Adam & Dominique - Happy Holidays from your Hosts

[00:00:10] Dominique: Hello and welcome to our holiday episode of Green Champions.

[00:00:13] Adam: Thanks for joining us all year long in conversations with real people sharing sustainability success stories.

[00:00:18] Dominique: This podcast is a platform for Green Champions to share their stories and plant new ideas. I'm Dominique.

[00:00:24] Adam: And I'm Adam.

[00:00:25] Dominique: This year we released an episode every Tuesday, and you're joining us for kind of our 2025 recap. But that's our first full year of bringing all of our total releases to over 90 episodes.

[00:00:36] Adam: Wow. And 2025 brought three new seasons and two conference partnerships. And then we have some exciting things in store for 2026.

[00:00:43] Dominique: To wrap up a year of incredible people and inspiring stories, Adam and I wanted to extend some gratitude for the amazing community of people out there doing some amazing work.

[00:00:52] Adam: And we wanted to share some of our favorite themes and stories from the year. Dominique, do you wanna go first?

[00:00:57] Dominique: Sure. So I think one of my favorite things, Adam, from 2025 is, and it's, you know, kind of maybe obvious for those who've listened along but international storytelling I think was one of my favorite themes that we engaged with this year. And in terms of hearing how people approach storytelling across cultures and from like a global view, but also the chance that we got to have to actually go international and capture stories. So namely our collaboration with NanoValbruna and the conference in Italy. That was one of my favorites, just seeing how many amazing people are doing amazing things.

I think seeing commonalities going so far across the planet and seeing, you know, how similar some struggles are, how inspiring some solutions can be. And just also how welcoming people were about like sharing what they're learning and I think that community of sustainability, people are constantly positive, welcoming, and like very collaborative.

[00:01:57] Adam: Yeah. What were some of the things that stood out from going to NanoValbruna? 

[00:02:00] Dominique: Well, besides the mountains and the wonderful food and the amazing people, but I think two of my favorite stories probably, it is really tough. If you are a listener and have not taken a listen to any of the Italian episodes, I really hope you do But I think my two favorites are Francesca Cercelletta and she talks about Frame the Change, which was an initiative and a program she actually engaged as a participant and she loved it so much that she like spearheaded bringing it to the conference.

But essentially it's this idea of making films and doing storytelling with just your phone. And I think she made a film that either won an award at a festival or was entered at a festival. And I thought that was just really cool because we do have so many amazing resources available to us in our hands all the time and there's so many big problems to talk about right now. And so finding those like artful ways to leverage technology and storytelling, it was cool to hear her talk through that.

[00:02:58] Adam: And I think that's really important too. Just when we think about climate change in general, like being able to share stories about it in an effective way is really what helps bring more people in in order to create change.

[00:03:09] Dominique: I agree. I agree. I think also that being accessible feels very powerful. I definitely would never think to make a movie with my phone. 

[00:03:18] Adam: One thing I picked up from NanoValbruna was this inclusivity of bringing in people from different ages, like all the programming that they're doing with kids and things like that of really helping empower people at all ages in order to take action.

[00:03:30] Dominique: Was that one of your favorites? 

[00:03:31] Adam: Yeah. I, I really love that. 

[00:03:33] Dominique: That was Tanya and NanoPiçule.

[00:03:35] Adam: Yeah. I really love that when Tanya was talking about NanoPiçule and just like this idea of doing little projects with kids. Like there's something inspiring about that when it's just like you don't need to have a degree or 20 years of education or working in this space in order to make an impact. But you can start small. 

[00:03:52] Dominique: Yeah. And I remember talking to her about like her secret sauce, kind of, of why that works. And it kind of boiled down to like her energy and her love for doing it. She was so fun to talk to. I think that showed through in her storytelling that she just like loved it because I think a lot of people would say education's hard but she made it look very fun. 

[00:04:10] Adam: And it also really tied in with the ethos of NanoValbruna, where like they're bringing these entrepreneurs together to pitch ideas to create new sustainable solutions and bringing them all across Europe. So building those bridges and connections between different groups.

[00:04:22] Dominique: Yeah, I agree. And I think the other favorite of mine was Duccio's episode, which we actually just rereleased last week. And so I hope you check it out. But he talked about communicating about climate, again, under this umbrella of like storytelling and crossing cultures and really spreading important messages. But his organization's called Greencome Media, and he just talked about leveraging data, making it cool, making it interesting and approachable. And I just thought he was a really strong communicator and I learned a lot from the way he spoke about messaging. 

[00:04:56] Adam: Well, and speaking about messaging, I think that goes into so much of what we do. 

[00:05:01] Dominique: Yeah. That's true. 

[00:05:03] Adam: One of the reasons that we're here right? Is to, you know, look at how people are talking about climate change and sustainability. For me, one of the big themes of this year was going down to the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit.

It was really nice being able to moderate a panel with Aryeh, Christy and Marcus on waste diversion efforts at the summit. I think for me that was really fun being up on stage and just hearing people talk about what they're doing in unison between different organizations. Right? So if Aryeh's with the city and Christy's doing community works, just that way that people play together in each other's efforts, I think is really important.

[00:05:36] Dominique: Yeah. Like that, like collaboration piece and like seeing the puzzle pieces come together. Yeah. And it was really cool to hear them share kind of how they view themselves as initiators, but also how they view themselves as supporters. I think we saw that in a few different initiatives.

Marcus with Smart Columbus has sparked an e-waste diversion effort, but that's really supporting those who actually manage and recycle e-waste. And then he's supporting businesses in getting that resource. And then I think in some ways also he is an initiator 'cause he built a program to connect those dots.

And Aryeh I think shared about his like compost initiatives and obviously similar thing where they're such key players in connecting the dots for those initiatives.

[00:06:21] Adam: Well, and I think that's where I learned you can go on 311 and just type in. They have a kind of a waste removal search. So if you have something you want to dispose of, you can search for like how you get rid of it and it comes back with suggestions. The Waste Wizard and it's something I've used many times since. 

[00:06:35] Dominique: Oh really? You have? What's an example of something you've used it for? 

[00:06:38] Adam: While we were cleaning out some old stuff and we looked at it to see where we could actually take some like old glass and things like that. And so it was neat just being like, alright, here's what you do with something and having like a place you can go to type it in.

I ended up getting rid of some old metal frames from my Wild Tiger Tees days, and taking 'em to the recycling center.

[00:06:56] Dominique: It helped you? It knew what you were looking for?

[00:06:57] Adam: Yeah. It pointed me in the right direction, which is really cool.

[00:07:00] Dominique: And then you just drove, dropped it off? 

[00:07:01] Adam: Yep. And I got some money too. So with metal, there's scrap places where you can take your scrap metal and they will weigh it and give you a little bit of money back in return, which is kind of fun. 

[00:07:09] Dominique: Wow. A little plug for the Waste Wizard. That's awesome. Going back to the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit, Adam, was there a favorite guest or story we told?

[00:07:18] Adam: Yeah. There were fun episodes there. Shailah Maynard from Sew Valley really stood out to me as like this facility in Cincinnati that is doing kind of low run fashion production that's done locally here in the US but with this big focus of recycling, reducing waste and taking the waste that they have and transforming it into something else. And I think one, bringing clothing production back in the US is really hard and I think they're doing such a neat job with what they're doing.

It's really exciting seeing that they're empowering people to come up with new fashion designs through the work that they're doing. 

[00:07:50] Dominique: it was beautiful to watch and hear her excitement around not only creating a resource in the ecosystem that really is missing some local pieces, but also like educating along the way and building up a community of skilled people. 

I was just thinking about who my favorite was from the Midwest Educational Sustainability Summit. And I think the one that stuck with me the most was Jessica who spoke about architecture, and like sustainable space design. And she spoke a bit about, I'm not gonna do her deep knowledge justice, but she spoke about like the fact that spaces should not make it discreet, how they're being sustainable, like it should jump out at you when you walk in the space.

And she talked through some ways to like look for sustainability in design. But she just talked about that idea that this stuff can be at the forefront of like entering our spaces. It's not just a plaque outside that may be like, you know, is a little bit hidden, but is it like, is it storytelling throughout the entire space?

[00:08:45] Adam: So really capturing that in the imagination through design. 

[00:08:48] Dominique: Yeah.

[00:08:49] Adam: Well, the one thing that really captured my imagination was Zack Burns from the Cincinnati Zoo when he was talking about their hydroponics. And just, if you're listening to this, go back and listen to his episode 'cause he talks about how they grow all these, you know, the lettuce that they feed to the giraffes through the hydroponics and cutting down on having to, you know, truck cabbage across the United States to feed their giraffes. 

[00:09:08] Dominique: And they're making a sustainable, like source like resiliency around like having enough lettuce 'cause they're in control of its growth. 

[00:09:15] Adam: Yeah. And being able to go firsthand to the animals and feed it, that was really cool. 

[00:09:19] Dominique: So what's another thing that really stuck out to you this year? 

Well I think it's no surprise this has been a tough year from any community action point of view, but definitely from an environmental standpoint. And I'm really grateful for the space that we've created on the podcast in terms of like continuing to tell positive stories and meet great people but I think this theme for me has been like community. And not only on the podcast and the fact that we continue to meet awesome people with something good to say, but I think also I have just felt with our guests and their storytelling that there is so much positive community that is still happening. There's so much like resiliency in the people. And that has helped me a lot, I think, to stay positive, to stay optimistic. I even think about how many guests we've had that have recommended other guests. You know, I think the nature of so many people who are trying to uplift the stories of people that they're a big fan of. I love when listeners and guests tell us whose story they want us to showcase next.

[00:10:20] Adam: I noticed this in myself just in the social impact space of feeling really discouraged into the year and feeling almost isolated and disconnected. And then, you know, a few months ago, there was a shift of like noticing how people are starting to communicate and collaborate again. And I think it was always there but it was just hidden from view with all the other news of everything going on. And I think as we lift up these stories of of how people are coming together, it makes it so much easier for other people to jump in and say, "Oh I actually want to help out with that." And I, I think that's a really important piece of one, what we're doing but also as you're listening, you're part of this, right? And so being able to make sure that you're able to jump in to the places where you can make an impact is also very important. 

[00:10:59] Dominique: Yeah, I definitely agree. And I was thinking about who we spoke to that maybe had interesting things to share about community too. And I thought Jamie Richards, with Bansk Beauty and she's, a part of Amika and other beauty brands based in New York. And she talked a lot about this Shea project in Uganda and kind of peel the layers back on ESG and community development. That's what I really liked about it, was like this idea that like when we're responsible with the Shea production and we like support the community and its growth so that it's grown the way that the brand needs, but also grown in a way that supports the community.

I just loved that, that way that she was thinking community development, like centric about what could look like a business activity but there was a lot more deeper like understanding and intent behind her project.

[00:11:50] Adam: I think she's such a fantastic example if you dig beneath the surface of like who she is as a person like when she showed up at Bansk Beauty and she's cared about sustainability but it wasn't part of her role, she communicated that. She went above and beyond kind of doing projects to analyze in their production of like hey what are the sustainable options? 

Yeah. Which also, I mean, that's another aspect of storytelling. And like the way that she was able to communicate a message to the right people in the right way to get the initiative across the finish line. And I, I think for me the take away is one, if you're trying to find the right opportunity where you can jump in and make a difference, you're wasting time. Like you can actually start making impact from any place that you are right now. And that will lead to conversations and ideas and connections. 

 Which, that does remind me of my last favorite mention of today's episode. A recent release, was Kristen Uhlenbrock. And her podcast, Laws of Notion. And I think the way that she started that, like similar, no, I think of like her seeing a gap and being like, how do I get started? Where do I go? What do I do?

[00:12:51] Dominique: And I just think her podcast is so well done and powerful and well written and crafted. Yeah, I just think she's a good example of somebody who was like, "Cool. I'm just gonna build this thing."

[00:13:02] Adam: like the way that they frame their seasons around a topic like water and then go out and find those conversations by talking to people and really collecting those stories. I think that's something that's very important, just being able to connect ourselves with those. 

[00:13:14] Dominique: Do you have more favorite to share from this year?

[00:13:16] Adam: Yeah, for me, having Emily and Susan from the Columbus Food Rescue here in the room, seeing that energy play off of them was really inspiring. But what I loved about it was they came together to really build up the Columbus Food Rescue connect people who had food donations with the places that needed them.

[00:13:34] Dominique: I mean, just to recap, these are two women who, one, they historically were teacher and student way back in the day. And they reconnected and then like now do this work there where they literally get calls of food that's gonna get wasted and can be rescued. And they sometimes bring their personal vehicles to rescue large amounts of food. 

[00:13:55] Adam: But since they've started, they've rescued over a million pounds of food, which is freaking awesome. And I was so inspired by it. They have this app where you sign up and they send you daily alerts of like here's places where you can deliver food. And I was like, oh, that sounds fun. I could do that. So I signed up and, you know, I've done it like four times as it kind of fits into my schedule. 

 So I love that being able to connect our resources that we have and use them more wisely so we're not just throwing in the trash, but also in a time where if food insecurity is really high and there's a lot of issues with that. To me, that's kind of what the holiday season is about.

[00:14:25] Dominique: I think that brings us home really nicely for wrapping up this year of episodes to roll into the holiday season. But Adam, what's something you're looking forward to in 2026, maybe on a personal level?

[00:14:36] Adam: Well,

 I am looking forward to expanding my family. In 2026, I am adopting a now 17 month old kid from India. So we're really looking forward to that and growing in a new way.

[00:14:48] Dominique: I'm happy for you. 

[00:14:49] Adam: You've been waiting a little while.

It's been, yeah, since 2020. These things take time.

[00:14:55] Dominique: No, that's really exciting. That'll be a whole new territory for you.

[00:14:59] Adam: I can't wait. 

[00:15:00] Dominique: Well, thank you to all of you for listening and supporting the podcast. We have some creative projects coming in 2026, and I know we're both looking forward to more amazing people and event collaborations. 

[00:15:11] Adam: And we're gonna hit a hundred episodes very soon. So happy holidays to you and your families. We'll be back in the new year with new guests who have found a unique way to champion sustainability.

[00:15:21] Dominique: You can find our episodes, donate or reach us at thegreenchampions.com. Our music is by Zayn Dweik. Thanks for listening to Green Champions. We'll dig into our sustainability success story in the new year.