Credit: Jeffry Pike
If it hadn't been for the urging of Marty Leape and Charlie Allen, long-time members of the Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement (HILR), the Division of Continuing Education (DCE) would not have entered the 2009 FAS ECO-Competition, let alone emerge as one of its leaders. For it was Marty's and Charlie's enthusiasm that eventually persuaded Dean Michael Shinagel that the Division should take an active role in the University's sustainability efforts.
Through the work of Marty and Charlie, who are co-chairs of HILR's Green Committee, HILR has made appreciable progress in educating its 600 members to practice recycling and energy reduction both at the DCE and in their homes. Marty and Charlie have also broken down age barriers and are actively involved with Harvard College student sustainability groups. Encouraging the administration at DCE to become more sustainable was a natural progression of their work.
HILR's interest in "going green" began more than two years ago when Charlie, a former diplomat and international business executive, talked with the Phillips Brooks House Association about contacting Harvard College students on a green project of mutual concern. While some administrators liked the general idea of interaction between the oldest and youngest generations, others were not so sure.
Undeterred, Charlie teamed up with Marty, former director of Harvard's Career Services, to focus on motivating the wider HILR membership through a weeklong green fair. After a keynote speech by then Green Campus Initiative Director Leith Sharp, they displayed information on recycling, energy conservation, and green products amid green balloons and jazz music. The event was a hit, and gave credence to the viability of the group's active support of sustainability at Harvard.
Things began to fall into place after that. Through a labyrinthine process, Marty and Charlie eventually joined up with the students' Environmental Action Committee and helped them find political leaders for their Green Democracy National Teach-in at Adams House. Meanwhile, Marty and Charlie and the 18-member HILR Green Committee obtained 275 signatures from members - including 55 Harvard alumni - to add to a student-created petition asking President Faust to set a date for achieving climate neutrality. The students believed that getting the support of adults, and especially Harvard alumni, would add weight to their efforts.
Further strengthening HILR's ties with the rest of the University, Marty and Charlie were invited into the student-run Harvard Climate Collaborative. They regularly attend meetings, representing Harvard's eldest students, lending wisdom that only comes with a lifetime of experience. Student environmental leaders have said that Marty's and Charlie's interest and support are “inspiring” and have helped the students feel that their hard work is worthwhile.
Charlie says that now "we old dogs really had something to contribute." He notes, "Working with these wonderful students is exhilarating. Sitting around the table with them, throwing out ideas about a demonstration windmill in Harvard Yard, I feel like I’m back in my student days at Stanford talking about getting Benny Goodman for the junior prom."
Adds Marty, "The commitment of these graduate and college students to green issues is very impressive. I wish that they had been on campus for Earth Hour 2009 on March 28. We would have had a grand celebration."
They regularly attend meetings, representing Harvard's eldest students, lending wisdom that only comes with a lifetime of experience.