Mission

Gray Is Green (The National Senior Conservation Corps) enables people over 65 to actively participate in creating positive environmental change. 

Vision

Gray Is Green will be the “go to” organization for mature members of society interested in environmental sustainability. It will serve as a clearinghouse for senior citizens interested in greening their lives, learning about sustainability, developing second careers in conservation, advocating for sound climate change policy, and in serving as resources for younger people involved in sustainability.

Approach

Gray Is Green provides resources to seniors in three distinct areas: Greening, Advocacy and Learning and Teaching. This approach grew organically out of the interests of seniors involved in the project, and as a result of feedback received from the growing circle of Gray Is Green members.

Learning and Teaching includes connecting senior mentors to young environmental entrepreneurs, educating senior citizens and expanding the audience of the NSCC.

Greening includes dramatically expanding the reach of the NSCC to assisted living facilities nationwide, and expanding offerings to younger seniors, including second career programs and internships, paid and volunteer. 

Advocacy includes mobilizing senior citizens to support sound environmental policy in coordination with the many organizations aimed at politically engaging young people. Programming includes developing guidelines to help seniors engage in sound environmental policy making.

The Gray Is Green Story

In 2007, a group of retired professors from Yale University interested in environmental conservation decided to “green” their retirement home. As Dr. Robert Lane, Prof. Art Galston and others  began to organize conservation resources, they were shocked to find there were none aimed at engaging senior citizens.  Reasoning that their generation is in large part responsible for environmental degradation, and that seniors have significant political and financial leverage, the group decided to change that. They produced a set of tools to help other seniors address sustainability, including educational inform

ation, guides and suggested actions.  They discovered that senior citizens are interested in effecting positive environmental change but often don’t know how to do it. The group launched a 501(c)(3) in 2008 to expand their work and perpetuate their gains. The National Senior Conservation Corps was born. The group launched a website (www.grayisgreen.org) and began to create a network of members around the country. Members were encouraged to form local Green Teams, equip themselves with the NSCC’s materials and enable change  in their own communities.

Now, their vision has expanded to include the larger and younger category of independent people over age 65.