Team Spotlights

The team at Wasatch Community Gardens is working to clean up the air just as they have been working to keep their bodies clean and healthy by eating organic food that they have grown themselves. Brit Merrill of Wasatch Community Gardens compares the two by saying, “We practice organic commuting by biking more and driving less… Instead of fueling our movement by fossil fuels, we’re staying active and fueling our bodies with healthy homegrown food.”

The team is used to planning ahead, an important strategy when it comes to traveling wisely.  By waking up a little earlier to allow for longer travel times and planning ahead to consolidate trips, the team at Wasatch Community Gardens stays on top of their game.

Employees are encouraged to coordinate bike groups and carpools, and Merrill jokes that employees are motivated by the threat of “public shaming of low performers by chaining them to the bike rack outside the office.”  The light-hearted team at Wasatch Community Gardens enjoys making their job and the Clear the Air Challenge a fun opportunity to enrich our community.

Brian Cowan has drastically reduced his impact on the air by vowing to commute at least three days a week on his StreetStrider (pictured above) and by using his new cargo bike for trips to the store in his home town of Ogden, Utah.  He is a very active first-time Clear the Air Challenge participant, and is using the Challenge to increase his use of TravelWise strategies.

As an Air Quality Program Manager at the Weber-Morgan Health Department, Brian fully understands the personal responsibility of every resident to change travel habits and reduce personal vehicle emissions. “Being in this position, I feel it’s important to set an example and use methods of transportation that have smaller impacts on our air quality,” he says. “That’s my motivation.”

It is no surprise that Envision Utah has embraced the Clear the Air Challenge. When your mission is to “create and sustain communities that are beautiful, prosperous, healthy and neighborly,” the link between well-planned communities that encourage walkability, bike lanes and easy access to transportation and air quality is clear.

Already dedicated to creating a thriving community for current and future generations, Envision Utah employees use TravelWise strategies such as walking, biking and taking public transportation to commute to work.  The organization sweetens the deal by providing incentives, including UTA passes at a significant discount, extensive bike storage and flexible workweeks.

Their goal for this year’s Challenge is to have 100% staff participation, understanding that although there is diversity in commuting needs, everyone can still TravelWise to and from work.  “We take into account the diversity of our staff, be it age, distance from work, physical activity level, etc. and try to be creative in our approaches for each staff member in helping them contribute to the Clear the Air Challenge,” says team leader Edward Cusick.

By emphasizing quality – not quantity – of trips and miles saved by their employees during the Clear the Air Challenge, Envision Utah hopes to inspire them to continue “Driving Less, Driving Smarter” as part of their everyday routine.

As the agency responsible for most of the major public transit lines in Utah, the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) and their employees take their responsibility to help clear the air seriously. Understanding the unique role as ambassadors to public transportation in Utah, the employees of UTA set the stage for public transit use and are proud to do so.

Of course, working for the state’s largest public transit agency has it perks. Employees get to ride the rails and buses for free! Not stopping there, UTA also encourages biking among their staff (UTA’s buses and trains accommodate bikes) and provide the most sought after parking spots to those who carpool and vanpool to work.  And while UTA has competed in the Challenge previously, this year they are shaking things up.

Pitting Operations against Corporate in an inter-office Challenge, UTA’s two primary departments are going head to head for most emissions saved. Because UTA hopes to build on last year’s success by encouraging even more employee participation, they have worked hard to spread the word through posters, emails, or simple peer pressure from co-workers that are amped up and serious about the inter-office competition.

“Our ultimate goal is to raise awareness about the excellent services we provide to residents and visitors alike,” says team leader Curtis Clayton.  With such a strong public transportation infrastructure spreading throughout Utah’s most populated valleys, the Clear the Air Challenge is proud to help promote a transit system that US News ranked #2 in the nation.

Keep up the good work Utah Transit Authority (We can’t wait for those shiny new TRAX lines to open!)