Day 3-11: Greening the Space of Disaster | Will Heegaard

In the aftermath of a disaster, investing in the process of rebuilding greener becomes not only an imperative but also a stepping stone towards resilience and sustainability. By incorporating these principles, communities can not only rebuild their physical infrastructure but also create a more harmonious relationship with the environment. 

Will Heegard, the Operational Director of The Footprint Project, joins the conversation to expound on this topic. The Footprint Project is a small nonprofit that works to help communities build back greener after disasters. Their mission is to provide cleaner energy and implement sustainability principles in emergency response and recovery efforts.

Listen as Will discusses the problem of how the current disaster response relies on fossil fuel generators, lessons from responding to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa where international responders were ahead on sustainability compared to domestic response, the Footprint Project’s three main programs, the importance of considering climate impacts in disaster response, and more.