Inroads into Sustainability

I perceive myself as having a sustainability frame of mind from a young age. That’s how I got into nature photography, and visiting national parks as a serious hobby. Wanting to ‘go green’, ‘do green’ and ‘inspire green’ is also the reason why I got a second Masters (In Sustainability Management) from Columbia University. Perhaps I got my mid-life crisis a few years before my actual mid-life and thought wouldn’t it be cool to pursue a day job in Sustainability? It certainly was a cool idea but I ended up not going that route for various reasons. I am still very happy I pursued and completed my Masters. Because of it, I found my tribe of ‘green folks’, learnt a lot more about our problems as a society and some potential solutions as well. I have

been able to stay in touch with the happenings in this area by sheer interest and will and for now that’s enough.

My focus these days is on food sustainability, especially food waste.

Below are some interesting projects I worked on (purely voluntary) and some of my favorite green links.

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Sustainability Projects

Following are some green projects I worked on in and around NYC...

Participated in a food waste audit at the NYC headquarters of a global technology company (2014)

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Organized a river cleanup as part of ‘World Water Day’ (2014)

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Rode in a City Harvest truck all day long as it collected uneaten food for redistribution (2015)

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Put together a panel of speakers covering: Food waste in the City (through SPN) (2016)

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Put together a forum for discussion of Global Food waste and its solutions at a global, national, and local level (2017)

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Wrote a Feature story for a local NYC not-for profit based on touring the facilities of one of the largest food companies of the city (2016)

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My growing knowledge of and in sustainability has also changed the way I live and think. I cook more often to reduce my food waste footprint. I also compost which involves making weekly visits to the farmer’s market to compost. I feel I am more aware of what’s good food (for the body- more plant based, fresh fruits and vegetables) and for society in general (less packaging, less processed). I try and buy less, reuse, and recycle more.

I feel good about my awareness of sustainability matters, and how, even one person or family

can make a difference.