Month: September 2025

creativity

Head, Heart, and Hands: The Great Triumvirate of Change

Christa Avampato
Image created by Christa Avampato.

I just attended Dr. Katharine Hayhoe’s Climate Week NYC talk at the American Museum of Natural History, and it was the most empowering climate message I’ve ever heard. It reframes the entire discussion around three simple ideas: Head, Heart, and Hands.

A research-backed truth: Dr. Hayhoe shared that most people in this country and in the world (~60% on both counts) are worried about climate change. We, the worried, don’t need more doom and damning data to get us concerned because we’re already there.

The challenge: Even though we’re worried, we aren’t taking enough action to alleviate our worry because we don’t know what to do about it.

The solution: Sync up our head, heart, and hands – what I’m calling the great triumvirate of change – and sync with others.

Well, that’s all well and good, but how do we do that? Dr. Hayhoe’s advice: Get clear about what we care about, how climate change will impact what we care about, find others who care about what we care about, and start talking!

Here’s our action plan:

Head: Define Your Why. Clearly identify exactly why you’re worried. Finish this sentence: “I care about climate because I care about…” How is your personal well-being, favorite place, or dearest value already being affected by climate change? Keep it simple, personal, and jargon-free.

Heart: Connect to Community. Now that you know what you care about, find communities, groups, and individuals who share that passion and are also affected by climate change.

Hands: Turn Conversation into Action. Get in touch with those communities and start talking about your shared worries and values. That act of conversation and connection will lead to meaningful, collaborative action or project to protect what you care about.

Climate change will affect everything everywhere all at once. It is a global issue, and no one will escape it so no matter what you care about, it will be impacted and there are communities of people who care about it, too. Let’s dive into an example from my personal life to see this action plan come to life.

An example:

Head: I’m worried about climate change because I love New York City. Since most of our city is at or near sea level, we will be subject to serious impacts from sea level rise, and we have a lot of issues now with rain flooding the streets and subways – our main modes of transportation. We also have a lot of people living in a small amount of space so there is a lot of pollution that impacts our health and well-being, and often crowds out green space, which is causing more heat, dirtier air, and health issues.

Heart: I love this city, and I do believe we can make it greener, cleaner, and healthier for all beings who live here – people, pets, wildlife, and plants. I want to find other people who also care about nature in NYC.

Hands: I run a live storytelling game show called NYC’s Secrets & Lies all about the secret history of NYC. This month, I decided to make the show all about stories related in nature in NYC and applied to have it become an official Climate Week NYC event. They accepted it (hooray!). I found a terrific venue – a hidden theater inside Port Authority Bus Terminal (a great tie into the transportation issues impacted by climate change here in NYC!) We had a wonderful cast of storytellers who were enthusiastic about the topic and told a wide range of stories. I also invited Josh Otero from the Natural Areas Conservancy to be our special guest to talk about all of the amazing work they do to make NYC greener and healthier. We had a sold-out show with a waitlist of 33 people, and all of the stories talked about interesting aspects of the history of nature in NYC. We had so much fun, and it was a great way to get the message out there! This show gave me a place to put my worries about climate change and turn them into action with others. I’m planning to do more of these shows – stay tuned!  

Our climate anxiety is reaching new heights and as Dr. Hayhoe explained, the way to use that anxiety for good is through stories. Storytelling is about conversations. Every great idea, every meaningful action, every ounce of change – it all begins with a conversation. Get out there, start talking, and see what change you can create with others.

creativity

The Climate Film Festival Storytelling Collective

Christa Avampato

I’m really happy to have joined a new collective created by Climate Film Festival that’s bringing together sustainability professionals with filmmakers to raise the bar on and expand opportunities for climate storytelling. As someone who has one foot in each of these worlds, I’m so excited to be part of this new professional group and to help craft and fund these stories that drive action.

Yesterday I went to the Essex Market coffee hour for our first in-person event and attended an excellent panel about climate documentary making. As someone who studied how to use storytelling to drive more climate investment from family offices, I felt like I was in just the right place at just the right time because financing was a key part of the conversation. I heard a number of filmmakers talk about the challenge of finding financing for their climate films, especially with the current situation in D.C.

What filmmakers need to consider is that private funders don’t want to just fund a movie. They want to fund systemic change, especially when it comes to protecting and restoring the health of the planet. Filmmakers need to show how their films, and the platforms and supports they are building around their films, will get viewers to engage in creating meaningful change. That change needs to be measured and reported on.

Is that asking more from filmmakers? Yes. Is it asking them to be skilled business people, entrepreneurs, and community leaders on top of their filmmaking expertise and beyond the creation of the film? Yes. Isn’t making a movie already a Herculean task? Yes. Is that a challenge? Yes. It’s also today’s funding reality.

You aren’t just making a movie, not anymore. You’re building a movement, and that movement is what’s fundable with a movie being one cornerstone of many.

creativity

15 Years of Love: Remembering Phinny on His Gotcha Day

Christa Avampato
Our first photo together in the parking lot of the shelter. Taken by my mom.

Today would have been Phinny’s 15th Gotcha Day and 16th birthday. 

Do you remember what it was like the very first time you saw your BFF (best furry friend)?

I remember taking the train to Harrison, NY that day to spring him from the shelter like it was yesterday. I remember walking into that dark and dank lobby that smelled like mildew. I remember the very first time I saw him wiggle his little self out into the lobby.

I remember the first time I picked him up and held him. I remember the first time he looked at me with his beautiful marble eyes. It was the only instance in my life of love at first sight. I knew he was for me and I was for him. I found my boy and he found his mom. 

Phineas was adventurous and fun-loving, always up for anything. He was my constant companion, through thick and thin. Loyal to a fault. Curious, funny, and playful. As long as he was with me, he was happy. It didn’t matter where we were or what he was doing. He just wanted to be along for the ride.

He taught me how to be brave and how to trust myself and others. After all the difficulties he faced during the first year of his life, he still left his heart wide open for the possibility of a new chapter. When I find myself facing difficulties, I embrace my inner Phinny. I try to be as brave as he always was.

Happy birthday and happy Gotcha Day over the rainbow bridge, Phinny. Though you’re no longer here physically, I feel your spirit with me everywhere I go and in everything I do. Together forever, buddy. 

creativity

Remembering Robert Redford, an expert storyteller and nature ally

Christa Avampato
Robert Redford. From https://www.livingwithwolves.org/about/robert-redford/

I was saddened to hear about the passing of Robert Redford this morning. When I was an undergrad at the University of Pennsylvania, he came to campus to explore a film and storytelling partnership between the university, the West Philadelphia community, and his Sundance Institute. I remember seeing him from a distance and immediately noticing that there was a light about him, a kind of magical aura that emanated from his smile and ease of being. 

In addition to championing filmmaking and storytelling, he was also incredibly passionate about the environment. He was a lifelong advocate for nature, beginning his activism in the 1970s by using his celebrity to promote causes like protecting air and water, and later founding the Redford Center to use storytelling to expand environmentalism. He spoke at the United Nations about climate change, was recognized by TIME magazine as a “Hero of the Environment” in 2007, and served for decades on the board of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The NRDC’s Southern California headquarters in Santa Monica is named The Robert Redford Building to honor his long-standing support for the organization as a board member and environmental activist.

While we remember his outstanding career as an actor, director, writer, and producer, I’ll continue to hold him up as an example of someone who knew early on that storytelling was the key to protecting our planet and used his talents to further that mission. May we all carry forward his remarkable and beautiful legacy. 

creativity

September 5th was my 16th Alive Day

Christa Avampato

Friday, September 5th, was my Alive Day – many years ago on that day I ran out of a burning building to save my life. I’ve written about that event many times, here, here, and here for example.

It was a wild ride to recover from that and from past traumas that had piled up. It prepared me for everything that came after: becoming a novelist, the pandemic, cancer, and helping my soul dog, Phineas, cross the rainbow bridge when it was his time. Now with all this perspective, what was once one of the worst days of my life became a turning point that changed my life in ways I never imagined were possible. Yes, that fire took almost everything from me. It also gave me everything I needed.

A special thanks always to Brian McCormack who helped me embrace my darkness and my light in equal measure by walking the path to wellness with me every step of the way. I’m forever grateful to be here, to be well, and to be whole.

creativity

My new foster dog, Fifi

Christa Avampato

Meet Fifi, the calmest, sweetest girl you could ever ask for. She’s my 9th foster and came to us through the ASPCA here in NYC. I had planned to take a bit more time between fosters because work is busy. Then I saw Fifi’s frosted face and I couldn’t resist.

A police case, Fifi has had a difficult past. This time she was found abandoned in an empty apartment with another dog when her family moved and left her behind. That’s all in her rearview mirror now and we’ll make sure she finds a loving forever home.

Fifi has settled right into my home with no adjustment issues. She’s eating healthy food, enjoying slow strolls around my tree-lined neighborhood, and loving lots of pets and hugs, toys, and soft cozy doggie beds. She’s housetrained, loves people and dogs, is quiet at home and while on walks, and sleeps through the night. Nothing phases her. In addition to her gentle, laid-back personality, she still has some slow senior zoomies and playfulness in her!

What an honor to see a dog take a deep breath and relax knowing she’s safe and loved in my home. Only happy days from now on, Fifi.

If you’d like to meet her, she’ll be at the Muddy Paws adoption event at Pier 57 on Sunday, September 7th in the morning. Come on by at 11am and say hi!

creativity

From Black Gold to Golden Opportunity: A Kentucky Coal Mine’s Bright New Future

Christa Avampato
Martin County Solar Project, Kentucky. https://www.martincountysolarproject.com/

One of my great joys is to uncover stories about abandoned places sustainably retrofitted to get a new lease on life. This transformation made my heart sing: a former coal mine in Kentucky, once a symbol of industrial might and negative environmental impacts, is now gleaming with thousands of solar panels, powering a cleaner tomorrow. It offers a powerful beacon of hope for a sustainable future.

For generations, communities in places like Martin County, Kentucky, built their lives around coal. It was the “black gold” that fueled homes and industries across the nation while also degrading the land and human health. As the energy landscape shifted, so did these communities, often leaving behind economic hardship and vast, altered landscapes stripped bare of the nature they once harbored. The Martiki coal mine, closed in the 1990s, stood as a stark reminder of this past complicated, painful past.

A Phoenix Rising: The Martin County Solar Project

Today, that same landscape is being reborn. The Martin County Solar Project (MCSP) is transforming 900 acres of reclaimed mine land into a massive 111-megawatt solar farm. Picture this: over 214,000 bifacial solar panels, designed to capture sunlight from both sides, now stretch across the terrain where heavy machinery once toiled.

The Martin County Solar Project’s website shares that it began commercial operation in December 2024. It will generate enough quiet, clean renewable energy each year to power approximately 18,529 Kentucky homes.

This isn’t just about replacing one energy source with another; it’s about intelligent, hopeful repurposing. The beauty of this project lies not only in its clean energy output but also in its clever use of existing infrastructure. The former mine site, already flattened and with clear access to sunlight, still retained its transmission lines and substations. This meant less new construction, lower costs, and a faster path to bringing clean energy onto the grid—a truly smart way to leverage the past for the future.

Beyond Energy: A Boost for the Community

The benefits extend far beyond power generation. This project is a successful example of how the transition to a green economy can revitalize communities. The MCSP created hundreds of good-paying construction jobs, bringing much-needed employment to a region that had experienced significant job losses as coal production declined. Looking ahead, the solar farm will provide ongoing maintenance jobs and generate stable tax revenue for Martin County, helping to diversify its economy and build a more resilient future.

Major corporations are taking notice, too. Toyota Motor North America, for instance, has committed to purchasing 100 MW of the solar energy generated through a long-term agreement. This partnership highlights how businesses are increasingly seeking out sustainable energy solutions, not just for environmental reasons, but for economic stability and to meet their own ambitious climate goals.

The Martin County Solar Project is more than just a power plant; it’s a testament to human ingenuity and our ability to adapt and innovate while reconciling with a difficult past. It’s a story of turning a painful environmental legacy into a vibrant, job-creating clean energy future. It shows us that even the most challenging landscapes can be repurposed for the good of both people and the planet. It’s an inspiring vision of what’s possible when we embrace sustainable solutions, proving that a green future is also a prosperous future.

creativity

Hadestown is effective climate storytelling at its finest

Christa Avampato

I finally went to see Hadestown on Broadway. I know, I know. What took me so long?! After seeing it, I truly have no idea because it’s a transformative theater experience. A huge thank you to my dear friend, Dan Fortune, for taking me.

This was a very special performance because all 5 of the leads are brand new to the show. Music legend Kurt Elling, Jack Wolfe, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Morgan Dudley, and Paulo Szot knocked it out of the park, and the audience literally shouted with delight.

Yes, it’s all the things you’ve heard. It’s beautiful in every way, heart-filled, and filled with fascinating twists and turns woven between mythology and present day.

It’s also an incredibly effective climate story – the call to protect nature to reverse the harmful impacts of climate change on the food supply, mental and physical health, politics, and the economy.

It’s an immigration story, a migration story, a working class story about the power of generosity, community, and our own voices to lead change, to create a world where all beings are happy, healthy, and free. It’s a story of hope found in difficult, dark times and turning that hope into empowerment that leads to action. And art, specifically music, as a lever for all of that change.

Reminiscent of the call and response of spirituals with the essence of New Orleans, it’s a show that is of-the-moment even though it’s been on Broadway since 2019. Go see it. Cheer, clap, sing, get swept up in the beauty. And then carry all of it out into our world that is crying out for change. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.