ABOUT US
Growing Together is a Climate Change project dedicated to addressing the burdens of climate change through reforestation efforts, creating green spaces in urban and suburban communities, and building sustainable food systems. We are currently seeking fiscal sponsorship and donations to shift towards a foundation.
OUR MISSION
Redefining the Way We Address Climate Change
At Growing Together, we are committed to addressing the urgent global issue of climate change. We believe that by reforesting degraded lands, creating green spaces in cities and suburbs, and building sustainable food systems, we can make a significant impact on the health of our planet and the well-being of its inhabitants. Our team is dedicated to working with communities to create a sustainable future for all.
Our Journey So Far
About the Founder
My journey began living in New York City and Astoria during the 70's and 80's where the cloud was smoggy, trees and animals were scare (except for Central Park), trash was casually tossed onto the street, and beaches from Coney Island to Atlantic City had dirty needles. One of the landlords I lived with had a vegetable garden out back. Angela became to a grandmother to me and taught me how to snap the ends off green beans and make spanakopita. Adults began to recycle cans back then, mostly for the few coins you would get from the machine. While that was also my motivation at the beginning (it helped fund my candy addiction), it eventually became a habit where a can on the street should have been recycled. I became obsessed with resource depletion and trash levels that I learned in school. The first books I purchased with my own money as a pre-teen were about how to shop environmentally, about environmentalism, and DIY natural face care. By the time I was 16, I was a vegetarian. When I was 18, I dressed up like a fish for an Earth Day parade in the city and from there, I was committed to a life of environmental service.
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In my adult years, I started the Mechanicsburg Earth Day Festival, created a children's educational vegetable garden at a community library, traveled the world learning about foods, culture, and how communities are addressing climate change. I have volunteered and interned at NGO's in Indonesia (Alam Sehat Lestari - Research Intern, Borneo Organutan Survival Foundation - volunteer), trekked the rainforest with International Animal Rescue and ASRI, and seen the consequences of deforestation and the benefits of reforestation. Moreover, I have seen what commitment, dedication, fortitude, team work, and persistence means by those climate action movers and shakers. I aspire to be like them.
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I received my B.A. in Art History (minor in anthropology) from Arizona State University. I am a current graduate student at Arizona State University studying for my M.S. in Global Health with a concentration on the intersection of food/health/climate change (graduation December 2023) and M.S. in Sustainable Food Systems. I work as a Graduate Student Assistant on a USDA AMS funded project evaluating Farmers Market management organizations under Dr. Andrea Rissing and as a Children's Programmer at an area library where I am known as Miss Susan offering Storytime to children and facilitate STEM programs (which include sustainability programs).
