Our Story

It was the insight of one boy that provided the catalyst for Passion for Action to form.

After attending the 2002 United Nations environment conference, then 12-year-old, Travis Martin from Surrey, British Columbia fired up his dad, Ken, to start a business focused on educating for sustainability.

When he came home from the conference, he had developed a passion and he applied his determination to put it into action. He reminded his brother and sister, "Turn off the lights when you're not using them." He volunteered to mow if his parents would replace their gas mower with a push mower. Eventually, he talked his parents into replacing the family SUV with something more fuel-efficient.

Then, with his Dad's help, he set out to calculate the effect of his family's new choices and actions. Travis asked questions like, "How can we calculate the savings and amount of greenhouse gases avoided if I turn off my bedroom lights every day when I am at school?" When he and his family added up the savings, they knew they held a formula for changing the way we do things that they wanted to share with others. They began to explore how to share what they learned.

They were told, by education experts that an educational resource needs to be different, engaging and meaningful for learning. Interactive tools also need to be fun, cool or 'sweet' to engage kids.

The first version of the Sustainability Suitcase was created -- with buttons and knobs, lights and sounds to allow the learner, both young and young-at-heart, to discover for themselves interesting facts about their daily lives and the world. This fun and interactive tool engaged students as expected, but when it got adults involved in learning, it offered a new way to reach people beyond the classroom.

The same concepts that were embodied in that early  garage-built tool to engage student  have been replicated is a variety of engagement and outreach programs to encourage people make different daily choices. Municipalities, non-government organizations, utility providers, and businesses are finding this unique approach is bringing more interest to their initiatives.

Travis inspired the creation of an organization that is changing the way people see the world and assisting organizations to deliver compelling messages that are changing the way people do things. He continues to play an active role in the business and has been instrumental in the development of and success of student leadership programming.

In 2005 we won the NRCan Outreach Program of the Year award in Canada.