A bit about the Blogger

Hi!

Thanks for taking a look at my Blog.

The short version of my story is that I am a 22 year New Jersey native. I went to Roselle Park High School in Union County, NJ. Then, in order to learn the most I possible could about the environment (and it's sciences) I went to school 300 miles away- where I attended classes at the University of Vermont. The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources is an amazing melting pot of concepts, ideas and opportunities. The small school size allowed me to get close to professors and get super involved in the 'Greening of Aiken' projects during my time there. Although I started college intending to focus on conservation biology, I actually ended up becoming passionate about Ecological Design.

Then to get some design background, I added a minor in Green Building and Community Design.

Then, to boot- I realized how much opportunity actually lay ahead for me back in good ol' NJ and NYC- and how much I really tended to lean towards urban projects any way. So here I am, Sustainability Intern at the Willow School in Gladstone, NJ- and this is what I'm learning!

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It's Christmas Eve and you still haven't finished gift shopping?

Let me guess, it's Christmas Eve and you still have gifts to give? Boy oh boy do I have good news for you! What do you get for that special someone who has everything? The gift of giving! And here are some of my favorite charities I think you should consider this holiday season (or for Valentine's Day, Birthdays, Anniversaries!) 1) Oxfam- Oxfam working to right the wrongs of poverty, hunger, and injustice. As one of 17 members of the international Oxfam confederation, we work with people in more than 90 countries to create lasting solutions. Oxfam saves lives, develops long-term solutions to poverty, and campaigns for social change. Whether it's providing a packet of seeds for a farmer in a poor area ($12) or a meal for a school aged child ($35), or supporting a women entrepreneur so she can get her business off the ground ($100). It's a one stop shop to provide meaningful gifts that will matter to each person you gift them to! On top of which, a donation g...

Covid, baby

Working in the sustainability field has been turned on its head during the Coronavirus pandemic. I went on a short hiatus to become a Mom (Elliott was born in March of 2020 only a few days before lockdown in NJ), and when I resurfaced, our approach needed to be different, here are some examples: Typically, the balance between ample fresh air within a building and energy use would result in driving the building toward lower energy use. Now, the ability to increase the outdoor air is desirable and is carrying more importance as a design consideration. We almost always pursued green cleaning operations and maintenance plans with our projects, however the Green Seal certified (or other healthy for people) cleaning products do not disinfect to the level desired for Covid- forcing teams to decide between abandoning their healthy cleaning policies and safety. Everything is packaged and sealed, and wrapped again. Cafes stopped allowing refillable coffee cups, towns that had plastic ba...

Download of my Plastic Free July 2018

Hello peers! Yes, I realize this is super late- but better than never! This year, I participated in Plastic Free July with about a dozen people from my former office. I made a pledge to do my best to reduce the amount of single-use plastics I used throughout the entire month. July snuck up on me, but I made a few immediate changes : Get a bigger purse- It may feel like you're saving space to have a compact bag where nothing else fits, but having a larger purse allowed me to refuse a plastic bag and place things directly in my handbag like: fruit, convenience store groceries, etc. Carry a reusable tote-You'd be surprised how many times people use a plastic bag because they forgot their bags at home. Best way to avoid that? Carry one in your now larger purse, leave a couple in the car, an one in your work desk- voila! You've always remembered now! Carry a reusable straw- I am very excited about my Final Straw (image below) that I ordered- but they won't be f...

Building Alive, Designing to Thrive

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