Ride the Talk: A Sustainability Roadtrip
Posted in: Uncategorized
Some rights reserved by Wolfgang Staudt
2.5 Weeks + 1000 Miles + 4 States + Countless Encounters.
There is something about this time of year: back-to-school season. Ever since I was a child, this season has brought on a flood of mixed emotions in me. It’s a refreshing and exciting time of change with the onset of new courses, new teachers, new challenges and new shoes. But it is also a time for saying goodbyes, to summer and summer-time friends and activities.
This year I am especially keen for the back-to-school season to start as I am taking on a new and grand challenge that will impact not only myself, but also many future sustainable designers and, down the road, I predict it will impact the health and well-being of the people and the places of this planet.
Consider it decided. I’m committed. The ball’s rolling.
Beginning today I will begin biking 1000+ miles from Montana to Minnesota (through Wyoming and South Dakota) as an effort to raise need-based scholarship money for the fully online Sustainable Design program that I direct at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) as well as to raise awareness about sustainability challenges and opportunities that we face today. Along the way, I will be exploring the region’s sustainable design challenges and solutions as met by the people, places, products, and services that I encounter: from water scarcity to living in the food desert. I’ll also be profiling innovative products that were donated by sustainability-savvy outdoor companies to support my adventure.
I’ll be taking my old-school, circa 1982, silver-blue 310 Miyata—who I affectionately call “Sky”—on the journey with me. (Well, actually, it will be taking me.) I think it’s always been ready; me, not so much. So, why Montana to Minnesota? Because the program I direct (and teach within) is 100% online, I have the luxury of living and telecommuting from wherever I want (thanks to my incredibly supportive bosses!). I make my home and strive to live a sustainable life in Missoula, Montana. I grow and preserve most of my own food, am an all-season bicyclist and am able to connect with nature on a daily basis.
Post a Comment