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PHOTOGRAPHY BY TK; ILLUSTRATION BY TK The Greener Monster AS BOSTON GETS READY FOR OPENING DAY AT FENWAY PARK, DR. ALLEN HERSHKOWITZ TALKS ABOUT HIS WORK WITH THE RED SOX TO IMPLEMENT MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL'S FIRST CONSERVATION PROGRAM. BY MATT STEWART D r. Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council and founder of the NRDC Sport Greening Project, has been on the front lines of the conservation movement for the past quarter century. It was at a 2004 meeting with Robert Redford that the actor, environmentalist, and NRDC trustee suggested to Hershkowitz that they work with professional sports teams to get their message out. At that moment the green sports movement was born, with the objective to work across the spectrum of professional athletics to create a cultural shift in the way that peo- ple viewed conservation. "It took the environmental community more than 30 years, from the first Earth Day, to partner with sports," says Hershkowitz. "Only 13 percent of Americans follow science, but 63 percent follow sports." In 2005 the NRDC allied itself with Major League Baseball with the full support of Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, and the Red Sox were the first team to heed the call. In 2008 the team launched its highly successful Fenway Greening program in partnership with NRDC to make the century-old icon a bellwether of environmental progress, which we can celebrate along with the World Champion Red Sox Opening Day on April 4. Dr. Allen Hershkowitz has brought a wildly successful greening program to Fenway Park. continued on page 48 46 BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM THOUGHT LEADER 046-048_BC_SP_ThoughtLeader_Spring14.indd 46 2/6/14 4:50 PM