Mary Beth Horial
I am grateful to the Mentors Foundation for assisting me in an important transition. There are sometimes rare moments in life when we question what we are doing and make decisions to go in a completely different direction. Two things triggered this transition for me.
After high school I spent many years in Japan working in the entertainment industry. That is where I met my husband, Toshiaki and where we spent our early married years raising our two daughters, Emi and Miki.
After moving back to the United States I went on a vacation with my husband and read a book called “The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight”. This book changed my life. In the book it described the history of fossil fuel and the path societies have taken to search for it, dig it out and consume it. It was shortly after September 11, 2001, when many, including myself, were still reeling from the surprise, horrendous attacks. I remember thinking to myself, “Why do I not know anything about the great lengths countries and corporations are going to acquire this source of energy?” I also started making a connection between myself and my family and our community and home, planet earth.
Shortly after that, while my husband and I were running a local restaurant in Las Vegas, I learned more about what is happening to our planet and how individuals were just as much a part of the problem and the solution as corporations and governments. I gave over 60 presentations in the following years; some at our restaurant, as well as at churches, businesses and schools.
I started taking a good look at the unsustainable lifestyle I was living and began making changes. The first change was to go back to school and finish my BA. I majored in Political Science with a Minor in Environmental Studies. Since I returned to school later in life, I had a rare privilege of studying on the same campus and sometimes in the same classes as my two beautiful daughters. Shortly, before I graduated, my professors convinced me to keep going and two years later I finished my Masters in International Relations.
For Earth Day 1 Million, we worked with 10 schools in Las Vegas to convert approximately 2000 sq. ft of water-intensive grass area at each school to water-efficient raised bed gardens and outdoor classrooms. This allows schools to not only have access to a wide variety of curriculum that can be taught in the gardens, but also increase awareness in vital nutrition. The schools collectively will save over one million gallons of water, as well as receive a sizable rebate from the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s conservation program.
Shortly after Earth Day we held the 3rd Annual Green Our Planet School Garden. This was an opportunity for teachers and farmers to share experiences and ideas in support of school gardens. It was an overwhelming success, imparting so much information and creating new partnerships.
The work at Green Our Planet is inspiring. I learned much from their team and the many affiliated organizations that made the two events a reality. It is not easy to make a transition to a new career at any time in life. However, Mentors made this transition possible for me. I am very grateful to both Mentors and Green our Planet.