Green Drinks - Where the EcoCurious Gather
“It’s a phenomenon you’ve created!”
These were the opening words in my e-mail to Edwin Datschefski.
It is called “Green Drinks.” Imagine a happy hour for the environmentally conscious. This informal, self-organizing network typically convenes monthly at a set date, time and venue. Breaking in is easy: simply approach someone and ask “Are you green?” and you will be made to feel welcome.
It all began in 1989 at a pub called the Slug and Lettuce in Northern London. Edwin and his green design colleagues pulled some tables together and started talking. Eighteen years later this social networking event is active in 273 cities worldwide-stretching from Australia to Brazil, clear to South Africa and the Czech Republic.
“Green Drinks itself is quite organic,” says Edwin, “in that it spreads from city to city and within each city people invite others along, who in turn invite others.”
It spread to my city thanks to Barent Roth, who founded “L.A. Green Drinks” two years ago (www.lagreendrinks.blogspot.com). Barent first discovered it in Chicago. “I said to myself, this is great! We need to start one in Philly,” he explained to me over a green cocktail (read: red wine). And so, he did. In 2002, Barent launched Green Drinks in Philadelphia, and then three years later introduced it to the City of Angels, which has since expanded to four locations across the sprawling metropolis. To date, the e-mail distribution list is at 1,200 and counting.
Recently, I attended this hip Los Angeles event on the night marking its two-year anniversary. The place was packed. I met an impressive array of eco-passionates-from a real estate developer who retrofits buildings to a worker for Greenpeace. Barent, an industrial eco-designer by profession, is one of many who represent the fast-growing green business sector. To my surprise, I learned that most people are not leaving their professions to “go green,” but instead, are shifting what they currently do to be more environmentally conscious-whether it’s altering the materials they use, the products they sell or the clients with whom they choose to work.
As for me, I represented the bold and curious. At every turn, Green Drinkers handed me their business cards, and accepted mine in kind. It didn’t take long for people to notice that I am “green” as in “inexperienced.” Nonetheless, my rookie status was fully embraced. This crowd happily shared their knowledge, lifestyle habits, and eco-friendly work to the new recruit. I was like a sponge, doing my best to keep up.
The enviro-chatter covered a myriad of topics:
I overheard one man say that he dropped his electricity bill by 40% just by switching over to CFL light bulbs. I made a mental note: Too good to be true? Investigate.
Another woman claimed to have used only one tank of gas in the last three months. “In Los Angeles?” I asked, incredulous, calculating one tank a week for myself.
Then I piped in, stating my intention to tune up my Trek bike. I immediately got tipped off to “Bikerowave” (www.bikerowave.org), a local non-profit that teaches bikers how to maintain their bikes and help them with difficult repairs-aiming to empower more people to ride. Maybe I’ll bike to Green Drinks next time, I thought, feeling inspired.
“There are lots of benefits to Green Drinks,” says Edwin. “They are hard to quantify, but when you have seen people come and make new links and learn and argue and set up new schemes and get new jobs… It is a good feeling.”
More than anything else, Green Drinks is about Community. It is about bringing together like-minded people and exchanging ideas. It is the secret key, I believe, to the success of this Green Movement.
All in the guise of sharing a cocktail…
See more at www.greendrinks.org
How YOU can start Green Drinks in your city:
1. First find out if Green Drinks already exists in your city, by logging on to www.greendrinks.org. If your city is not listed, then go ahead and send Edwin Datschefski an email of your interest at Edwin@greendrinks.org. He will give you all the tools you need to get going, including a web presence on his site.
2. Find a convenient, central location that is free-a pub or bar for example. Booking a private room is the best choice, but usually means that the organizer must incur the cost or risk not having enough people to cover the cost of the room.
3. Post a sign or assign a person to welcome new people; sign-in sheets optional.
4. Rally approximately 10 keen people you already know, and ask them to each invite five others to the first event.
5. Post event details in the usual places, such as local green magazines or in the lobbies of local environmental groups.
6. Spread the word! The spirit of green drinks is that anyone can come, and this defining element makes for the most interesting interactions. Invite people from local environmental groups, government departments, and university students & faculty, including a mix in ages.
7. Send invitations by email, allowing people to forward the details to friends easily. This is the main ingredient for exponential growth. If you ask people to sign in at Green Drinks, you will quickly build a group mailing list. Be sure to include all the details in the invite, and send out a group reminder the week before.
8. Establish a fixed time and place. For example: the first Tuesday of the month. This fixed rule means that old emails are still valid if they get passed around, and that people can book ahead in their diaries.
9. Manage your web site page. The Green Drinks web site will create an entry for your city that you can edit and maintain yourself. This instant online presence is easy to remember and pass along verbally, while also allowing new visitors to find you. Keep it up-to-date with venue, date and contact details, so that first-timers have confidence to travel across town and devote an evening to Green Drinks.
10. Have fun! This is compulsory … ☺
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Karin Gutman - Ecoist
Karin Gutman is a writer/producer who has written and developed projects for National Geographic, Nickelodeon, Hallmark and Scholastic Entertainment. In addition to her screen work, she has authored two illustrated books. She lives in Santa Monica, a model city to which she credits her green inspiration.
Tags: Green Drinks, happy hour, social networking