Can one person make a difference? Well, one family working together certainly can, or at least that is the belief of the McCullough clan who are about to set out on an educational and inspirational cross country tour in their veggie fueled VW Beetle to encourage young people to get involved in a sustainable future. We caught up with Colin McCullough to ask a few questions about their project and why young people need inspiration now more than ever.
Tell us a bit about yourselves and the cross-country eco-video project.
We're a homeschooling family from central Massachusetts – our two sons are Carrick (9) and Gareth (6) [and Mom Jennifer and Dad Collin]. Carrick has been making eco-videos for several years, which have been seen by over 200,000 people and have won several national awards.
In May/June this year, we'll be crossing the U.S. in our vegetable-oil powered VW Beetle to film an eco-video series for kids about renewable energy and sustainable living. We'll be touring different renewable energy sites including wind, solar, geothermal, wave & tidal power, biogas, etc. We'll also stop for interviews with people and companies who are working on various aspects of sustainability including sustainable design, transportation, waste/recycling, etc. Once our cross-country journey is finished, we'll create a series of 35 five-minute video profiles about the places and people we met along the way.
There's nothing extraordinary about our family, we're just passionate about doing what we can to help the environment...
What is the purpose of the project?
The purpose of the project is to inspire and empower kids to create a renewable and sustainable future. Kids need to see what a sustainable future can look like, and they need to hear it from someone their own age.
Looking at the different programs and resources for kids about sustainability, I see a need for the message to come from kids; they can relate to it in a different way, maybe better. We're planning to distribute our eco-video series on DVD for free to schools nationally, for teachers to use as a resource in their classrooms to teach kids about sustainability.
Tell us a bit about Carrick’s video work.
Carrick has made 20 eco-videos over the last few years, showing different examples of going green, from our veg-oil powered Beetle, to a tour of the 2007 Solar Decathlon in Washington DC. Many have been made for national video contests, including the MSN/LiveEarth Video Contest, which we won. I help Carrick research the ideas for his videos and we write the scripts together before we begin filming. His videos, posted on YouTube have been seen by over 200,000 people.For our cross-country eco-video project, all of our videos will feature Carrick including narration and interviewing. Carrick and I are writing the interview questions together for the people we will be visiting. My wife Jennifer and I are doing most of the actual planning for the trip, which, including all the communication to set up our stops and planning out the route, is about 2-3 hours every day. Carrick is giving the presentations with me to support our project, generally 2-3 each week, and will be giving the presentations at stops we make along our journey.
Kids need to see what a sustainable future can look like, and they need to hear it from someone their own age.
How important is it to get kids involved in the green movement?
I think that part of the problem is that kids and adults sometimes feel like their actions don't make any difference. The pictures that we see in the eco-movement is about sacrifice, conservation, giving up the comforts we're used to. There's nothing very inspiring about that picture.
I see a renewable and sustainable future as exciting and full of opportunity – there are so many great solutions out there, which is why we are making this eco-video series for kids – they have to see what people are doing across the U.S. to solve these issues. Schools are making an effort to teach kids about things like recycling, which they then go home and encourage their parents to do too.
For renewable energy and sustainable living to make a significant impact, it has to be the kids who help drive it. The decisions being made right now about these issues impact their future, and they need to be more aware of what solutions exist and be given the resources to start making those changes in their lives, their families, and in their communities.
The mission of our project is to inspire and empower kids to create a renewable and sustainable future.
Is your intention to inspire? Educate?
The mission of our project is to inspire and empower kids to create a renewable and sustainable future. Beyond the focus on the people and places we visit, I hope that our eco-video series inspires kids to make some changes in their own lives. I want to show kids that they can make a difference; they have the power to make their communities more sustainable. So many people assume that for our project we need a film crew, a million-dollar budget, and a lot of connections. Not at all!
There's nothing extraordinary about our family, we're just passionate about doing what we can to help the environment, and help show people some of the exciting solutions to renewable energy and sustainable living that people are working on across the U.S. Plus, I'm excited to show our two kids how vast and amazing our country is.
Climate change is a major challenge of this generation, and kids need to know the issues they face and that there are solutions.
Are the kids concerned about the environment?
Yes, but its only part of their life. They don't spend all day worrying about climate change and all the things they need to do to save the planet. They like to play, read, go outside and run around, and be with their friends, just like any other kids.
When Carrick was 7, I watched Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth' with him and that was one of the things that motivated him to start making eco-videos. A few people we knew were very upset that we showed 'An Inconvenient Truth' to a 7-year-old – they thought it was very inappropriate to let a kid see that. It all depends on how you present it, I think. If it’s all doom and gloom, the-sky-is-falling, etc., then of course it would be very frightening to someone that young. Climate change is a major challenge of his generation, and kids need to know the issues they face and that there are solutions.
Anything you would like to add?
If anyone feels moved to support our cross-country eco-video project, please pass our story along to friends and family. We are grateful for donations to support our project, which can be made on our website: www.OurRenewableNation.org
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