not green... purple, maybe, but definitely not green

BoatUS recently put the call out for entries in their annual Environmental Leadership Award.  I like our sailing association, sail-only marina facility, and reservoir; I like to write; and I like to win things; and therefore the first thought that crossed my mind was finding a worthy reason to write a nomination/proposal for our association or one of our members.  Fortunately, I paused the think on this a bit before sending a message via our YahooGroup to ask for ideas.  I think we Alum Creek sailors are commendably good stewards of our natural resources, but I can't really think of anything we (definitely including ME in that "we") are doing that falls into any of the following categories (from the BoatUS site):

"Nominees must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Made a significant positive impact on the environment.
• Contributed towards solving an environmentally challenging aspect of boating or boat maintenance, either for boaters or marinas.
• Helped others understand the importance of clean boating.
• Enthusiastically promoted clean boating and engaged others in their efforts."

Photo Credit:  Tony Evans

As part of the ongoing development of our facilities, we have cleaned up the area... primarily with a chain saw, though!!!  Humor me a little here, but I'm pretty sure that is not quite what the fine folks at BoatUS were thinking about when they created this Award program.  I am not saying that I don't appreciate -- or even don't fully support, for that matter -- all that has been done to create the area our club members and the general public (since it is on public land) all enjoy so much.  It's a wonderful place where I've had many fun times and from which I've embarked on many memorable sails.

I guess I'm just disappointed with myself that I cannot think of a single idea of something I could do, personally, that would make a meaningful positive impact and would be (a) reasonable and feasible, and (b) noteworthy enough to submit as a possibly award-winning activity.  (The award part is the lowest priority part of the formula here, but as I said before I like to write and I like to win.)  I'm not so much a militant environmentalist or whatnot, but I am a big fan of God's creation and like to treat it with respect and keep it clean.

I'm going to give this some more thought.  I'm sure some ideas will come to mind and I'll be sure to post them here.  Any suggestions, internet?  (Oh?  Stop killing so many bugs, perhaps?  Yeah, that idea is not under consideration because it fails to meet the "meaningful positive impact" criteria.  According to Jeeves, there are 37,500+ species of spiders in the world, and even if there were only two of each, Noah's Ark-style, I am only killing a small fraction of 1% of those every sailing season.  Nice try, though!)

And okay, I should probably just go ahead and 'fess up here.  I received this BoatUS announcement at roughly the same time as I heard that the club is planning to clear another portion of land, "so that we can see all the way across the peninsula to the lake," and I guess I'm feeling a little sensitive and yes, a little annoyed, about all the tree-killing.  There, I said it.