The Teresa and H. John Heinz III Foundation Founded in 1993, Second Nature is a nonprofit organization that supports the development of an environmentally literate citizenry. It works to achieve this goal by accelerating the process of environmental transformation through higher education. Second Nature promotes a learning environment that provides the awareness, knowledge, skills, and values to achieve good health, economic security, social equity, and stability while restoring and sustaining the earth's life-support systems. The organization assists colleges and universities in integrating sustainability as a core component of all education and practice. And the word is out. More and more institutions are integrating sustainability into curricula. And they are incorporating its principles into operations and work with local communities. Second Nature notes that students are also supporting transformation—through choice. More and more students are attending colleges and universities with strong environmental/sustainability programs, providing a competitive incentive for institutions to do more in this area. According to the organization, other institutions have also realized huge cost savings and public respect through the greening of their campuses and by changing purchasing and investment practices. Second Nature was created by a small group of forward-thinking leaders, including Dr. Anthony D. Cortese, Senator John F. Kerry (D-MA), Teresa Heinz, Bruce Droste, and others. Complete information on Second Nature is available at http://www.secondnature.org. Back to Top