By Bill Sullivan

Tanja Eltze has a disarmingly simple yet eloquent philosophy on the subject of “being green.”

Tanja Eltze. (Photo: Tanja Eltze)

“I believe that we borrow our planet from future generations,” the Frisco resident and mother of three says. “So I try to live a life that does not impact this planet too much.”

When she first moved to Frisco from Germany in 2000, Eltze wondered if that would be a minority opinion in her new home. In contrast to attitudes she found in Europe, many Americans seemed blissfully unaware of their carbon footprint.

“Many things that are considered ‘green’ in America were just a normal part of living in Germany where I grew up,” she says. “After we moved here, I saw many things that bothered me, like, for example, the huge amount of use and toss plastic bags, idling cars, or the amount of trash being produced every day.

“But I must say that in recent years, things have changed for the better.”

Eltze does her part in making things better. She volunteers as the Environmental Chairperson for the Frisco Council of PTAs, where she trains and supports the Environmental chairs at the individual campuses. Part of her work involves helping those chairs with ideas on how to educate students and increase environmental awareness using reduce, reuse and recycling activities, walk-to-school days and clean-up events to reinforce the message.

Last year, she decided to take part in Earth Hour, a World Wildlife Fund project that calls for cities, companies and individuals to turn out their lights for one hour to show their support for climate change awareness. An evening spent partially in the dark proved to be enlightening.

“We of course turned off all lights and electronics before Earth Hour started, then gathered up our own and our neighbor’s kids and went for a night walk,” she recalls. “The children were carrying shaded tea lights or lanterns that hang on sticks. Those are traditionally used in Germany for St. Martin Day parades, but I can imagine that Earth Hour might become our new family tradition.

“After the night walk, we spontaneously gathered in our house with the neighbors for a late evening candlelight snack. It was so much fun and several kids asked if we could do that more often.”

For the Eltzes, however, “green” is hardly a fad or a one-day affair. They’ve installed an “intelligent” sprinkler system with a rain sensor at their home. They compost and recycle. They have installed low flow faucets, Energy Star appliances, programmable thermostats and compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).

“I also like to buy items that are made from recycled material whenever possible to close the cycle,” she says. “Our next project will be to harvest some rainwater in a former olive barrel.”

Tanja, Jens, and their three children. (Photo: Tanja Eltze)

While Tanja was the original activist, her family has bought into the idea. Her husband, Jens, has become Environmental chair at Allen Elementary.

“And since our kids see their parents on stage quite a bit, they became young environmentalists themselves,” she says. “One of our daughters just won the overall prize at Allen’s ‘Reduce Challenge’ through a blind judging, and all three remind their peers – and sometimes teachers – that certain items should end up in the recycling bin.”

Over the course of her time in Frisco, Tanja Eltze has been pleased by the community’s growing awareness of the need to protect the environment. Sometimes venturing away from the city serves as a reminder that her adopted home is ahead of the curve in that regard.

“On a recent trip to New Mexico, when I couldn’t find a recycling container anywhere, I realized again what a great job Frisco is doing with their recycling program, building codes and other environmental initiatives, for example the ‘Clean It & Green It’ day,” she says.

These days, Tanja still worries about climate change, but takes heart in the possibility that personal change can still make a difference.

“I am definitely alarmed by the scientific evidence of global warming, but I try to convert this anxiety into positive action,” she says. “This is what keeps me motivated to do my volunteer work.

“As a parent, you have to be optimistic about the future, right?”