Find Clues to Your Green Career in Family Lore and Traditions
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Green Career Tip of the Week
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"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air."
Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist
Hard to believe the holidays are upon us...isn't it!
For those of you looking for a new position, this season may bring additional layer of worry and concern. How do you advance your job search during the holidays? Do you need to put all your efforts on hold until January? It really is possible to Recharge Your Green Job Search Now! Join us to discover Strategies to Boost Your Results in December and Beyond. This three part teleclass series is absolutely free.
While you are enjoying time with family and friends this season, you may find clues to your future green career woven into conversations about memories, traditions, and family lore. Today's article traces the roots of one of my green passions.
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Tip of the Week: Find Clues to Your Green Career in Family Lore and Traditions
A low rumble outside woke us up early one day this week. At first we were startled, had we missed our garbage pickup day?
Then we realized our new waste bins were being delivered! As soon as we made this connection, I was excited! I went right outside to check out the bins that had been appearing street by street in our neighborhood. Yes! Single stream recycling! Yes! Kitchen waste can be included in our green bin!
Now, for most people this would not be a momentous occasion. I get that. Some might even think it a nuisance to establish new habits to deal with the waste they create.
To understand my excitement, we have to go back a few decades...even a few generations!
My Fifth Grade Project
When I was ten, I created a diorama of a very elaborate recycling center. I don't recall the assignment, but I have fairly vivid memories of how the project worked. In fact it's one of the clearest memories I have from my childhood.
One of my brother's match box dump trucks delivered the waste to a series of rubber band conveyor belts that moved the waste through a sequence of steps to separate various kinds of waste.
- I had a magnet to pull out metal.
- I remember gathering grass to represent the green waste.
- I recall crushing glass for one section.
- I had a section for paper that could be recycled.
For some reason, the most memorable element of this project was the bright yellow box that held the entire project.
Thirty years later...after sorting my recycling, I headed to my local recycling center. As I deposited my materials in labeled bins, I noticed that the center had a new processing system. What astounded me is that the color was bright yellow and the main feature were a series of conveyor belts! It wasn't a single stream system, but it was a far cry from recycling centers I'd experienced in the past.
Today, my project doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary...but in 1970 the concept of a recycling center was just forming. How did I possibly come up with this idea?
My Parents' Influence
My parents were actively involved in setting up our community's first recycling center about that time. A local barn on the edge of town served as the location for a series of dumpsters for glass, tin cans, and newspapers. That was the extent of it!
Although I don't recall any specific conversations about recycling, I'm sure we started handling our waste differently to take advantage of this new recycling opportunity.
Given my parents' backgrounds as a biologist and physicist and their active volunteer efforts in several environmental issues, I'm virtually positive we had conversations about why recycling was important and how it helped the planet.
I suspect establishing new habits got me thinking about how to recycle more efficiently. I have no doubt that this thinking was the source of inspiration for my recycling project.
My Grandparents' Influence
As I cleared out my family home a few years ago I was astounded by the number of ways nature, National Parks, and wildlife were woven throughout the fabric of my family's life.
So where did my parents develop their passion for the environment?
Memories, family stories, and fifteen boxes of family archives (yes, really!) tell me that both sides of my family have a deep connection and affinity with the natural world that extends back generations. I won't bore you with all the details, but a few select snippets will tell the story.
Living in rural New Jersey, my mother's parents reused, repurposed, and composted as much waste as possible. They joined a collection of relatives each summer at 4th Lake in the Adirondacks, a tradition that had been in place since the early 1900's. Connecting with nature at home and at the lake was a cherished part of my Mom's childhood.
Although my Dad grew up in an urban setting in San Francisco, animals and nature still played a big part in his growing up. My great grandfather used to take my grandmother to Yosemite in the early 1900's. That tradition continued when my father was a youngster. My grandmother always had animals around - dogs, birds, turtles.
Throughout my childhood summer vacations meant camping trips in the Sierra Nevada range, along the coast, or road tripping to a series of National Parks in the US and Canada. Ranger led talks and hikes were my favorite events...I always wanted to learn more about nature and the environment.
What's Your Ecolineage?
In Ken Burns' series The National Parks: America's Best Idea, I noticed that many of the people featured in the film had an early and deep connection with the natural world. That thread that connected them with certain places, animals, and moments in nature was the spark that led them to their passion-filled work.
As you listen to family stories and share memories this holiday season, notice if you pick up any clues about how your family has interacted with the natural world through the generations.
- Do you have any special memories of your time in the natural world?
- Were you or your family members involved in the environmental movement in the 1970's? What were their passions?
- Where and how did you spend your vacations?
- How did your grandparents interact with the natural world?
- Do you know anything about previous generations? (If you have the opportunity, ask your grandparents to learn as much as you can about earlier generations.)
Reconnecting with these memories and asking questions to learn about previous generations may alert you to a pattern of interests that give you new insights about your own passions and career aspirations.
You may not discover a fully formed idea, but rather a set of clues that intrigues you to explore new options. Listen, notice, and follow these clues to see where they take you in your quest for a green career.
Copyright © 2010 Transition Dynamics Enterprises, Inc
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Recharge Your Green Job Search! Strategies to Boost Your Results in December and Beyond.
Join us for 5 Ways the Holidays Can Accelerate Your Job Search
Common wisdom may say that the holidays are the worst time to conduct your job search, but that isn't what we've seen. Discover the best ways to leverage your job search during the holidays.
Join Carol McClelland and job search expert, Rebecca Kieler, to discover strategies you can put to use this holiday season to expand your web of connections.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
5:30 pm Pacific/ 8:30 pm Eastern
Duration - 1 hour
By registering, you'll receive an email with a link to the audio recording of the event.
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Green Career Central(TM) is an online coaching and resource center designed to help mid-career professionals, students, new grads, and career counselors make sense of the green economy and the green job market.
Carol McClelland, PhD, author of the award-winning, Green Careers For Dummies, is one of the nation's leading green career experts and founder of Green Career Central. Throughout her career, Carol has helped thousands of people find careers that match their values and interests.
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