustainability is no longer enough—we need a more deliberate approach to combating climate change—now an ever-present force. We need to regenerate! Regeneration is the current way to describe how to not lose ground, better yet, how to revitalize and restore what is most needed in the fast-paced environmental movement.

Hey Marissa, I Thought You Retired!?

12/18/2020

No, I’m not retired!

Keeping a small mission-driven volunteer-led non-profit afloat has been a labor of love. Over the past twelve years, BAGT has given me the opportunity to constantly learn and be stimulated by changemakers and thought leaders I have met and worked with. But I also know that stepping back is my new reality. But when? How?

Solutionaries: Climate Heros Forging Change

12/17/2020

The idea for BAGT’s new Solutionaries Speak webcast series evolved from only educating our interns to sharing the actions of climate heroes with a wider online audience. Our new interview series highlights what these necessary and beneficial individuals and organizations are doing to promote healthy living practices, tackle issues to halt the climate crisis, and find positive solutions to urgent environmental problems.

We are currently lining up the same local partners we frequently visited when we conducted our pre-COVID in-person tours.

What is RCD and Why You Should Care

12/16/2020

Never heard of a Resource Conservation District (RCD)?? These three letters carry huge importance. RCDs make up nearly 3,000 conservation district projects across the United States. They work directly with landowners to conserve and promote healthy soils, water, forests and wildlife. And so?

Go Virtual or Go Bust!

12/14/2020

Our Journey to Virtual Programming

Like so many other businesses impacted by Covid-19, we discovered that we had two choices: 1) reinvent or 2) shutter. Obviously we chose to reinvent, or you wouldn’t be reading this!

We’ve spent the greater part of this year learning how to convert a local in-person-only tour organization into one offering a similar experience in the virtual world.

We decided to take on this significant challenge to pivot by creating virtual programs and offerings.

February 09th, 2021

DUNCAN DOUGHNUTS