Northwest Earth Institute

This is a Portland based organization whose goal is «Inspiring people to take responsibility for Earth.»
I’ve had the opportunity to take one of their classes, Voluntary Simplicity, and my husband has delved into this deeper and taken a few more (Healthy Children — Healthy Planet and Choices for Sustainable Living). Pretty cool stuff.
The best way to take the course is with a group and in both of our cases, we did it through our companies. Since it is discussion based, it is a great way to connect with co-​workers, neighbors, a church group, etc. You read their course materials ahead of time then discuss with the group how this relates to your life.
Am I a perfect practitioner of their ideals? Of course not. I do like to shop and drive my (fuel efficient) SUV around the ‘burbs, so it is pretty difficult. What the course did do was raise my consciousness and I try to make more informed decisions and buy locally whenever I can as well as compost, reduce, reuse and recycle.
I’ve also wanted to host one of their eco-​parties, but always chicken out. A friend did this a few years back and said it was fun and they were very non-​judgmental.