#71: Saving the World Through Upcycling with Matt Duncan

''It’s about changing the way the entire family looks at the materials and the resources.'' - Matt Duncan

Do you ever feel like your ability to impact the sustainability of our planet is insignificant? What if there was a way to collectively decrease our ecological footprint while also educating kids for generations to come?

During today’s show, Matt Duncan shares his inspiring vision for how we can begin to think differently about the environment and the resources we use on a daily basis.

Matt Duncan, MAEd is an outdoor experiential educator, author, and entrepreneur whose focus is on teaching families the importance of protecting and preserving our environment. Along with his partner Brianna Greenspan, he co-founded Earth-Centric Innovations, a company which creates educational opportunities around green technologies that help to protect the planet.

Matt is also the co-author of The Upcycled Toys Club, which is an upcycling activity book intended to spark your child’s creativity by allowing parents and children to work together to create new toys, utilizing resources that are free, easily obtained, and readily available in your home.

Matt’s passion for the environment was sparked at a young age as a Boy Scout, and ever since he has always been fascinated by the wonders of nature, and is constantly on the lookout for new and innovative ways to instill the love of nature to his students. Matt’s other passions include camping, rock climbing, and any other activities that bring him closer to the Earth!

Matt was raised in Southern California, and now frequently travels to wherever adventure and nature’s beauty lie!

In this episode, Matt shares his vision for the way people look at trash. We also talk about instilling green values as a family, The Upcycled Toys Club, the value of making things better, and how we can shift our mindsets about the resources we consume.

Here’s a quick breakdown of our chat…

• [05:33] Matt takes a moment to recognize his Dad and how forward thinking of a man he was.
• [07:11] Matt shares his 2017 vision to change the way people look at trash
• [11:33] The path to instilling green values as a family.
• [12:37] What is The Upcycled Toys Club and how is it protecting the earth?
• [16:18] Find out what happens when a child is involved in the process of creating their own toys.
• [22:10] Matt shares some of his favorite upcycling stories from around the world! [HINT: You’ll discover a cool trick to amplify your iPhone speaker!]
• [26:30] The value of taking something in the world and making it better.
• [34:39] Changing the way we live our lives and thinking differently about how the resources we use are impacting the world.

''30 years from now I’d like every child to know how precious the resources that we have are.'' - Matt Duncan

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Links and Resources

• [SITE] The Upcycled Toys Club
• [BOOK] The Upcycled Toys Club: A Family Friendly Recycling Activity Series
• [SOCIAL] The Upcycled Toys Club Facebook Group
• [SITE] Earth-Centric Innovations
• [SITE] Front Row Foundation
• [RETREAT] The Front Row Dad’s Retreat

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