Going Green had the opportunity to meet with Meghan Dambacher, on the residential team of San Diego Center for Children.
The San Diego Center for Children is San Diego’s oldest non-profit serving children and families. They have 8 locations and provide community-based services within hundreds of homes and schools across San Diego County, and are empowering over 1,000 children and families every day.
Meghan, thank you for being here. To start off, what was your motivation to get into this industry?
I refuse to sit around and complain. It is way more fun to get involved. I work at the San Diego Center for Children, San Diego’s oldest non profit serving youth and families. I am a member of the Residential Team, and we help manage services for youth who live outside their homes. I have always run Rerip on the side, along with our Operations Manager, Billy Burns at Coconut Peets. Thankfully, we have amazing partners and stellar community support which keeps the program running pretty seamlessly.
Tell us a little bit about you and your background:
I started Rerip with a friend who had grown up surfing (I was new to the sport as I grew up in the Foothills), and her and I had a similar mentality about the amount of waste in the industry. We both wanted to do something about it, and Rerip was born, right there at the Tidewater (closest bar to the beach)!
What is a fun fact about you?
I just started boxing…and may like it as much as surfing!
What was your motivation to get into this industry?
I am just so thankful that I get to interact with the ocean as much as I do. When you start seeing first hand the waste, pollution, garbage, and unhealthy practices right in front of you (it all leads to the ocean), you start to want to get involved and do something about it. It has been such a fun journey, and I have met so many special people because of Rerip.
Why do you think climate change/sustainability is such an important topic today?
Because ultimately, the way we treat the planet is the way we treat each other.
What do you envision your industry looking like 10 years from now?
That is a great question. I know Mark Price is doing some outstanding things at Firewire Surfboards regarding sustainability, and has really taken the lead in considering environmental practices while designing and making new boards. As far as the waste problem, that is so funny right now. At times is seems like the carbon footprint of recycling or taking the steps to reuse a product is worse than just throwing it away. But landfills have their own problems with leaching poisonous gases and liquids and taking up so much space. It is hard to know the “best” way to discard something, but I like seeing manufactures starting to step up and take old products back…sort of the Cradle to Cradle model.
What can the average person do to make a difference?
Consider a product’s end use and how long you will own it before you buy it. Make and fix things. Don’t buy your kids so much stuff, they will be way more creative in the long run.
What positive changes are you seeing?
Republicans and Democrats coming together and talking about issues that matter.
Thank you Meghan, for being with us here today. To learn more about the San Diego Children’s hospital, and how to get involved, check out their website HERE.
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Dylan Welch is the CEO and Host of Going Green, a podcast, website, and social media brand that highlights renewable energy, cleantech, and sustainable news.