A Student Takes Responsibility For Her Campus & RegionLesia Kinach participated in Eco Practicum Catskills in the summer of 2013. She is from northern Ontario, Canada and is currently in her final year of undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto. Lesia has contributed her time and skills to environmentally-focussed groups on campus over the years. Most recently, she has been very involved with the Hart House Farm Committee, a student-led group that organizes seasonal events and sustainable farming activities at the Hart House Farm, located on the Niagara Escarpment in Caledon, Ontario. What do you study and do at university and what lessons from Eco Practicum do you apply?
I am studying environmental geography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). I am also serving as Co-Leader of the Hart House Farm Committee. The things that I learned and experienced at Eco Practicum have complemented my studies and helped me discover ways that I could engage in the food movement back home in Ontario. After participating in Eco Practicum, I realized the potential to source food locally for our Farm Committee events. After doing some research, I found 100km Foods Inc and we’ve been getting lots of our food from them since fall 2013. What are the most fulfilling and most challenging parts of what you do? The most fulfilling part of leading the Farm Committee and running events at the Farm is seeing the look on students’ faces as they discover the incredible natural beauty of rural Ontario. So many of our guests have expressed gratitude to our Committee for what we do, and that makes it worth all the hard work. The most challenging part of running a big event is keeping things organized and making sure we stay on schedule. There is always something unexpected that comes up, so we have to be able to think and problem solve on-the-spot. Describe a moment or situation that helped you realize your passion? There was a turning point during my first year of university, after a horrible calculus midterm. It made me think about what I am truly passionate about and what I actually wanted to spend the next four years studying. By the end of my first year, I had realized that geography (the social science side) was much more interesting to me than life science. I then started reading and learning more about food and agricultural issues, and I have been fascinated by all things food ever since. What advice do you have for people looking to do meaningful work? Get out there and find others who are passionate about the same things as you are, and who are doing meaningful work. Ask them questions and find out how they got to where they are today. I’ve found that talking to people and building networks and connections helps me discover unique opportunities. I also think it’s a good idea to spend some time doing a bit of research online and to subscribe to e-newsletters that provide news/updates on things or issues you are interested in. What’s one thing you think everyone should know how to do? I think everyone should know how to cook (and bake) from scratch, using real food. A Journalist Educates Her Local PublicWhen Amy Stansbury came to the Catskills for our 2012 summer practicum, she was a journalism student at Temple University. Today, Amy is working in her field as an environmental journalist at Austin EcoNetwork. An avid outdoorswoman living in Austin, Texas, Amy has dedicated her professional career to educating the public about climate change and connecting them to their local governments. She loves local politics, energy policy, and long runs along Austin’s Lady Bird Lake. What work do you do and what lessons from Eco Practicum do you apply at your job?
I am an editor and writer for the Austin EcoNetwork, an environmental news and networking website in Austin, Texas. During my time at Eco Practicum, I had the opportunity to take a deep dive into the world of fracking in Pennsylvania. We visited active drilling sites, spoke with real people who have been impacted by the fracking boom, and heard from experts in the oil and gas industry. Just like Pennsylvania, Texas is also in the midst of a shale gas boom and my time spent investigating fracking at Eco Practicum has given be a solid base of knowledge so that I can continue reporting on natural gas in Texas. What are the most fulfilling and most challenging parts of what you do? By far, the most fulfilling aspect of my job is educating the public about solutions to climate change - arguably the biggest challenge of our time. But, as rewarding as that is, writing about climate change is a rough job, especially in Texas. I am constantly confronted by the fact that more people seem to want to read stories about celebrities and cats than climate change and local politics. The job can often be lonely and depressing. During these times of momentary hopelessness, I eat a little ice cream, remind myself how important the job is, and get back to work with an even tougher resolve. Describe a moment or situation that helped you realize your passion? I can’t say that there was any specific moment when my love of the environment suddenly struck me. However, whenever I go on a hike, visit a beautiful place, or even see a really cool photograph of nature, I am reminded how important it is to protect this place. I never feel more invigorated than when I am swimming in the ocean or climbing a mountain. Those are my favorite places to be and I want to make sure they will be here longer than I am. What advice do you have for people looking for meaningful work? Meaningful work comes in all shapes and sizes. You don’t have to work at a struggling nonprofit to do something important. You don’t have to follow the same path as Pete Seeger or Rachel Carson to be a successful environmentalist. Those people are remembered so fondly today because they did something different, something that had never been done before. So do your own thing, strike out on your own path, and as long as you wake up excited to work everyday, you’re doing the right thing. What’s one thing you think everyone should know how to do? Everyone should know how to think for themselves. As a journalist, people are always trying to tell me what to think. But at the end of the day it’s up to me to analyze the facts, look at the information, and write my own story. Follow your gut. A documentary photographer engages art and environmentalism.Photos, from left: Rachelle Klapheke, US/Mexico Border, 2013. People's Climate March, New York City, 2014. Newburgh, New York, 2013 Rachelle Klapheke participated in the very first Eco Practicum in the Catskill mountains in 2012, and she’s been an integral part of our community ever since. As an intern and subsequent member of our program development team that cooperatively designed the New York City practicum, Rachelle has always been one part environmentalist, one part artist. After graduating from NYU with a degree in Photography and Imaging, Rachelle worked for the New Yorker Magazine and currently works for MSNBC while continuing to pursue her personal projects, which tend to blur the lines between documentary and art. Here are just a few of her photos, you can see much more at www.RachelleKlapheke.com What work do you do and what lessons from Eco Practicum do you apply at your job? I'm currently working as a freelance photographer and photo editor. My profession requires me to be continually up-to-date on current events, and also to have a solid elevator-pitch ready on my strengths and interests. I’ve always known that, ultimately, my goal is to make a difference when it comes to the environment, and that no matter what my path in life is, it must engage my environmental values. Eco Practicum allowed me to explore the ways in which I could expand my day-to-day actions and ideologies in order to make a greater environmental difference, and it gave me an opportunity to stay involved with the causes I was concerned with. What are the most fulfilling and most challenging parts of what you do? In New York, everyone wants to be an artist, and I’m constantly wondering how to set myself apart from my peers and create interesting work. Whether I'm working as a photographer or photo editor or engaging with the environmental movement somehow, I feel that I'm impacting someone in the sense that my job is always outreach. Whether I'm producing art or working with Eco Practicum, my goal is always to convey a message and it's exciting to realize the potential I have to create change in that way. Describe a moment or situation that helped you realize your passion? When I was 19 I decided I wanted to lose weight and get in shape, and my obsessive investigation into all things diet-related sort of mutated into an obsession with organic farming. I began to realize that all the fads and theories I was reading about were nothing but fleeting, shallow internet obsessions, and that my real journey should be getting in touch with my food sources and understanding the most basic, intuitive methods of food production and consumption. Everything I'd always cared about involving waste-reduction and environmentalism sort of came together during that time, and I began to realize how connected all my values really were. What advice do you have for people looking for meaningful work? The best place to start when looking for meaningful work is to live a meaningful lifestyle. If you can implement your values on a small scale, it's easier to figure out what drives you and what really gets you up in the morning. You have to be willing to try things to figure out whether or not they fit your interests and your abilities. I'm always surprised by what I end up being comfortable with, and what I feel is my most effective course of action, but it's always a trial-and-error process to figure it out. Eco Practicum was an especially great experience in the sense that I was able to explore so many courses of action, and I was given the time I needed to figure out which one was my own and what my place was in the environmental movement. What’s one thing you think everyone should know how to do? Everyone should know how to cook. I think the more skills you can acquire for self-sufficiency, the better off you are.
Catskills Practicum Alum Now Butcher Apprentice at Fleisher's Pasture-Raised MeatsWe met Andersen Morse when he participated in Eco Practicum Catskills in the Summer of 2013. One of the few program participants that was actually from the Catskills, Andersen grew up in beautiful town of Margaretville. After graduating with a degree in Environmental Studies from Binghamton University, Andersen earned his Permaculture Designers’ Certification and then worked on a grass fed and pasture raised cattle and sheep farm. Andersen is now a butcher apprentice with nationally acclaimed Fleisher's Pasture Raised Meats Butcher Shop. We couldn't be prouder!
What work do you do and what lessons from Eco Practicum do you apply at your job? As an Apprentice Butcher for Fleisher’s Meats in Brooklyn, I help butcher lamb, pork, and beef for the Park Slope retail shop. I was deeply influenced by the “Animals” unit of Eco Practicum. That portion of the program was as much emotional as it was educational. Confronting the issues of animals in our food system and experiencing the art of proper full animal butchery opened my eyes to the meat industry and my interest in the craft of butchering animals. What are the most fulfilling and most challenging parts of what you do? The most rewarding part of my job is being able to work with my hands all day, being physically active and not being stuck behind a desk. Keeping this age old craft alive and ensuring that the work gets done by hand instead of by machines is also very rewarding. The challenging bit is learning all the the different cuts that can come from each muscle group and the proper way to cook each piece. Describe a moment or situation that helped you realize your passion? It was during my time at Eco Practicum when I got to see a lamb slaughter and butchering up close that I was initially drawn to the butcher profession and to the idea that this could be an option for me. It wasn't until after I graduated and was living in Denver, Colorado when I found the opportunity to become a butcher. I discovered Western Daughters Butcher Shoppe in Denver, and after experiencing their shop the desire to train as a butcher took hold. Learning more about Western Daughters I discovered that they were trained in New York by Fleisher’s. It was an easy decision to return to the east coast for their apprenticeship program. What advice do you have for people looking for meaningful work? Do something that you find enjoyable, and then do it well enough to be paid for it. Keep improving your skill until it becomes an art. Have your work be in service of others. I feel it's important and beneficial for everyone if your work improves the world around you. What’s one thing you think everyone should know how to do? There are lots of things I feel everyone should know, but one specifically is how to cook for yourself. Know how to use common kitchen knives, different methods of cooking on stove top and oven, and how to use spices effectively. Cooking for yourself encourages a better relationship with the food around you and a deeper knowledge about how your food is made. Dear Friends,
The new year has arrived, so this feels like just the time to set our goals for the coming year. Here are the three things we’ll be focusing on in 2015 and beyond. Think of them as intentions: we hope they help guide our actions in the complicated days ahead: 1. Follow the law of interconnectivity. Like gravity, interconnectivity is a foundational law of nature; it is an undeniable truth, whether or not we feel it on a daily basis. Our feelings, thoughts, and actions are part of a larger ecosystem. Eco Practicum is also just one part in a constellation of people, institutions, and ideas that make up a major international movement. We’re all in this together, and the project we are undertaking is profound. So we will strive to recognize points of connection and how we can help those around us to do good work. 2. Treat knowledge as a public good. Given the unprecedented access we have to information, we will not squander knowledge by keeping it to ourselves, or locking it up within the confines of the ivory tower. Instead, we will use it, spread it, share it, expand upon it, argue with it, engage with it, and act upon it. 3. Act with strength and courage. This year got us outraged, inspired, and confused … sometimes all in one day. Facing the global environmental crisis is far from easy - it’s profoundly difficult and it is the great challenge of our time.. We commit to keep facing it, together with you. Onward, Eugenia Manwelyan & Tal Beery Directors of Eco Practicum |
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