Locals Share Green Action: Recent Episodes
GOGREENLOCALLY ORG, 501c3 nonprofit
People share their stories about meaningful planet-friendly work in their local communities. They share their paths of green action and the ways they have applied their own talents and interests in all types of green projects, jobs, businesses, volunteering, studies, and careers.
Their adventures are inspiring and insightful. How they overcome challenges can also be helpful as we all look at ways to participate in our own local green communities.
In this episode, we reconnect with Basil Camu, the visionary behind Leaf and Limb and Project Pando, two impactful organizations based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Basil shares his journey and insights on cultivating and distributing free native trees for reforestation across urban, suburban, and wild landscapes with less well-known methods that help speed up the success of local reforestation projects. As the author of the inspiring new book From Wasteland to Wonder: Simple Strategies for Healing the Earth in Urban and Suburban Spaces, Basil offers practical advice on restoring natural ecosystems. Join us for an engaging discussion on the importance of reforestation, the beauty of native plants, and the simple steps we can all take to heal the planet.
Join us for an illuminating episode of the “Locals Share Green Living” podcast as we delve into the transformative realm of eco-restoration through the lens of Miyawaki forests. In this episode, we are privileged to be joined by Maya Dutta, a trailblazer in ecological restoration, as she shares insights from her pioneering journey in establishing the first Miyawaki forest in the northeast region of the United States with her work with Biodiversity for a Livable Climate and community partners.
Miyawaki forests, inspired by the visionary Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, offer a potent solution to combatting biodiversity loss and climate change while fostering resilient ecosystems. Maya Dutta takes us on a captivating journey, unraveling the intricate process of planning, organizing, and fostering partnerships with local organizations to bring this innovative concept to fruition.
Through Maya's expertise and dedication, we gain invaluable perspectives on the intricacies of implementing Miyawaki forests as a sustainable strategy for ecological regeneration. From selecting native plant species to cultivating community engagement, Maya shares profound insights illuminating the path toward a more biodiverse and livable planet.
Tune in as we explore the profound impact of Miyawaki forests on biodiversity conservation, climate resilience, and the collective efforts needed to usher in a future where nature thrives alongside human civilization.
Biodiversity for a Livable Climate: https://bio4climate.org/
More about the Miyawaki forest program: https://bio4climate.org/miyawaki-forest-program/
Volunteering in the Boston area:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfBwSH4G8PQ16rBAsZHxwjyGNDWWS4nZepAmZovAJOsXGzPAw/viewform
In this episode, we sit down with Richard, affectionately known as Rick, whose career in environmental protection and public service spans over three decades. Starting in 1988 with RKR Hess Associates, Rick's expertise in percolation testing and more led him to establish Fisher Environmental Services. Join us as we explore his remarkable journey, from his role as a Sewage Enforcement Officer to managing townships and finally retiring in 2022. This is a conversation about a life dedicated to service, and environmental advocacy.
William Wildcat Coakee is the founder and Executive Director of Mother Tree Food & Forest, drawing upon a rich background that began in the Oklahoma Seminole Nation. His lifelong commitment to organic gardening since childhood, followed by extensive experience in organic farming and a decade of dedicated work in regenerative horticulture, food forestry, and wildland restoration, has provided him with a comprehensive foundation.
Coakee's expertise encompasses a wide range of fields, including Western science disciplines such as soil biology, mycology, botany, ecology, and zoology. He also delves into ecological anthropology, history, ethnobotany, herbalism, and the intricate realms of plant and fungi medicine. In addition, his knowledge extends to conventional regenerative agriculture, ancient Indigenous agroecology, and traditional ecological wisdom. He is well-versed in practices like landscape water retention, wetland restoration, syntropic agroforestry, food forestry, desert reforestation, Miyawaki reforestation, and ecology/climate physics.
Coakee's remarkable ability lies in his skillful integration of these diverse studies and systems of knowledge, creating a cohesive vision of humanity's relationship with the Earth as responsible stewards. He resides within the Mimbres River watershed on the unceded lands of the Tci-he-nde band of the Chiricahua peoples, where he honors the Brown Bear, Jaguar, Beaver, and the Forests and Wetlands that vanished with colonization.
Samantha Waldron, an unwavering champion of environmental causes and a dynamic member of her community, has woven her passion for nature into the very fabric of her life's journey. Her profound connection with the natural world took root in her formative years, nurtured by the profound influence of her father. This early bond propelled her into the fold of the high school environmental club, where her focus on safeguarding the fragile horseshoe crab populations of Cape May flourished.
Recognizing that environmental issues are inextricably linked to broader social and economic inequalities, Samantha embarked on a quest for knowledge. Engrossing documentaries like "The Story of Stuff" and "The Story of Plastic" became her enlightening guides, illuminating the intricate interplay between environmental sustainability and the human experience.
During her high school tenure, Samantha's commitment to service bloomed further through her involvement with Rotary International. Assuming the mantle of Interact president, she not only exemplified leadership but also secured a Coca-Cola scholarship—a testament to her dedication and impact. Her academic journey led her to Rutgers University, where she embraced her studies with vigor. However, her commitment to service remained steadfast. This devotion culminated in her receipt of the International Humanitarian Award, a testament to her striving to make a difference in the lives of others.
Post-graduation, Samantha's heart remained intertwined with the ethos of service. Her altruistic spirit led her to volunteer in Nepal, extending her impact across borders and cultures. As the Vice President of Rotaract New Jersey, she continues to be a driving force in steering positive change within her local community. Her involvement with Rotary and United Way/United Way of Northern New Jersey underscores her unswerving dedication to forging a brighter, more equitable world.
Beyond her roles as a community leader, Samantha possesses the credentials of a certified Environmental Remediation Scientist, harnessing her expertise to catalyze environmental conservation efforts.
In every facet of her life, Samantha Waldron stands as a living testament to the power of passion, dedication, and service. Her journey, marked by both individual achievement and collective betterment, serves as an inspiring narrative of what can be accomplished when one person dares to be a catalyst for positive change.
Sam Parker Davies has worked in every climate worldwide, with a variety of people including billionaires, refugees, and government officials, working in deserts and forests. As an educator, designer, aid worker, project manager, and farmer, he is on the front line of planetary regeneration creating some of the best of Permaculture Designs for large farm projects, residential properties, refugee camps, and eco-villages.
Sam has been working closely with Geoff Lawton, a well-known and respected Permaculture designer, for over five years. Sam has a primary residence at Zaytuna Farm which is the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia, and currently lives at the Greening the Desert Site in Jordan. He has practiced Permaculture as his sole profession for almost a decade while coming from a family of farmers, gardeners, and eco-village builders.
Luca Kerschhackl is Sam's student and has been gaining worldwide experience learning permaculture, in Australia, Portugal, Austria, and Greece. Luca, at only 20 years of age, Italian born and bred is passionate about bringing this revolutionary design science to Italy.
https://www.zaytunafarm.com/courses-events/
https://www.greeningthedesertproject.org/
https://www.instagram.com/sam.parkerdavies/
https://www.instagram.com/lucakerschhackl/
Carla Brown is a creative reuse artist who had a podcast called Trashmagination, where she produced, recorded, and hosted 125 episodes on how to creatively reuse a huge number of different recycled materials. The podcast is on hiatus, but past episodes are still being accessed, and she is actively continuing to post her own artistic reuse creations on social media.
Her goal for the Trashmagination podcast was to have it be a creative reuse peptalk. She wants to help people who are on a journey to zero waste. Today she continues that journey to make beautiful, useful items. Her current focus is on creatively reusing t-shirts and turning them into woven rugs and turning upholstery samples into storage containers.
Carla offers some great advice to other reuse artists on how to approach projects, choose what and how much to collect for reuse, and find time for your art.
Check out her beautiful creations at:
https://trashmagination.com/
https://www.instagram.com/trashmagination/?hl=en
Keisha & Casey Ernst have been focusing on soil regeneration and habitat restoration as a team since 2011. They have studied under Dr. Elaine Ingham over the past eight years and worked alongside her on many projects. In 2018 Catalyst BioAmendments was founded as an experimental and educational-focused compost lot. The aim was to apply the techniques taught by Dr. Elaine Ingham to compost on a large scale and to improve the processes to ensure the product reliably hosts diverse populations of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes.
Catalyst successfully created a biological-healthy focused product, and since 2019 Keisha & Casey have been using the compost with their consulting. You can see examples of that success. They aim to raise the quality of food grown by helping farmers increase microbial biomass in their agricultural soils and to help microbe farmers worldwide to improve their composting practices.
Their main overarching focus is on fostering a community around microbe farming. They are passionate about helping the unseen lives in the soil come into view through microscopic images.
https://www.catalystbioamendments.com/
William DeMille is a lifelong vegetable farmer. William studied for two years of Horticulture and Agronomy at Northwest Missouri University, Maryville. He holds two certificates in aquaponic engineering and production from Cornell University NY, and from GrowHaus Aquaponics, in CO. He also graduated from Dr. Elaine Ingham’s Soil Food Web School.
William is a farm consultant who helped establish several agricultural startups in Missouri, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. He is currently the Director of Georgic Development for Monticello College in Utah.
In 2021 he started his own grassroots school at his home in Clover Valley, Nevada teaching soil health and vegetable production, which trains people how to grow food without fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides etc. Gardening With William DeMille school includes a 3-day Boot Camp class for all ages and for college-aged students; he teaches an advanced 17-week class each summer to train new farmers in vegetable production. William owns and operates a soil testing laboratory and has a YouTube channel about farming. He is growing his Patreon channel, helping people grow food, and holds a weekly free online Q&A on Thursday evenings.
William lives with his wife, Vernie Lynn DeMille, in the snow-capped mountains of Northern Nevada. They homeschooled their 4 children, and have one grandchild. William can be contacted at:
www.georgicrevolution.com
Marla Esser Cloos is the principal of Green Home Coach with 15+ years working with green certified homes and projects and applying the knowledge gained through her accreditations - NAHB Master Certified Green Professional, LEED AP, NAR Green Designee and Wellness Within Your Walls Certified Professional. The groundwork was laid with her BS in Engineering and Public Policy and a Certificate in Energy from Washington University in St. Louis.
Through Green Home Coach programs and partnerships, she helps people and businesses discover and create better homes to live in or work on for healthier, more comfortable lives. Marla founded and hosts the Everyday Green Home podcast when she saw a need for more outreach about the benefits and value of green homes and living. Her curated collection of healthier and greener products comes from her years of research and experience with green homes. Find them online in her Everyday Green Home shop.
In addition to serving on the OREC Board, Marla is a member of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Sustainability and Green Building Subcommittee, NAHB Healthier Homes and Communities Subcommittee and the Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association, as well as an affiliate member of the Edmond Board of Realtors. As a leader in the Professional Women in Building (PWB) of Central OK and Build My Future OKC she helps produce an interactive, hands-on construction career day and Build My Future Online for high school students. She is also helping to produce "Construct My Future" – a day camp for middle schoolers. Although she works anywhere through the wonders of technology, she and her husband live in the Oklahoma City area with their dog, Mika.
Jared and Selena have been married for 27 years and are the parents of nine children and one grandchild. As 3rd generation ranchers, they are managing the operation that Jared’s grandfather and father built in Secret Pass and Clover Valley, Nevada. Jared is a lifelong learner and has not only been using the principles of holistic management, soil regeneration, and biodynamics but is also teaching them to other farmers and ranchers locally and globally. In addition, Jared has mentored many young people seeking to get a start in agriculture. The Sorensens teach onsite and virtual classes and offer internships on the ranch.
Learn more at Rubymountainfoods.com
Webinar series
https://www.agsteward.fyi/webinar
Ebook
https://www.agsteward.cc/searching-for-home-finding-grace-ebook
Jared and Selena have been married for 27 years and are the parents of nine children and one grandchild. As 3rd generation ranchers, they are managing the operation that Jared’s grandfather and father built in Secret Pass and Clover Valley, Nevada. Jared is a lifelong learner and has not only been using the principles of holistic management, soil regeneration, and biodynamics but is also teaching them to other farmers and ranchers locally and globally. In addition, Jared has mentored many young people seeking to get a start in agriculture. The Sorensens teach onsite and virtual classes and offer internships on the ranch.
Learn more at Rubymountainfoods.com
Webinar series
https://www.agsteward.fyi/webinar
Ebook
https://www.agsteward.cc/searching-for-home-finding-grace-ebook
Max Stadnyk is a multifaceted individual with a wealth of diverse experiences and skills. As a Planetary Steward, Leader in Natural Regenerative Building Design, Project Manager, and Master Rammed Earth Builder and Instructor, he has dedicated his career to finding sustainable and eco-friendly solutions for building homes. His upcoming book, "33 Natural Regenerative Design Principles," reflects his passion for promoting the use of natural materials in construction.
After serving in the military and working as a home builder, Max became disillusioned with the widespread use of inferior modern products like OSB, MDF, and laminate flooring, which often failed to meet his standards of quality and durability. This led him to explore alternative building methods, including Rammed Earth, Adobe, Strawbale, Post and Beam Infill, Cob, Stack wall, and Stone. After years of experimentation, he ultimately chose to focus on Rammed Earth due to its widespread acceptance by professionals, code enforcers, and national laws as a mainstream solution that is easy to obtain permission for.
In addition to his work in the building industry, Max has also pursued a variety of other interests and careers, including serving as a sous chef, TV producer, radio host, soldier, hockey referee, Youth Program Director, market gardener, Construction Safety Officer, sword fighter, entrepreneur, and Specialist Branch Opening Consultant. He is a lifelong learner with a passion for constantly expanding his knowledge and skillset.
www.thewarriorrising.com
The Food Group Minnesota is not your typical food pantry. Yet that is where they started originally over 40 years ago. They provide excellent examples of ways that community organizations can take a much larger role in addition to meeting immediate hunger-fighting needs. The Food Group Minnesota grows, harvests, buys and distributes healthy foods with multiple programs.
Laura Mirafuentes is the perfect spokesperson for The Food Group. She has worked there for over eight years using her skills in fundraising, program management, and her 10 years of experience working in the food and agriculture sector to make a difference for local food systems and local food justice in the greater Minneapolis, MN area. She has worked with The Food Group since 2014, where she currently oversees fundraising for the organization and spent several years managing Big River Farms, a 150-acre certified organic incubator farm for beginning farmers of color.
Laura has served as Project Director with multiple USDA awards and has helped various other organizations successfully attain their own federal grants as an independent consultant. Laura Mirafuentes currently serves as Vice President on the Board of Directors at Mississippi Market Natural Foods Co-op. She graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in 2009 with a B.A. in English and is bilingual in Spanish.
https://thefoodgroupmn.org
Podcast sponsored by: GOGREENLOCALLY ORG, 501c3 NV nonprofit
Hosted by: Jenny Nichols, Executive Director
Edited by: Avery Sigarroa, Communications Coordinator
Bainy Suri is the CEO and Founder of Eco Community Solutions. She is a grassroots activist, an attorney, and a mother to her son Kai. For the past eleven years, she has worked on social and environmental justice issues in Princeton, across Mercer County, and the State of New Jersey.
As a first-generation, Indian-American, female and the single parent of a special needs child, the environment, diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice are relevant, important issues in her professional and personal life.
Bainy served as the Executive Director of the New Jersey Environmental Lobby until June 2022. Prior to working there, she volunteered with a number of community programs: combating a lack of diversity, holding social justice student exhibitions, co-chairing committees, sitting on nonprofit boards, starting new social and environmental justice industries, and serving soup in soup kitchens.
Bainy has been invited to speak across the State on her work to stop plastic pollution and authored the first plastic pollution ordinance in New Jersey in 2011. She has lectured at Pratt Institute in Manhattan and at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.
http://eco.inforest.com/
Healthy Eating Education & Farming - Kerin Gould – Author of “Produce With A Purpose”
Kerin Gould has a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Health and a PhD in Native American Studies. She has worked with food-related non-profits, but eventually focused on developing her own sustainable, non-toxic, wildlife-friendly farm and exploring a new way to connect vibrant fruit and veggies with those who strive to enhance their health with delicious recipes using farm-fresh produce.
She is the author of “Produce With a Purpose” which has delicious recipes specifically geared to people recovering from cancer. By honing in on the nutritional value of various types of produce while taking inspiration from recipes from some of the best gourmet food cultures in the world, Kerin gives hope and knowledge on how attainable it is to produce more abundant health and a greater quality of life, while enjoying delicious easy to prepare foods. All this knowledge helps support the health of her community while supporting local farms farming with nature.
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/produce-with-a-purpose-kerin-leigh-gould/1140626686?ean=9780578327075
Amazon (Kindle and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KR8H1WB/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_0ZF9FZJK8EAG2546ZVS9
Indiebound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780578327075?fbclid=IwAR3wifQOAlLuNuDtpP-b7zEM1TrJuK_fMn3cojwg-g0MgAI_WwHhVSp9ke0
Bookshop.org (supports local brick and mortar stores) https://bookshop.org/books/produce-with-a-purpose-so-your-doctor-told-you-to-eat-more-fruit-and-vegetables-now-what/9780578327075%20/
Press kit: https://bykerinleighgould.wordpress.com/media-press-kit/
Web site: http://producewithapurpose.net
Podcasts: https://producewithapurpose.podbean.com/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCraJWtD7VEwI-zS1mez4Ong/videos
Substack: https://kerin.substack.com/
Sacramento residents can find her column in their neighborhood ValCom newspapers and her articles for ValCom is online at https://www.valcomnews.com/?s=kerin+gould
Basil Camu is the co-owner of a local tree care company called Leaf & Limb located in Raleigh, North Carolina. Basil is also the founder of a nonprofit volunteer-driven tree nursery that grows native trees sustainably to give away to the public at no cost. The project is seeking to support restoration projects both in urban, suburban, and wild areas.
Basil loves all of the aspects of natural ecosystems from the trees, to soil, wildflowers, insects, bats, and fungi. He is a Treecologist, ISA Board Certified Master Arborist, a Duke graduate, and is committed to taking action that helps care for and restore the planet. Though trees are his passion and profession, he also loves cultivating flowers in his garden, restoring native meadows, and propagating plants from seed.
Project Pando website: https://www.leaflimb.com/project-pando/
Leaf & Limb YouTube channel
Welcome to Project Pando: A Volunteer-Driven Tree Farm that Grows Native Trees to Give Away for Free
https://youtu.be/wgKffg5b3B0
Project Pando in 8 Minutes – a Plan to Help Heal the Planet – TLC Wild Ideas
https://youtu.be/Jq37-ThXuyY
Don Pierce has spent nearly his whole life working to protect the environment. After decades of work as a professional environmentalist, Don concluded that a new approach––one focused on the environmentalist and not just the environment––was needed.
When famed conservationist David Brower asked him to write “a piece” to show environmentalists how to persevere, the result was a series of online courses that is good for both environmentalists and anyone seeking happiness and the preservation of nature. This series––the Heartwood Path––helps people to develop spiritually, helps people discover the benefits of communing with nature, and helps people find the abundant, abiding, and authentic happiness that comes from helping others, including natural beings.
Don formed his first environmental group––a tree planting club––when he was nine. After that, he was president of both his high school and college environmental organizations. After a few years as a professional river conservationist, he was hired by Brower to be the Midwest Representative of Friends of the Earth. Pierce has led numerous conservation groups, including the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club. He was a governor-appointed member of the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission.
He has a Bachelor’s Degree in environmental science, a Master’s Degree in political science, and Master’s Degree in social work. When he was not working to protect the environment or guiding people down the Heartwood Path, Pierce––a qualified life coach and mental health practitioner––served those who needed his care––including those who are young, aged, mentally ill, or mentally disabled.
Don Pierce has been a professional environmentalist, drummer, printing executive, team-builder, and social worker. He is an avid canoeist and a photographer. He has authored a lengthy guide to attractions along the Missouri River, numerous conservation articles, and his auto-biography (available at Amazon). He loves to walk in nature with his dog. He divides his time between California and Missouri. He has two grown daughters: one, the mother of his two grand-daughters, in St. Louis; and the other somewhere with her husband on a sailboat that is often moored in Santa Barbara.
https://www.heartwoodpath.com/
https://www.instagram.com/heartwoodpath/
https://www.facebook.com/heartwoodpath
Winona Bateman is the director of Families for a Livable Climate in Missoula, Montana. They are seeking to connect people for shared action through local family-friendly events that help take action that ensures a livable future for all. Their vision includes a healthy home planet, connected communities, and a resilient, and equitable economy.
Winona has a background in communications and sees one-on-one conversations as part of the solution to build a community, to create more meaning in our lives, and to work on solutions that are a part of a more equitable and livable future.
8 ways MT families can engage on climate in 2022: https://livableclimate.org/new-and-inspiration/2021/12/30/top-x-ways-mt-families-can-join-the-climate-movement-in-2022
A guide to getting involved: https://livableclimate.org/new-and-inspiration/2021/7/12/friend-our-climate-needs-you-now
https://www.facebook.com/familiesforalivableclimate
https://www.instagram.com/livableclimate/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdtmynboHz5ZaPZ0GHvpZvA
https://twitter.com/livableclimate
Multi-media Stories – T. Addison Brown, Emerging World Co-Founder
T. Addison Brown creates multi-media stories as a fundamental and immersive form of communication that intends to engage on an intuitive and sensory level. Guided by Buddhist teachings her activities have emphasize on safeguarding all forms of life.
During her tenure as Director of Philanthropy for Levity Foundation she created the See Me Project, South Africa. A Kodak sponsored photography event that partnered with South African Organizations NOAH, LoveLife and the KwaMashu township. By giving cameras to children, this project allowed the children to become the storytellers. This project brought global awareness to the lives of orphaned children living with the impact of HIV/AIDS.
She directed and produced the documentary film “See Me” with Los Angeles based production company, Intuitive Entertainment. The film “See Me” was narrated by Academy Award-winning actress, Susan Sarandon. While enjoying the collaboration with Intuitive Entertainment, Addison created and served as consulting producer on the LifeTime Television series “Top this Party Los Angeles” and “Top This Party Las Vegas”.
Currently, Addison is directing her focus on the Emerging World Project, where she serves as co-founder and creative director. EWP is a transmedia storytelling project in response to the multitude of system changes we are seeing in the world today. Through immersive storytelling and conversations with some of the most incandescent minds, EWP is creating advocacy campaigns, documentary films & graphic novels that promote personal and collective transformation aimed at asking the hard questions about humanity; its past, present and future.
https://emergingworldproject.org/
Their first audio media project is the podcast “what are you doing here?” where Addison serves as its host and is joined by co-host 12yr environmental activist, Marley.
https://anchor.fm/whatareyoudoinghere
Lara Tomov has always been drawn to sharing experiences with others to connect people and place. She has worked in the film and television world for over a decade, primarily as a cinematographer. This work has taken her around the world, from peaks to ocean depths, for documentaries and television networks such as Discovery and Travel Channel. She has also worked with organizations such as The Nature Conservancy and Environment America. Last year she started up her own media brand, “Stories for Action”, with a mission to use visual and audio storytelling to create connections for healthy environments and communities to thrive. She has since moved home to the mountains of Montana, where she is focusing her work for the next year. Lara has a BA in Film from Emerson College and a Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Systems from UCLA.
Maggie Bailey is the founder and President of We Plant it Forward in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Mission of We Plant it Forward is to preserve and restore the natural environment for the benefit of future generations by providing trees, tools, and help as well as hands-on activities, community engagement, and environmental education.
Maggie Bailey holds a master of science degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. Since 2009 she has led many tree planting volunteer efforts in the Raleigh/Durham area, working with both adults and children in cooperation with a large number of organizations like Habitat for Humanity, the Eno River Association, and many more. In 2012 she launched We Plant it Forward. This organization is teaching about: the benefits of trees, how our ecosystems work, and proper tree planting. Most importantly they are turning knowledge and education into action. We Plant it Forward has brought over 4,000 trees to the community of Raleigh and Durham.
http://www.WePlantitForward.org
https://www.linkedin.com/in/WePlantIt4ward/
https://www.facebook.com/WePlantitForward
https://twitter.com/WePlantit4ward
https://www.instagram.com/WePLantit4ward
hello@WePlantitForward.org
Today on our podcast we speak with two people from a nonprofit organization that facilitates the stewardship of urban trees in a large city, including a program that facilitates the use of the wood from trees that have to be removed from around the city because of disease, end-of-it’s lifecycle or proximity to structures, etc.
Jennifer Szeliga and Jonathan Gibbs from the Sacramento Tree Foundation work for the Urban Wood Rescue program in Sacramento, CA. Sacramento Tree Foundation works on educating Sacramentans on how to plant and care for trees and tell the story of how trees make our communities livable and lovable.
Jennifer is the Director of Urban Wood Rescue program and has worked there for 5 years and while helping to write a new chapter in the story of urban trees to make sure they continue benefitting the community even after they’re removed.
Jonathan Gibbs, a native Sacramentan is an Urban Wood Technician working directly for the Urban Wood Rescue program as well. He oversees yard handling of intakes, inventory, milling, drying wood, and essential support for numerous aspects of the operation. When he’s not working with the Urban Wood Rescue program, he and his wife enjoy the local food scene, music, renovating their new house, fixing cars and going to car events.
This nonprofit is an awesome resource for Sacramento and excellent example of what other cities might want to consider as well.
Jesse and Johanna Boudreau have been operating Zia Energetics Permaculture as a family business for over 20 years. They create their livelihood as homesteaders, foragers, market growers, mushroom cultivators, beekeepers, cob builders, urban forestry and as herbalists. They share their wide range of experiences with local and virtual classes and community events teaching permaculture, hosting foraging walks, teaching home herbalism, and fermentation workshops.
Websites:
https://www.ziapermaculture.com/
https://ziaenergetics.wordpress.com/
Local landscape design and maintenance, nutrition and natural living courses
https://www.ziapermaculture.com/book-services-online
Etsy herbal products
https://www.ziapermaculture.com/herbalism-plant-based-medicine
Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/ziapermaculture/
Kaitie Schneider is a wildlife conservation biologist and educator for Boulder County Parks and Open Space, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Blue Turtle Sustainable. In her free time, she runs her own business as a digital artist and photographer for environmental organizations and earth-conscious businesses.
Below are her recommends to learn more about conservation, wildlife biology, as well as the many ways we can get more involved using our own varied skills and interests.
Podcasts:
Impact the Conservation Photography Podcast
How to Save a Planet
Ologies
In Defense of Plants
TED Climate
A Sustainable Mind
Books:
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Animal Kind by Ingrid Newkirk and Gene Stone
Tom Browns guide to healing the Earth
Are We Smart Enough to Know how Smart Animals Are? By Frans de Waal
Ways to get involved, no degree required:
Citizen science with https://www.inaturalist.org
https://www.wlrv.org
Volunteer with local wildlife agencies
Volunteer at animal rescues and sanctuaries
Apply for my Conservation Career Scholarship!
https://www.theunderstorystudio.com/scholarship
In this episode we have the honor of meeting two young women that are holding a unique local South Dakota event. “Threads of Green” is a thrifted fashion show being held in a unique venue, to raise money for good causes and roll out a new thrifted clothing sustainable fashion website and app that simplifies thrifting for clothes.
Annie Lien is the lead fashion icon and style curator with FOMENO and Wynter Childers is a Wedding and Event Planner with her business, Created by Wyn (CBWYN).
Together Annie and Wynter are working on raising money and supporting the development of FOMENO - an app and website that offers the simplest thrifting experience, striving to solve the problem of consumption and waste from the fashion industry.
Ticket link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/threads-of-green-thrifted-fashion-show-tickets-169199286621
FOMENO website: https://thriftfomeno.com
FOMENO instagram: @thriftfomeno
Created by Wyn website: https://createdbywyn.com
Created by Wyn instagram: @_cbwyn_
Casey Shiver has been a member of the Buy Nothing Project’s Central Reno group for a couple of years now and started volunteering as an admin in February of 2021. She works full time for UNR, is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Higher Education Administration and spends much of her free time volunteering with local area nonprofits. Her favorite parts of the Buy Nothing Project are getting to know her neighbors and seeing the large number of items being reused rather than entering the landfills.
Liz McFarland has been a member of the Buy Nothing Project’s Central group for a few years. She spent most of her time for the past 8 years as the Lead Volunteer for Project 150 Reno and helping 3,500 homeless, disadvantaged and displaced high school students with basic needs. She is also on the board for the giving group “Thank You Ma’am”, on the board for Women and Children’s Center of the Sierra and for Altrusa of Reno/Sparks. Her favorite part of the project is being able to gift items that others will love, consuming less new products, and keeping items out of the landfill.
The easiest way to join is to go onto the Buy Nothing projects website at:
https://buynothingproject.org/
or if you’re in the Reno/Sparks/Carson/ Tahoe area, you can find a link to the group for your area at https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?fbclid=IwAR1j7xrdHAFzrliiP3UqgqjyiaZOc0l4eBUhbq-mc_FEQc_cUV_PwSsBI4Y∣=1P-wF7OPrJh2GLgiy-pXnmBKTsjs≪=39.62177576560294%2C-119.58638278378768&z=10
Ragan Sutterfield is a priest and associate at Christ Episcopal Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. His writings have appeared in a variety of places including The Christian Century, Sojourners, The Oxford American, Plough Online, and The Englewood Review of Books.
Ragan's writing and interests are focused at the intersection of faith and ecology where he brings his background in birding, permaculture, and soil ecology into conversation with philosophy, theology, and the Christian spiritual tradition.
Ragan is the author of Wendell Berry and the Given Life (Franciscan Media), This is My Body (Convergent/Random House), Cultivating Reality (Cascade), and the small collection of essays Farming as a Spiritual Discipline. Ragan is now at work on a book exploring humus and humility, soil science and Christian spirituality.
The upcoming community class they are hosting is called “Compost and Creatureliness: The Science and Soul of Soil being held at Dunbar Garden in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Upcoming Class:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/compost-and-creatureliness-the-science-and-soul-of-soil-tickets-163113168879
Christ Episcopal Church
https://christchurchlr.org/
Dunbar Garden
http://dunbargarden.org/
Zack McCannon is the Urban Farm Project Garden Programmer for the Faulkner County Library, Conway, Arkansas.
The Urban Farm Project began in the spring of 2010 as a gardening competition between three local colleges. As students and professors turned lawns into thriving gardens it transformed into a collaborative effort that has encouraged sustainability and a greater sense of community with shared local food production.
https://fcl.org/departments/garden/
https://www.facebook.com/fcurbanfarmproject/
Nina Littrell is a graduate of Kansas City Art Institute where she studied textiles and garment construction. She is a Kansas City based fashion designer that, among other classes, is teaching “Deconstruction/Reconstruction” an upcycling garments class offered at Rightfully sewn where students are training for professional jobs in the garment industry.
https://rightfullysewn.org/classes - list of public classes (Deconstruction/ Reconstruction ticket information is here )
https://rightfullysewn.org/seamstresses - Seamstress Training Program information
https://rightfullysewn.org/designers- classes for fashion designers
https://www.instagram.com/rightfullysewn/ - Our instagram
https://www.instagram.com/softstreet_sustainablefashion/ - Soft Street Sustainable Fashion Instagram (My sustainable brand)
https://ninalittrell.com - Soft Street Sustainable Fashion
Under Casey’s leadership, Galveston’s Own Farmers Market has increased food-access among high-risk populations on Galveston Island through implementation of SNAP, specialty WIC programming, free cooking classes and a rapidly-growing school gardens program. Since 2017, Casey has also served as a City Councilwoman in the City of La Marque. Her life’s work revolves around the value of the natural environment on community well-being and empowering citizens to take control of their own health and claim their role within their own community.
https://galvestonsownfarmersmarket.com/
Kim Konte is the founding member of Nontoxic Neighborhoods, an organization that helps neighborhoods transition to organic and regenerative methods of care in public and private areas of the city. They do this in a hands-on and collaborative way by supporting city staff, landscape contractors, and school administrators with solution-based tools and training to support the end of using synthetic pesticides.
https://nontoxicneighborhoods.org/
https://www.facebook.com/nontoxicneighborhoods/
https://www.instagram.com/nontoxicneighborhoods/?hl=en
Non-Toxic Neighborhoods YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDiYhkonixbXwCPajRDozsg
Lauren Winters West is the Founder and Chief Expert Organizer at Next Highest Good. As far back as she can remember, Lauren has enjoyed decluttering and organizing spaces for friends and family. She began organizing professionally after more than 20 years in a wide breadth of job capacities including: being a music video producer, a marketing executive at a Fortune 500 company and a nonprofit executive director.
Since 2016, Lauren is proud to focus full time on organizing and offering her services to help people create spaces that maximize healthy, sustainable living and productivity. Lauren is passionate about zero waste and merging her commitment for keeping items out of the landfills with her love for organizing to ensure every item goes to its next highest good.
From blankets and paint to prescription medications and eyeglasses, she has a wealth of knowledge for the sustainable disposal of a huge range of unwanted items.
She is also a member of the Good Future Design Alliance and lives in San Francisco with her husband and son.
Lauren Winters West
Professional Organizer & Zero Waste Expert
NextHighestGood.com
917•822•3003
https://nexthighestgood.com/
https://www.facebook.com/zerowasteorganizer
https://www.instagram.com/zerowasteorganizer/
Shane Davis the founder of Plantr in Eugene, Oregon. While in the Marine Corp, Shane traveled the world as part of the President lift squadron which provided global special mission airlift, logistics, and communications for two presidents through 5 countries and over 20 states. After his time in the Marine Corp he founded Plantr where he has been working with his team of developers on an app that helps match ecological garden designers with local community yards in urban and suburban settings on a wide scale.
Plantr came to Shane as a way to help spread Permaculture across the nation. His experience and skills as part of a squadron managing important US security missions are now being used for one of the most important missions of all, to design and plant ecological gardens in Eugene, Oregon. As use of the app expands, they would like to see this spread across the US.
Website/App: https://www.plantrapp.com/
Austin Arrington is a software developer, scientist, and entrepreneur working on systems to help humans and nature connect and thrive. Austin brings sustainable technologies and systems to market, from green roofs and urban farms, to soil sensors, automation, and machine learning.
He is a published researcher and holds an MS in Environmental Science from the state university of New York and College of Environmental Science & Forestry, an MA in Bioethics from NYU, and a B.A. in English from Penn State University. His research explores the intersection of ecology, technology, and ethics.
One of the exciting projects he has been developing, coordinating, and launching is a cell phone application that monitors humus/organic matter/carbon in the soil. This device will help to facilitate farmers and ranchers being compensated for improving the environment through their agriculture practices.
Planter Group brings the best in technology to garden/farming systems, technology, and green buildings to design and enhance successful systems that support people and the planet.
Plant Group
https://www.plantgroupnyc.com/
https://www.instagram.com/plant_group/?hl=en
Shugah Baybee Summer Events Summer - Fall
https://www.plantgroupnyc.com/shugah-baybees
Cuauhtemoc Landeros has worked and lived in multiple area of California and Mexico. He is academically and physically engaged in the fields of sustainable landscaping, organic farming, permaculture, agro-ecology, soil food web biology, Korean natural farming, and Permaculture. He was part of a small group that started SymSoil which has developed products that increase the diversity and abundance of beneficial soil micro-organisms for healthy soil.
He has studied regenerative methods directly with well-known experts in their field such as:
Agroecology with Sepp Holzer,
Soil biology with Dr. Elaine Ingham
Mycology research with Paul Stamets at his facility in Washington
Permaculture with Geoff Lawton
He has worked with farms, compost facilities, and in production and product development with SymSoil. With SymSoil he has been involved in producing and applying teas/extracts, top dressings, soil mixes, and mother cultures. He has also managed tilth with cover crops/sheet mulching and boosting fertility with these multiple methods
He has found it truly inspiring how healthy soil is a momentous pulse that builds upon itself and in short it gets better and better as you nurture and care for it.
organicxxmatters@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/cuauhtemoc-landeros-4a8411108
https://symsoil.com/
Walker Sauls, in Reno, NV, is the founder of the nonprofit GreenVibe World and the urban mushroom farm called Biggest Little Mushrooms. After Walker Sauls completed his Bachelors of Science degree in Environmental Science he founded the nonprofit while living in Oregon. Later when he moved to Reno, NV he co-founded Biggest Little Mushrooms with his brother and now works as the Head Cultivator.
At Biggest Little Mushrooms they pride themselves in growing high-quality mushrooms with as little impact to the environment as possible. Their small farm contributes healthy and delicious mushrooms to their local community through a co-op, a CSA, and soon at a stand at the local farmer’s market.
Walker now sits on the board of the nonprofit, Greenvibe World which provides an online environmental education platform as well as organizing local environmental activism events in his area.
Walker has always had a passion for the outdoors and nature, and is on a mission to be part of the multi-faceted solution that will enable humans to live in symbiosis with our beautiful Planet Earth. When he is not growing mushrooms or working for Greenvibe, you can find him on the side of a mountain, with skis on his feet, or a foraging bag on his shoulder!
Green Vibe World Nonprofit
https://www.greenvibe.world/
Green Vibe World Blog
https://www.greenvibe.world/new-blog
https://www.instagram.com/biggestlittlemushrooms/?hl=en
https://www.linkedin.com/in/walker-sauls-973a69142/
Karaline is a marketing professional turned food advocate. With over 12 years of experience in digital marketing and advertising, Karaline has let her passion lead her to what matters most: food, and supporting a local food system! Originally from the Midwest, Karaline is a huge proponent of small organic local farms. After volunteering for a few non-profits over the years, Karaline worked as a summer farm hand this past summer at Prema Farms and got her feet wet selling organic veggies at the busy Saturday summer market in Reno. Shortly after this she was invited to take on the role as Director of the new Reno Mobile Market program
Reno Mobile Market Brief From the Director:
Reno Mobile Market (renomobilemarket.com) is a NEW local food distribution program in Reno! We function as an extension of the farmers market to connect the community to local and regional organic products and goods. We are called the Reno "Mobile" Market because of our 3 satellite market stands that function for 2 hours during the same time as the main farmers market (www.renofarmersmarket.com), giving people in other parts of town (NW, Central, and SW Reno) access to the same goods sold at the market.
We essentially function like a mini market with multiple items, farmer goods, including non-food items like candles, lotions, hemp products and more (items all sold at main market). The goal: to support the local farmers, makers, and bakers in town! In addition, our secondary goal is to help get healthy organic goods to people during COVID so we are selling premade MarketBoxes which is a mix of 8 local and regionally sourced organic fruits and veggies. The box is available for weekly purchase or through a subscription and can be bought online then picked up at one of our four locations.
The program was started through a grant provided by the Nevada Department of Agriculture, and has been built to include a free produce box program for those in need. GiftBoxes are provided to members of the community who might be low income or unemployed and in need of a nutrient dense box of organic fruits and veggies. While we will be pursuing future grants to support this program and our general operations, we are asking community members now for direct donations to help keep our GiftBox program running.
We plan to run the operation as a self-sustaining program and will include additional services soon such as MarketBox "Plus" which is a way to order add-ons to your MarketBox such as honey, bread, spices, or sweets (all locally made) and packaged with your name on it for the ease of pick up.
We accept volunteers, and donations, or anyone that wants to lend a hand or collaborate in any way!
https://www.renomobilemarket.com/
RIVERSIDE FARMERS MARKET Saturdays 9am-12pm
McKinley Arts & Culture Center
925 Riverside Dr, Reno, NV 89503
MIGUEL RIBERA PARK Saturdays 9:30 - 11:30am
3925 Neil Rd
Reno, NV 89502
CANYON CREEK PARK Saturdays 9:30 - 11:30am
1485 Robb Dr
Reno, NV 89523
DAMONTE RANCH PARK Saturdays 9:30 - 11:30am
1950 Steamboat Pkwy
Reno, NV 89521
Anja Lyngbaek, is the Associate Programs Director with Local Futures an international nonprofit dedicated to renewing ecological, social, and spiritual well-being by shifting away from dependence on global monopolies, and towards decentralized local and regional economies. Anja holds a bachelors of science in Rural Resource Management and a Masters degree in Agroforestry. She has worked with Local Futures on a number of projects since 1986, among others as coordinator of the UK Local Food Programme, the International Alliance for Localization and the International Economics of Happiness Conference Series. She is currently coordinating World Localization Day 2021. Fluent in Spanish, English and Danish, she has been an articulate spokesperson for localization on several continents.
Local Futures Nonprofit:
https://www.localfutures.org/
International Alliance for Localization IAL
https://www.localfutures.org/programs/global-to-local/international-alliance-localization/
World Localization Day 2021
https://worldlocalizationday.org/
Local Futures
https://www.facebook.com/TheEconomicsofhappiness
https://twitter.com/EconofHappiness
Kara and her family started Stony Rose Homestead as a conscious effort to ensure their family was enjoying the healthiest food possible. From a few bee hives and chickens, they added no-till farming and all with the goal of providing delicious food for both family and community using sustainable and earth-friendly methods.
From their hives they harvest raw honey and create naturally healing beeswax-based skin care products. From their chicken coops they gather free-range eggs and from their fields & forest they harvest pastured chickens, mushrooms, fruits and vegetables.
Find them on FB and Instagram @StonyRoseHomestead
Our skincare is listed on Etsy Stonyrosehomestead.etsy.com
Our campsites can be booked through HipCamp https://www.hipcamp.com/dashboard/land/41211/listings
Rachelle LeRude spent two years traveling to various farms capturing beautiful images of organic and sustainable young farms & farmers in Northern California. She wanted to personally meet the individuals of “her own generation who are choosing to be stewards of the land.” In that process she learned about: “soil health, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, food sovereignty and eating locally sourced nutrient dense food.”
“This exploration has led me to meet some of the most soulful people and has been a deep lesson in the benefits of community. It has been an inspiration that will fuel many projects to come. I wanted to see who was picking up this role, I wanted to hear their “why” and “how.“ This is a story I am just beginning to put words to.”
More recently she has partnered with local nonprofits in Reno, NV to support and advocate for several local organic food promotions. Her skills in marketing, and photography have allowed her to bring out the beauty, fun, and celebration in supporting local growers and community.
Upcycle It Now, was born out of a shared entrepreneurial spirit to become sustainability change agents by partnering with textile companies to upcycle their textile waste into beautiful, high quality, and functional products. Christina obtained her degree at UC Davis and headed to India for an internship with a sustainable design company. There she saw the urgent need for sustainable textile manufacturing and knew that was going to be her mission.
Christina and her mother are the founders of Upcycle It Now in Long Beach, CA. Liz Bordessa, aka mom, a successful businesswoman who possesses an innate passion for business development and for years owned a tailoring and alterations business. During Liz and Christina’s visit to India, they saw the alignment between their collective experiences, passion for social and environmental sustainability, and the growing need to address the textile waste issue.
Together they created Upcycle it Now a very open and approachable company that is willing to educate and share knowledge with others for the greater sustainability cause.
Hux Family Farm is a small 4-acre sustainable homestead that has grown into a local space for healing with animals. They offer everything from goat yoga to kid’s programs. With a mission of bringing smiles and healing souls, they want to bring joy and peace to as many lives as possible while taking good care of their goats.
Among the many activities on their farm: day camps for kids, private birthday parties, farm tours & private events. Among the many activities they sponsor on their farm, they also provide products such as raw goats milk, goat’s milk soap and pastured duck eggs.
https://www.huxfamilyfarm.com/
Kim Rios has a strong passion for environmental activism and education. She obtained her degree in environmental policy at the University of Nevada, Reno, but discovered a predilection for education after spending four years teaching overseas. Kim came to Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful (KTMB) as an AmeriCorps VISTA participant working to build capacity for the Warriors Youth Education program. Upon completion of her term, she was hired on as the Community Education Coordinator to expand KTMB's education program through its Recycling Guide, the Nevada Green Business Program, and sustainability talks to businesses, organizations, clubs, and more.
https://www.ktmb.org/
https://www.ktmb.org/recycle
https://www.ktmb.org/warriors-youth-education
Lorrie and Jeffrey Scott are brother and sister and co-founders of a small company, Green Village Biofertilizers in Denver, Colorado. Their company produces a natural fertilizer made from fresh-water algae, selected fungi, soil bacteria, and humates. They released their first fertilizer product early in 2020 and are working on many more to follow.
Learn about their path of green action as they have used their skills, research, and past experiences to craft a new green enterprise to be a part of the regenerative earth movement.
http://www.greenvillagebiofertilizers.com/
https://www.algaegrow.com/
Andrew Frank is the the founder of the nonprofit, Space Cadet, in Reno, NV. Every yea
Andrew Frank is the the founder of the nonprofit, Space Cadet, in Reno, NV. Every year large amounts of retail displays/fixtures are being sent to landfills. Andrew has made it his mission to prevent this from happening. His Nevada nonprofit, Space Cadet, helps companies repurpose their components responsibly and he is encouraging and offering to help others to do this as well all across the country. This is critically important as many large retail companies are going out of business and these items could be utilized by local businesses that are in need.
r large amounts of retail displays/fixtures are being sent to landfills. Andrew has made it his mission to prevent this from happening. His Nevada nonprofit, Space Cadet, helps companies repurpose their components responsibly and he is encouraging and offering to help others to do this as well all across the country. This is critically important as many large retail companies are going out of business and these items could be utilized by local businesses that are in need.
Space Cadet Nonprofit
Space Cadet Shop:
"We opened our store to support local artists, entrepreneurs, and certified B-Corporations. We're a place to shop sustainably and nurture your creative side, all while generating zero trash."
https://www.cadetspace.org/
Among other numerous community service roles, Earstin Whitten is the co-founder and president of Soulful Seeds, a non-profit whose mission is to provide greater food security through community gardens and gardening education. He is also affectionately known as the local “Guru of Garlic” as he teaches community members how to grow garlic successfully.
Soulful Seeds, Reno, NV
https://www.soulful-seeds.com/
Soulful Seeds Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/soulfulseedsnnv/
Charles grew up in California, enjoying the outdoors, surfing, and working in restaurants as he attended school. He ended up in Reno, Nevada and is now the program director of University of Nevada Reno’s Desert Farming Initiative. He is an agricultural specialist for sustainable and organic farming practices. His previous experience includes multiple diversified row crop farms, small-scale orchards, CSAs, farmer’s markets and restaurants.
He was a part of the AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Project where he put into practice the belief that farms can contribute to maintaining and protecting the health of watersheds through sustainable soil management and enhancing farm biodiversity. In addition, Charles is a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control and registered Soil Health Champion with the National Association of Conservation Districts.
University of Nevada – Reno Faculty:
http://naes.unr.edu/directory_details.aspx?hIj7_GDp0x45=1455
Desert Farming Initiative
https://naes.unr.edu/dfi/default.aspx
Emy Damian with a medical background found herself searching for safer cosmetics for her daughter. Becoming informed opened her eyes to the hundreds of potentially toxic chemicals in over-the-counter beauty products. Beautycounter provided her a unique opportunity to start her own micro business that provides safer cosmetic products. For Emy this is not just a business, but a mission.
Facebook page:
Emy's Beautycounter: https://www.facebook.com/EmyBeautycounter/
Facebook group (where I share more personal clean beauty info and giveaways):
Emy's Clean Quest: https://www.facebook.com/groups/268025237981638/
Instagram: _untaintedbeauty (underscore then "untaintedbeauty")
Website / online store: http://www.beautycounter.com/emydamian (My New clients get 10% off with code CHANGEBEAUTY10)
Contact Emy or subscribe to her monthly newsletter: emy.damian@yahoo.com
Lorie English loves upcycling taking vintage feed sacks, and clothing and transforming them into great handbags, wallets, and pouches. It is a unique creative design challenge to work with these fabrics to produce unique bags in many popular styles. All of the fabric, including the linings are made from other items.
ReCreated Website: https://www.recreatednow.com/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/recreated_now/
Etsy Shop:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/LoriesBags?social_invites=1&si_uuid=e510f50f-7d23-402f-abb5-7092d9baeaa1&user_id=18795170&si_time=1573996202&si_page=shop_home&si_trigger=ss&si_object_id=ui.core.CoreActivity&platform=android
Interview with David English, the founder of Black Owl Guitars in New Bern, N. Carolina, and wiring technician, Mark Schomaker. Black Owl Guitars make full functioning strings instruments, amplifiers, and electric kazoos. Both of these musicians are talented creators that solve creative challenges to make instruments with great sound from what would have been waste.
http://blackowlguitars.com/index.html
https://www.etsy.com/market/black_owl_guitars
https://www.facebook.com/Black-Owl-Guitars-239474402756778/
Katherine Prior is a full-time university student, at The University of Western Ontario and an eco-blogger and social media influencer with “SweetSustainability.ca”. She grew up caring and being inspired by nature but began to notice the unsustainable aspects of her life. She has since grown passionate about saving the planet, imperfect low-waste living, ethical fashion, flexitarianism, conscious consumerism, mindfulness, and intersectional environmentalism.
With her blog and social media, Katherine tries to find creative solutions for making low impact living more inclusive, as well as increase accessibility in the awareness of climate justice issues. Katherine aims to use her blog as a space to share her honest experience, research, and tips she has learned along her journey to a more intentional and sustainable life, with the goal of creating more climate advocates and activists. Katherine firmly believes every small step towards positive change counts, and that we all have a role to play in creating systemic and lasting change.
Kat | The Sweet Sustainability Blog
Website: https://sweetsustainability.ca
Email: thesweetsustainability@gmail.com
Instagram:@sweet.sustainability
Lynn Mehl as an environmentalist has taken her passion to save the planet and has used it to take over and convert a conventional florist business into one of the first full-service eco-florist models of sustainability in the country. Lynn while running her business also promotes, writes, and educates that this CAN be done and profitably. Her goal now is to influence and promote green planet-friendly thinking to both consumers and the industry.
https://goodolddaysflorist.com/
Pennye Napier-Jones and her partner, Julie Piez, together are the co-founders and owners of The Big Bad Woof incorporated. Their company specializes in premium, organic, holistic, locally-sourced, and raw foods and supplies. Big Bad Woof works to source products that are sustainable, locally-made, fair-trade, and made using sustainable manufacturing methods.
When Nicky and Dave had children that were born with severe allergies, they decided that switching to safer and more nutritious foods would be part of the solution for better health. Together, they now run Permaculture Gardens where they educate people with free webinars, educational blogs, and offer a garden mentoring program to help families grow abundantly.
Permaculture Gardens has received the “Most Sustainable Brand” award at the Green Festivals and Nicky & Dave’s work has been featured in the Huffington Post, Permaculture Research Institute in Australia, and Green America.org.
James Gatzke shares his background and experience that prepared him for his current conservation, restoration, and native plant nursery work with Walker Basin Conservancy in the challenging desert environment of Northern Nevada.
Steve Welzer was a founding member of the Green Party of New Jersey in 1997 and served on the Steering Committee of the US Green Party during 2012-2013. He actively served the green movement by working in committees, running for office and editing, contributing to, and writing various green publications. He is now working with a group of people to start an eco-village in either central New Jersey or Eastern Pennsylvania. Steve shares good advice on how eco-villages can be one of the many solutions for the greening of society and how meeting and building relationships with other like-minded people can be the start of building close green communities that help weather the unprecedented challenges of our times.
Chuck is one of the founders of Simply Living, nonprofit acting as a connector, organizer, and educator in the green community in Ohio. Lynn also a board member of Simply Living and has been a fan from the beginning. They both share the inspiring work that they are taking to grow greater green action through the use of multiple avenues to connect and educate the community in the Ohio area.
https://simplyliving.org/
Rebecca Nutter is one of the founders and the Executive Director of the Minneapolis Toy Library. Thanks to this library, over 350 families are able to share resources, cut down on their waste and consumption, and provide toys for their young children who often benefit from varied developmentally stimulating and age-appropriate toys.
https://mplstoylibrary.org/
Crystal Dreisbach is the Founder & Executive Director of a non-profit organization called Don't Waste Durham which creates multiple solutions that prevent trash. She invented and operates GreenToGo, a city-wide reusable takeout container service for restaurants and grocery stores as well as additional innovative solutions for other types of waste reduction.
http://www.dontwastedurham.org/
Anna Tsantir is the cofounder of Two Bettys in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Two Bettys is a green cleaning company that has combined their mission of using ecofriendly cleaners that are safer for their employees, their clients and their community with striving to support greater social justice, green living and community empowerment. They are a company that pays their employees a living wage and benefits and is striving to adapt to the challenges of racial injustice and conflict in their community and the COVID-19 pandemic.
https://www.twobettysclean.com/
With the ever-increasing recognition that our planet can neither provide endless resources nor absorb endless waste, a cultural shift has begun. Maria and her co-organizers have set out to make it their mission to address the rest of our “junk”. She is part of the Upcycle Alameda Meetup group in Alameda, California which brings people together focusing on finding the beauty in junk, by using discards and second-hand materials as a starting point for creation. ‘Making-sessions’ start by opening minds and then integrate skill-building to empower artists & craftspeople to use tools to make whatever they imagine.
https://www.meetup.com/Upcycle/
Samantha Romanick, a microbiology PhD student, is the founder and operator of Black Rock Refill, a zero-waste business to help people in the Reno, Nevada and surrounding areas have options to reduce plastic waste in their lives. Studying the biology of micro-plastic contamination in the environment, she knows intimately why we should consider minimizing our use of plastic and how to go about it. She operates her business without a brick and mortar store and still manages to make her products available to a large area.
Kelley and Susan met while teaching at the same school. They found they were equally inspired by Reggio Emilia, a unique and successful approach to learning. It inspired them to visit the birthplace of the philosophy in Reggio Emilia, Italy in 2010. When they returned they took their inspiration and built a similar creative recycling center in the City of Alexandria. Upcycle is now a community resource for materials, inspiration, and ideas for the whole areawide community. They collect reusable items that are used for arts & crafts and learning purposes.
https://www.upcyclecrc.org/
Luke and Shannon own Blustery Bovine, a 6-acre farm in Washoe Valley, NV where they raise cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, and chickens to supply food to their CSA and farm store. They have been using regenerative land management practices and methods that better care for animals and at the same time help to heal and replenish the health of wildlife, pasture grasses, and the soil.
Gwen Bourne shares her small local flower business that she started after her semi-retirement. She shares her passion for growing beautiful flowers without the need for toxic sprays and how doing so encourages and supports pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and birds.
Vanessa Robertson is currently the Executive Co-Director of Envirolution which works with teachers and students, K-12 for "youth leadership development, and community outreach programs centered around energy efficiency, sustainability, and Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) career development."
Over the years Vanessa has used her environmental studies degrees to work with environmental non-profits and a community garden project to create a cleaner and greener community both in Northern Nevada and Monterey, CA.
Josie, originally from the Midwest, traveled to Reno, NV to participate in the Americorp program and ended up making Northern Nevada her new home. After Americorp she went on to found a non-profit called Urban Roots. Now working as a Montessori teacher, she looks back and shares the story of how she took her university education, Americorp training, and Permaculture training and used it to create something wonderful to share and inspire a love of organic, sustainable farming with children in the community.
Tanner Petrilla has been working as a farm intern at four different organic farms learning what works best with various growing conditions, types of crops, and holistic land management methods.
Kasey Crispin shares her and her partner Zach Cannady's successful 1.5-acre, organic no-till farm north of Reno, NV. They share how they live their green values to care for people and the planet as they supply nutrient-dense food to northern Nevadans while equally caring for nature and the soil on their farm.
Rebekah Stetson has worked in her Northern Nevada green community as a connector, leader, passionate activist, and as an organic farmer. She has been practicing advocacy at a local, regional, and national level in a variety of areas including organic agriculture, public health, environmental protection, and wildlife habitat.
Yashila Sanchez - a marketing professional - shares her talents while working as a volunteer organizer/educator in her community, helping to organize and promote Permaculture and other local green events in her Northern Nevada community. She advocates for slow and steady action, that we can all take, to learn more while growing our own gardens.
Skylar Jones works as an environmental scientist focusing on sustainability outreach and education for the State of Nevada. Learn more about how her environmental studies degree became an opportunity to turn her concern for the environment into an opportunity to take green action on a daily basis.
Garrett Menghini, is the owner of Down to Earth Composting, a rapidly growing, hands-on composting service that picks up people's food scraps and returns to them a rich soil conditioner for their home gardens in Reno, NV. Garrett shares about his previous career working as an electrical engineer for SpaceX, and a need to find work that was more in alignment with his values - a life that would include care for people and care for the earth. Support this podcast
Christoph Weber is a certified arborist and home orchardist that has helped clients dissatisfied with their purely ornamental yards transition them to more productive, edible and delicious landscapes with fruit trees, grape vines, berry bushes and herb plants. Support this podcast
Kyle Isacksen is the Co-Director of the non-profit, Be The Change Project in Reno, NV. Kyle and his wife Katie founded an urban homestead and learning space which is dedicated to service, sustainability and community uplift. Support this podcast