About Enviroloution - What We've Done

What We've Done

Envirolution

Since its creation just under five years ago, Envirolution™ has had a variety of positive impacts in New York and Nevada. From hosting after-school clubs that have become sustainable even without the organization’s guidance, to building invaluable partnerships with energy professionals, building specialists, and educators, Envirolution™ is significantly impacting communities. To learn more about how this non-profit is creating win-win situations, re-energizing education, demonstrating the sustainable profits and value of green jobs, collaborating with a variety of other influential non-profits, and helping to save homeowners money on their energy bills, please read on. You’re also welcome to contact us: we’d love to hear from you.

Win-Win Campaign

So far, Envirolution™ has hosted a total of eight sessions of the Win-Win Campaign™ since its beginning in 2010. More than 70 individuals have signed up to participate in Win-Win™, and so far more than 50 have graduated with valuable skills, experience, and knowledge to help them secure meaningful green jobs or to green up their current professions. Graduates from the program have been placed on great new career paths, working for premier green industry businesses in New York. The Win-Win Campaign™ boasts a job-placement rate of about 70%; for every ten participants, seven of them will find gainful employment in the green sector.

One recent graduate, Mario Cancassi, was able to change his life through the Win-Win program™. Mario Cancassi had more than 20 years as an Operations Manager for commercial printing organizations.  Due to a sharp decline in the industry, he realized he needed to change his career direction, so he followed his interest in and passion for the green sector. Over 16 months, he took a wide array of courses to build his experience in green building and be considered as a strong job candidate within the industry. Click here to read more about Mario’s story.

Another recent graduate, Amrit Kauer, says that her experiences in Win-Win™ were very rewarding and prepared her for a transition to a green career.  As a Win-Win™ Intern, she learned about the energy policies and programs in New York city, and refreshed her memory of concepts about green building design.  She also gained valuable knowledge about organizations such as NYSERDA and others that are major players in the green energy field. It was through Win-Win™ course that she learned how to perform energy audits. Read her story here.

In addition to improving the professional lives of its individual participants, the Win-Win Campaign™ has also educated nearly 1000 small businesses about what they could do to become more energy efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective. By empowering individuals and businesses, Envirolution’s™ Win-Win Campaign™ is dramatically improving its local communities.

Project ReCharge

Project ReCharge™ is energizing young minds, providing professional development opportunities for teachers, and showing the Washoe County School District administrators how important energy efficiency and sustainability is during this economic slump and beyond. In 2010, Envirolution™ presented to over 80 teachers in Reno and Las Vegas about the importance of energy efficiency and the learning potential it holds in the classroom. We also presented to over 150 students at the Nevada Youth Summit in Las Vegas and over 300 students at Becker Middle School in Las Vegas.

By carefully aligning our Project ReCharge™ curriculum to rigorous state and national educational standards, we were able to implement a 6 week long in-class program at Hug High school with approximately 60 students in two Environmental Science classes. In addition to helping students, Project ReCharge™ has provided a series of professional development workshops to nearly 50 teachers in the state of Nevada.

Project ReCharge™ is also being expanded to reach such Middle schools as Dilworth in Sparks, NV. At Dilworth, over 300 students have participated in two sessions of the Project ReCharge™ curriculum, which focuses on STEM oriented, hands-on, project-based learning.

Envirolution™ is currently coordinating  another implementation of Project ReCharge™ at Dilworth Middle School, and is excited to host volunteers to judge this term’s student presentations.

Click here to learn more about what the community had to say about Project ReCharge™.

Pathways To Prosperity Partnership

By hosting 17 sessions of the Pathways to Prosperity Partnership™ program in New York and Pennsylvania during 2010, Envirolution™ has helped almost 300 participants to learn more about the green economy and how they can join a sustainable workforce. Over 200 students graduated from P3™ in 2010 alone, and have been supported with a vibrant network of professional and educational opportunities.

While other organizations seek to provide “green training,” and many are still trying to understand what it means to be “green,”

Envirolution™ is green, understands green opportunities, skills, and career ladders, and provides a cohesive network of peers, professionals, and collaborators to help unify and develop the green jobs movement.

Through the P3™ program, Envirolution™ educates other organizations, employers, and the workforce about the current and future conditions of the green market, and how best to prepare to drive both the demand and supply of green products, services, employers, and jobs.

Because of our meticulous research and up-to-date knowledge of the current state of green jobs development, Envirolution™ is well-recognized as the key source of this knowledge in the New York community.

GREENevada

In the fall of 2010, GREENevada™ submitted a funding proposal to PEPSI Refresh with the intention of being able to fund a High School Sustainability Competition. Thanks to the hard work of the coalition of nonprofits that make up GREENevada™, and to the involvement of our broad community of followers and like-minded citizens, we were awarded one of the coveted $50,000 awards from Pepsi. With that money, GREENevada™ prepared to host the competition during the spring semester of 2011.

On Earth Day 2011, Washoe County high school students shared their biggest green ideas and won thousands of dollars to help make those ideas become reality. With professionals and educators from the community participating in the judging process, the student teams presented their plans to make their school facilities more environmentally friendly, energy efficient, and sustainable.   Each team submitted a written proposal and budget, and made a visual presentation in front of a panel of expert judges. After the judging sessions, $28,000 was awarded to nine participating Washoe County high schools. With the current economic and educational crises the state of Nevada faces, Envirolution™ and the rest of the GREENevada™ team are clearly doing their share to help.

The Grand Prize winner was Reed High School. Reed students plan to upgrade the school’s bathrooms, cutting back on wasted water and energy, and potentially saving their school thousands in utility bills. They walked away with $12,000 to make it happen.

Each of the other participating schools also left the event with monetary awards, and guidance from GREENevada™, to help them begin their projects.

Over the summer months, the participating high schools have installed a variety of sustainable retrofits (solar panels, water-saving fixtures, energy efficient lighting) into their facilities and have completed such important tasks as remodeling leaky bathrooms, drafting plans for school gardens, and beginning school-wide recycling programs.

Watch the GREENevada™ video!

HomeFree Nevada

HomeFree Nevada™ is the sponsor for the state of Nevada’s Home Performance with Energy Star® program, which is administered nationally by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U. S. Department of Energy. Envirolution™ is proud to be the official representative of HomeFree Nevada™ in Northern Nevada. HomeFree Nevada™ is dedicated to providing a comprehensive, whole-house approach to improving your home’s energy efficiency, comfort, health, safety and durability, while helping to protect the environment.

In just a few months, nearly 100 residents of Northern Nevada have contacted the Envirolution™ office to learn more about how to make their homes more efficient, comfortable, and safe. Seven projects have been completed, meaning that seven homes in our community have been carefully audited and then retrofitted with cost-effective, money-saving equipment or upgrades to the building shell. Another half-dozen projects are currently in progress, and we anticipate even more interest soon!