On Wednesday evening January 30, a crowd of nearly 250 gathered at Emagine Theatre in Royal Oak to support two organizations focused on sustainability of our natural and built environment.
While the purpose of the event was aimed at support of the Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy and the Detroit Regional Chapter of the US Green Building Council, the evening also became a celebration of all aspects of sustainability in southeastern Michigan. Sponsors, guests and attendees ate, drank and enjoyed building tours of the sustainable facility as they networked, before viewed the Emmy Award® winning documentary of the life of Aldo Leopold, one of our nations’ foremost and most revered conservationists.
The mission of the Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy is to “conserve, sustain and connect natural areas, lands and waters that make the places we live special.” The work conducted by Six Rivers Land Conservancy reflects some of the themes of the documentary movie with regard to a land ethic, treating the land as a natural partner and that we all are stewards, not owners of the land we inhabit.
The local USGBC chapter is a non-profit organization committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our greater southeast Michigan region by increasing awareness of cost efficient, energy efficient and water efficient buildings and communities. Its mission is to transform the way in which buildings and communities are designed, built and operated within one generation in the greater Detroit region. As an advocate for this transformation, the local green building chapter seeks to reach out to like-minded individuals and organizations that can help support and further this mission.
The evening was devoted to members and guests getting to know each other better, so the official program was kept to a minimum. Greetings were offered by Chris Bunch, executive director of Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy and Jeffrey Gaines, Chairman of the Detroit Chapter of the US Green Building Council. Sponsors were thanked and both leaders voiced their appreciation and support for the other organizations’ goals and efforts in making the evening a success. Final welcoming remarks were offered by Paul Glantz, owner of EMagine Theatres, who stated some of the many reasons for building a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified facility.
Members of both organizations expressed their hope that the evening’s success should be a model upon which future events are planned and implemented. For now, organizers and members of both organizations should be proud of the success of the Green Fire event and work to perpetuate some of the positive momentum created here for future event.
ROBERT E. MATTLER, Associate Broker, Attorney and LEED AP BD+C, is Director of Green Brokerage at Armada Real Estate Services in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Mr. Mattler is also a board member of the Detroit Regional Chapter of the US Green Building Council. He speaks, writes and blogs about emerging green real estate issues in Michigan and elsewhere. For more information, contact Bob at Armada Real Estate (248) 855-1221; or by e-mail: bmattler@armadarealestate.com
to be introduced to the USGBC Detroit Regional Chapter
Source: USGBC Detroit Regional Chapter