Green Eggs and Sand - Part V

Sorry folks - I'm in the "home stretch" of the book manuscript (due date - July 5) and haven't kept this up-to-date.  Hope you're enjoying this conversation with Gary (The photo at the top of the blog is Gary [his hands actually] and one of his friends).

Eventually the conversation moves back to the topic of Green Eggs & Sand and I’m curious to ask Gary if he would categorize GE&S as a conservation initiative.  He tells me, in no uncertain terms, that it’s not a conservation initiative, but rather an educational initiative.  He punctuates his stance by emphatically stating that “…we certainly have a conservation benefit that has come out of it.  I always look at the impacts that, to me, make the most differences.  For example, when I find out that a teacher who came to Green Eggs and went back to school and got her kids going out on a volunteer survey or maybe someone got involved in efforts to influence (inaudible) conservation.  Or, you know, some, some of their kids wanted to do projects and some have even carried out biomedical research projects.  So it’s those kinds of offshoots, those kinds of anecdotal accounts, that translate into some action, some involvement, or engagement.  But if nothing else I think if they come and they listen, they come away with a much expanded view of the fact that there are these different stake holders, these different livelihoods, economic impacts, ecological impacts, of benefits to us - and that management of these resources is a challenging thing and it relies on informed citizens.  GE&S is an opportunity to be informed citizens…to participate.  People can go to public meetings.  They can write letters.  They can get involved on any level.  You know, those are the kind of things that are happening with this that will have a conservation impact.  But, by and large, GE&S is about education.”
            I’m curious about the long-range projections for Green Eggs and Sand and ask Gary to tell what he sees as the future for this innovation educational initiative.  His eyebrows rise, his voice increases another octave, and his enthusiasm is ratcheted up one more level.  “I never thought – a lot of environmental issues ride  a wave, and often times it’s a pretty short wave.  And we’re early, you know, and it arises and then falls off to something else.  Tropical Rainforests, Acid rain are good examples.  Green Eggs and Sand – I’ve been amazed how the horseshoe crab issue has stayed so contentious.  It hasn’t ramped down at all since we’ve been doing it.  I think at some point it will.  I think it will run its course  – I think Green Eggs and Sand will, because of the – there’s something about the animal story and connection to the birds – is always going to be engaging I think, and I think, you know, the interest in the workshop will be there, but I think as an environmental issue, particularly as the crab continues to increase in this area, it will be replaced by something else. The birds are another story.  We certainly hope that they will bounce back in time too It’s too early to tell right now.  The new adaptive  management plan should help with this, you know.  The key was so logical and seems to be going, it seems that they’re going about it the right way.