Green Gal

"For 25 years, the National Bioneers Conference has connected thousands of people with practical, visionary solutions for humanity's most pressing environmental and social challenges." This year was my first time attending the National Bioneers Conference in San Rafael, CA, and it was one of the most incredible experiences I've had in the realm of sustainability work. To capture why it was so incredible, I will start with a metaphor that continued to make its way into workshops and conversations throughout the weekend: Bioneers, for me, brought the many threads of "sustainability" - environment, people, ecology, biodiversity, diversity, justice, equity, celebration of difference, purpose, conversation, art, climate, water, community, etc. - into a beautifully, vibrantly, amazingly woven cloth that held all of us in its embrace for a weekend, bringing us in contact with new ideas and new people, encouraging us to smile and relax and sink into the realities...

Today on the way home from work, I took the scenic route along the coast of the Monterey Bay. Yesterday on the way home from work, I stopped by a local and organic farm stand for some kale and strawberries. On my way to work each day by bike or bus, I can look below me and see the bay or look toward my destination and see redwood trees, fog, and deer. I couldn't ask to live and work in a better place than this. Since I last posted, I've graduated from college with a degree in English Language Literatures, acquired two part-time jobs, visited the Bahamas for the first time, and gotten back on my road bike. I've ridden up the hill to work four times in the past two and a half weeks of working, and my goal is to bike to work 2-3 times a week. It's 45 minutes uphill, and the hardest part is the last leg of it. I love the energy it gives me when I arrive at work, especially since my job is mostly sitting in front of a computer emailing people, posting on social me...

I love it when the weather supports my plans to spend time outdoors by brightening the day with sun and a gentle breeze and clear skies. This weekend I felt very supported by the weather because I planned on being outside for a total of at least seven hours this weekend. Yesterday I participated in a women's nature connection hike that I co-organized with a fellow residential adviser, Sonja, and my friend Collette, who is a nature mentor . The, this morning and early afternoon, I participated in a bike ride to a local farm to volunteer. The sun shined down on me and my fellow community members both days, and it allowed us all to feel comfortable and engage with the activities we were doing together and develop connections and have fun! Nevermind that it's nearly finals week and I have work to do--the sun doesn't always shine like it did this weekend, and nighttime is for homework, right? That's why we have light bulbs (CFL of course). Yesterday's hi...

Effective teachers, educators, and mentors learn with their students, and they never stop seeing themselves as students. They are my third grade teacher who was actively involved in her community and took the time to learn about our families, to bring our families into the classroom, and to bring our class into her family’s home at the end of the school year. They are the college instructor who admitted his own philosophical questionings right there with us, giving the floor to students who were inspired by what they knew, empowering students to share and engage in class by acknowledging the value of their thoughts and passions. Even outside the classroom, every individual we meet—whether younger or older, student or teacher—has something to teach us, an ability to open up our perspective on the world so that we can make a connection and learn. Being open to listen to others’ teachings and the opportunities they bring to nourish the lives of those around them is what it means to live i...