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With her new family entertainment center (FEC), Jennifer Crawford will embrace green in every facet, including the name—Gaia’s World Fun Center. In Greek mythology, the goddess Gaia (pronounced “guy-uh”) personified the Earth.
Crawford hopes the FEC, which should open later this year in the Seattle suburb of Federal Way, Washington, will bring a greener play experience to her community. “We don’t have anything like this,” explains the 36-year-old mother of two.
The planned 25,000-square-foot facility will feature redemption items made from recycled materials; rainforest-themed softplay; a low-stimulus area for guests with special needs; an “imagination stage” where kids can perform plays and karaoke and vendors can present health and wellness tips to parents; and an interactive wall that children can draw on with chalk. (Other standbys include go-karts, bumper cars, and miniature golf.) In addition, Crawford will offer healthy organic and gluten-free food options.
Still in the blueprint stages, Gaia’s World will incorporate green in the construction and daily operations: Build with recycled materials as much as possible; invest in low-flow faucets and toilets; collect rainwater to integrate in the plumbing; set up power to run partially on solar and wind energy; install efficient HVAC and cooling systems and closely monitor their use; encourage employee carpooling; use noncaustic cleaning products, energy-saving lightbulbs, and motion detectors; check with suppliers to reduce packaging; and rely on electronic mailings instead of paper ads.
And with everything, she’ll constantly educate her staff on green initiatives.
Crawford’s vision for Gaia’s World coalesced in early 2010. Formerly a business executive in the customer service industry, she first wanted to start an in-home daycare service but came up against some resistance from her homeowners’ association. She then decided to go back to school and take an entrepreneur course.
“That helped mold what I was really looking for, which was something fun; something my kids could go to,” Crawford says.
Why is green important to you?
I just love the beauty of the Earth. It has a personal effect on me when I see things that are wasteful. Just little steps every day can minimize our impact. I’m a big yard-saler. I find treasures in things people want to throw away. I love reusing items that still have quality. It creates less waste that way.
Where does Gaia’s World stand now?
It’s a half-a-million-dollar project, so we have a long way to go. We can always scale it back, but if you’re going to dream, you may as well dream big. We’ve been doing fundraisers all year with different companies. We’ve hosted yard sales where people donated things and we could put that money toward the project. We have a partnership with Letsgogreen.biz. Anyone who orders from there, we get a percentage. Our application is in review for the Pepsi Refresh Project grant. And we’ve researched going profit vs. nonprofit. Funding has been very creative.
In a perfect world, when will you open?
I wanted to open this past June. But I’ll try to go with how the economy is and the support we can get. In 2011 will be my dream. It will come when it’s due to come. We’re not going to give up.
What kind of feedback have you received from the community?
Everyone gives me wonderful verbal support. However, verbal support is different from financial support [laughs]. Down the line, people may think I’m just some tree-hugging hippie, but that’s not what this is about. You can do five to 10 little things in your daily life, and you would be on a green journey. You don’t have to strip and go into the woods like Henry Thoreau to be green.
So, it’s not that hard to be green?
You could start by formulating the policy where only 10 percent of your operation is going to be green. And from there, you can grow over time. That’s the way the trend is heading. Many industries are going green. And I don’t see family entertainment being any different.
What kind of advice can you offer existing facilities that want to be more environmentally aware?
Contact your local energy and waste management companies about programs they have. For example, how much would it cost if you shifted to composting or to wind power. Plus, you could just Google “green” and find all these programs that could help. The resources are there if the desire is.
Any closing thoughts?
I am still looking for partners and sponsors to jump on board and help us launch this thing. It’s an awesome concept, and it can become really big. We just need help getting it going.
For more information on Gaia’s World, visit www.gaiasworldfuncenter.com.
Contact Contributing Editor Mike Bederka at mbederka@IAAPA.org.
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