Green Streets Initiative

"Connected to my body & my environment" - Asha Ramakrishna

 "I don't think I even realized it was Walk-Ride day. Maybe it was in the air, but after seeing my husband riding the kids to school for now a couple of months on his bike, I figured I could do it. It was the first time in 13 years riding a bike. Ok, I admit making a left on Mass Ave. was a little scary, and it felt invigorating to overcome my fear and hesitation of having my girls in tow through traffic. It was fun, and I felt connected to my body & my environment (especially as I'm navigating construction towing two kids on a fixed gear bike while cars are trying to pass me!)"

To the Birth of Your Powerful Life,

Asha Ramakrishna

Asha Ramakrishna is a Spiritual Midwife, Reiki for Painless Childbirth ™ facilitator, Feng Shui Consultant, Spiritual Counselor, Strategic Planner, Molecular biologist, wife and mother of two

Saving gas, losing weight, and more - Jay Shetterly

I don’t know if you will remember it but last year at a soccer game we had a conversation about trying to get soccer families to use their cars less...

I didn't think that I could do much about driving through my soccer program directly but I thought a lot about what you said and how I might apply it to my own lifestyle.  As time has gone by, I have come to the point where I walk 3 to 5 miles a day.  The round trip from my house to the Star Market is 1.8 miles and I always walk.  Ditto the Post Office and the bank, 1.5 miles for each of them.  And I have added another little game to each trip.  I can’t come back without at least five aluminum, glass, or plastic containers.  Unfortunately, it is rarely hard to find that many drink containers along the sidewalks.

So I have saved a lot of gas, lost a little weight, picked up over 1,000 bottles and cans, and I feel better to boot.  I would probably not have started this without your words of encouragement so thank you.

 

Jay Shetterly

Jay is an attorney and the coordinator for Cambridge Youth Soccer's U-10 Girls' teams

"Dumb not to..."! - Donald Kelley

My town!

I started riding to work recently because it was dumb not to. It's only 3 miles from home and at least 5 minutes faster on a bicycle. Plus every fifth time I take my car I get a $25 parking ticket. Okay, maybe it's an exaggeration but it can get expensive. 

So I took the plunge and started looking for a good granny bike. My 80-year old mother had 3 in her shed. Bingo! I picked the best of the lot, pumped up the tires, squirted some oil, bought a couple LED lights and a delivery basket, and the rest is a story of youth rediscovered. Yeowww!

Who knew that swooping through town on a 3-speed the way I did when I was a 9th grader (except I have brakes now) could be so cool? I tear down Fulton Street, choose my route carefully and stay out of traffic, weave around potholes, talk with Peggy at the crosswalk. People wave at me, I wave back and arrive frisky and ready for anything the remains of the day can throw at me. There aren't many downsides, honestly. This is my town! 

Donald Kelley

Donald Kelley is producer of Energy Smackdown and Executive Director of the BrainShift Foundation