The Big Green Bus Visits Riverkeeper

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By: Sara Moriarty
The Big Green Bus is all about being green; it is indeed green in color, and, more importantly, it is green in the environmental sense. This summer marks the ninth year of the student-run Big Green Bus, with 12 Dartmouth students traveling across the country (on biodiesel power) to envision and discuss solutions for an environmentally friendly and sustainable future.

On June 13, the Big Green Bus made its first stop here at Riverkeeper in Ossining. Dana Gulley (Community Outreach and Volunteer coordinator) spoke to the students about how Riverkeeper has served to reconnect people to the Hudson River, once seen as a place of toxic beauty, pretty to look at but not to touch. Dana spoke of the importance of connecting people to their environment; people who interact with their environment are more likely to work for the betterment of it. The students on the Big Green Bus listened to Dana, getting a sense of Riverkeepr’s mission to protect the Hudson River and safeguard NYC’s drinking water supply as well as the wide array of work that is done to accomplish that mission by activating the public as activists, volunteers, and members.

The Big Green Bus students, all passionate about helping develop a sustainable future, learned from Dana and Riverkeeper’s story about the many ways work is done to promote a sustainable future. From fighting big industry in the courtroom to researching water quality and patrolling the Hudson River, Riverkeeper’s work has lead and continues to lead to a better future for the Hudson River. Students on the Big Green Bus took this into account, recognizing just how many aspects the journey to a better earth are involved and learning about how nonprofits such as Riverkeeper develop. The Bus’s crew will continue to learn about and promote the environmental movement as they travel throughout the country. Riverkeeper was happy to have the Big Green Bus stop by and wishes them luck in their journey to promote a sustainable future throughout the states! Read more about the Big Green Bus and keep track of the Bus’s journey across the country: http://www.thebiggreenbus.org/