The CU Denver campus hosted a Sustainability Fair in honor of Earth Day this week and EcoJoia had the honor of being invited as a vendor to the event!

Members from local eco-businesses and organizations invaded campus in downtown Denver to educate students on all things sustainable.

EcoJoia Co-Owner Julia attended the annual Sprout Down fund raiser this week, benefiting Sprout City Farms, at the trendy Mercury Cafe here in Denver, Colorado. The event was packed and featured food from local eateries Same Cafe and Jonesies, a silent auction of art and plants, and a live auction of a beehive and a Trek bike.

Sprout City Farms cultivates urban farms on underutilized land, rooting community farms in the city and bringing good food to neighborhoods. The organization also works with the Denver Public School system to educate children on urban farming and even incorporates the veggies grown into the school lunch programs.

It is organizations like Sprout City Farms that strengthen the Denver community and make Colorado a great place to live.

With Colorado being the wonderful state that it is, of course it draws a multitude of lectures, events, and other extended learning experiences lead by this country’s great leaders. Last night EcoJoia had the privilege of attending The Business of Outdoor Recreation Lecture Series put on by the University of Colorado’s Leed’s School of Business in Boulder, Colorado. This month’s speaker was the brilliant Casey Sheahan, President of outdoor active wear giant Patagonia (and EcoJoia’s business role model).

The focus of the hour-long lecture was business leadership by way of sustainability and environmentalism…right up EcoJoia’s alley! Casey Sheahan couldn’t have done a better job of explaining how his company, Patagonia, talks the talk, but seriously walks the walk. As the market leader in corporate environmentalism and sustainability, Patagonia is years ahead of the competition and their sales growth reflects it. The world is changing and business is changing with it. Patagonia has actually seen sales growth of 8-25% year over year since the bank collapse of 2008, proving that their core company values of sustainability, best product, and environmentalism really do resonate with consumers regardless of their higher-than-the-competition prices.

The night was an absolute pleasure for us and having these amazing learning opportunities right in our backyard makes Colorado an unbeatable place to live and do business.

A couple weeks ago, EcoJoia had the honor of being part of a panel discussion on local leadership in an Evolve workshop. Evolve is a leadership training program for Baby Boomers 50+ that want to make a difference in their communities. The attendees take an 8-month course and complete a project of their choice in their communities, within EcoJoia’s home town of Denver, Colorado.

The panel discussion included topics like “What makes a great leader?” and “What do you see as the biggest needs in the Denver-Metro area?” We were happy to be a part of this wonderful workshop using our Generation Y entrepreneurial viewpoints. Big props to the attendees of Evolve for getting out there and making a difference in their own way!

EcoJoia had the chance to visit three of Denver, Colorado’s parks.  We went to Washington Park, Commons Park, and City Park. Colorado is known for its outdoors and the scenery. Denver alone has 22 developed parks and 24 mountain parks that reach over 14,141 acres of mountain property. 

Washington Park is located near the ritzy Cherry Creek neighborhood and Denver University. This park has everything including a 2.6 mi jogging path, two lakes, two flower gardens, volleyball courts, tennis courts, basketball courts, two playgrounds, and more.

“Every Sunday my friends and I come here to play volleyball” - Dan, Denver

“I come here to get fresh air, walk my dog Bandit, and enjoy the scenery.” - Maria, Denver

Commons Park is in the Heart of Downtown where young professionals live and hangout. This park is where Cherry Creek flows into the Platte River making it an ideal spot to go kayaking.

“I like coming to Commons to play frisbee and enjoy the outdoors” - Adam, Denver

City Park is a great family place that contains the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Ferril Lake, and trails throughout. In addition to this, City Park hosts free jazz concerts from June - August. Every Sunday at 6 p.m. the park comes alive with picnickers and jazz lovers.

“City Park is my second home, I am here all the time. I come here for all sorts of reasons like running, socializing, concerts, and just to get out of the house.” Jeanette Denver

(Source: coloradoparks)