ms consultants Director of Sustainability, Kari Mackenbach, recently visited Creative Life and Work Services organization (CLW) in Springfield, Ohio, to share a specialized workshop geared towards educating CLW clients and staff on sustainable practices. CLW is an organization that provides opportunities for adults living with developmental disabilities to reach their potential and become active members in their communities.
Becoming more environmentally friendly
Prior to the ms workshop, CLW staff and clients noticed the amount of trash they produced in one day. Averaging six 60-gallon bags of trash per day, filled with items such as brown bags, milk cartons, plastic and Styrofoam, CLW was encouraged to seek educational resources about bettering their recycling program and learning about sustainable practices for their organization. ms designed a specialized workshop for CLW to not only educate, but encourage, the organization to reach their goals of becoming more environmentally friendly.
The main focus of the workshop was on the importance of water and the significant role it plays in daily life. Participants had a chance to volunteer and partake in several activities. One activity included pouring water over a tub filled with cottonballs to mimic soil absorbing water. Another activity involved participants of the workshop guessing root lengths of a variety of trees, flowers, and different types of grass. Participants discussed the importance of our trees, grass and soil, and how they are major contributors to the life and longevity of these environmental components.
Workshop Success
The workshop proved to be a success! CLW reached out to Kari to discuss the changes they have made in their organization. The staff reached out to local connections within the Springfield community to discuss the process of setting up a recycling program. Since the implementation of this recycling program, CLW has cut their waste from the original six 60-gallon bags, a total of 360 gallons of trash, to just under 10 gallons of trash a day. The new recycling program is exciting for both the staff and clients of CLW, because they are constantly trying to reduce the amount of waste they produce as a facility. The CLW executive staff plan to use this facility as a prototype for several other workshops that are established throughout the state of Ohio.
CLW was excited to be a part of ms’ efforts in engaging community organizations and schools in an effort to implement better sustainable practices, encourage recycling and overall taking better care of our environment. We are proud to have been a part of CLW’s mission to eliminating a substantial amount of waste and their commitment to sustainability!
If you are interested in hosting a workshop to learn more about how you can be more environmentally friendly, please contact Kelsey Peters at kpeters@msconsultants.com.