Strength in numbers.
During a dinner conversation, friends Butch Whitfield, a realtor at Harry Norman Realtors; Liz Lapidus, founder of Liz Lapidus Strategic Communications; and Johanna Ellis-Reisinger, former owner of Atlanta Classic Cars began discussing their favorite nonprofits and how to enhance their impact. “Our goal was to develop a shared vision to guide the region’s conservation efforts,” says Whitfield. The result was Root Local that began with polling 250 environmental groups to test their interest. “We got responses from all the six sectors we identified: food systems, air and water quality management, canopy and land management, green buildings and practices, sustainable fashion and products, and travel and transportation,” says Whitfield. Using those replies, they developed a Network Map, a Collective Impact Plan and The Pollinator Network where online community members and organizations can come together to share ideas and learn how to become better stewards of the environment. “Interested citizens can register online and choose the sector that interests them most, whether its green buildings or sustainable fashion,” Whitfield says. Root Local acts as a conduit for them to support one another’s events through cross promotion and participation, and networking to find ways to work together. “Another Root Local goal is to create a template to share with other cities who want to increase their environmental impact by working together,” says Whitfield.
ROOT LOCAL
rootlocal.org
@rootlocal404
