Celebrating 50 Years of Conservation

Back in the 1970s the energy crisis was one of the big issues facing our nation. People sat in long lines at gas pumps, oil prices soared, and the economy tanked. Local community members were frustrated with our nation’s over-reliance on fossil fuels and wanted to do something about it — and the inspiration for our nonprofit was born.

Resource Central is now celebrating our 50th Anniversary! But it’s worth looking back to see how far we’ve come since our origins in 1976.

Our nonprofit’s early focus was primarily on conserving energy. We worked closely with the City of Boulder to help implement their conservation programs including distributing CFL bulbs, which were much more efficient than the incandescent light bulbs of the past. We then conduct home energy audits to help people identify easy and practical ways to conserve energy. If you’ve ever seen infrared camera images that show heat and A/C leaking through poorly insulated walls, then you get the picture.

Resource Central has always been nimble, scrappy, and entrepreneurial. During an after-work meetup on the rooftop deck of the West End Tavern, we saw truck after truck filled with construction waste headed to the landfill. That became the inspiration for our Materials Reuse program. The drought of 2002 led to the creation of the Garden In A Box program to help people reduce outdoor water usage. We identify a problem and we find a solution.

Over the past 50 years, our nonprofit’s name has changed a few times, but what hasn’t changed is our passion for conservation — empowering people to live more sustainably by making conservation a way of life.

Our impact has been truly incredible, including: