Christa Avampato

Write every day: Reimagining Brooklyn Bridge

Cast your vote for Brooklyn Bridge Forest by July 30th for the Reimagining Brooklyn Bridge Challenge: https://www.vanalen.org/projects/reimagining-brooklyn-bridge/

This is exactly the type of sustainable urban development work I’m so passionate about studying & bringing to life in New York.

The “Brooklyn Bridge Forest,” uses sustainably harvested wood to benefit local communities in Guatemala while safeguarding 200,000 acres of rainforest, and is a finalist in a competition to Reimagine the Brooklyn Bridge.

The competition, held by the NYC Council and the Van Alen Institute, calls for rethinking the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, improving walkways on the bridge that are often crowded with bicyclists and pedestrians. As made even more clear by recent events, our streets and shared spaces must foster equitable, accessible, and sustainable transportation options, creating a healthy and safe environment for all New Yorkers.

In response to this call, the Brooklyn Bridge Forest project reimagines the bridge as an icon of climate action and social equity, improving mobility while respecting the landmark structure. The historic wooden walkway is expanded using planks of FSC-certified wood sustainably sourced from the Uaxactun community in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve that protects a 200,000-acre rainforest. A dedicated bike path and reclaimed traffic lane create new space for cyclists and low-carbon transit, while biodiverse “microforests” at either end of the bridge bring nature to New York City and serve as green spaces for underserved communities.

The Brooklyn Bridge Forest project will also help NYC meet its commitment to an “80×50” plan, to cut its emissions by 80% by 2050, an ambitious goal that will require very creative and far-reaching strategies.

Said Jeremy Radachowsky, WCS Mesoamerica Regional Director: “The Brooklyn Bridge Forest not only reimagines the Brooklyn Bridge; it reimagines humanity’s relationship with nature and our global climate, using the Brooklyn Bridge to lead us there.”

The project is a collaborative effort between the Wild Life Conservation Society (operators of NYC’s zoos and aquarium) Pilot Projects Design Collective LLC, Cities4Forests, Grimshaw Architects, and Silman DPC.

Write every day: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks truth to power

This is a stunning 10-minute speech filled with courage in which Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stands up for all women everywhere who have been disrespected again and again just for being women. The behavior she calls out is too common, and deemed acceptable by far too many people. Please watch.

Write every day: Change by Design—Remembering C.T. Vivian and John Lewis

Today Civil Rights leader C.T. Vivian will be laid to rest. The minister of the movement, he passed just hours before John Lewis, albeit having lived 15 years longer. For over 60 years, the two of them fought side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder, in the same direction toward equality.

The example of their lives is a blueprint for us now in this great moment of change. This Civil Rights Movement was strategically and meticulously planned with an end goal and the steps to get there. The leaders and activists were committed, not just for a day or a month or a year, but for a lifetime. Rosa Parks didn’t just decide in the moment to sit down on a bus. Rosa Parks was trained in resistance. She had picked, planned, and was prepared for that moment, and a lifetime of backlash for it. The Montgomery Bus Boycott didn’t just happen because of her courageous action. They studied their opponent. They had a goal, and were dedicated and determined to reach it.

This is true for the Civil Rights Movement. It’s also true for suffrage and for social changes like reforms in the mental healthcare system driven by people such as Nellie Bly. They were purposeful and plotted step-by-step. Systemic change needs a plan. It takes unwavering commitment on many fronts by many people. Do we have the commitment for it?

None of these movements were perfect. Not by a long shot. The Civil Rights Movement often marginalized women; Rosa Parks was one of the few people in the room when that planning was happening and she was given the role of secretary because that was women’s work. Suffrage marginalized women of color to a terrible degree. In recent years, this has been written about more often but not enough. Even John Lewis’s speech at the March on Washington was changed at the last minute, not because he wanted to change it but because the other senior leaders of the March asked him to change it for fear that the anger in his words would upset President Kennedy and decrease their chances of success. Congressman Lewis wouldn’t publicly discuss these changes and his feelings about it until many years later. You can read the initial draft and the final, and hear him discuss his feelings about it, at this link.

History will often wash over the details of these movements. I’m not sure why. Maybe because in the details we lose a bit of the romance, serendipity, and drama of it all. Or maybe it’s because we don’t have the patience to really study and understand them. Their lessons take resolve to learn, embody, and put into practice.

Lasting change is difficult, painfully and sadly slow at a times, and expensive in terms of time, energy, and real dollars. We can best honor and continue the bravery and thoughtful actions of our elders now by wrestling with and answering the difficult questions before us:

Who and what needs to change? How and at what cost? And who pays? Do we have the lifetime commitment for it? Do we have the resolve and decisiveness that C.T. Vivian, John Lewis, and so many others had? Are we willing to come together and collaborate rather than divide our energies and efforts? Will we embrace one another and lift up each other in this work?

Because without that, nothing and no one changes. Systemic change takes systemic solutions, and it needs many hands, hearts, and minds. Change doesn’t happen by accident; it’s made by design. We must now be those designers as the torch passes to us. What will we do with it?

Write every day: Another draft of my second Emerson Page novel is complete and ready for querying

I spent the morning finishing another edit of the first four chapters of my second Emerson Page novel. Some writers love writing a first draft. Me? I love the editing—the molding, shaping, and crafting of a whole world I created out of my imagination.

Write every day: Imperfect Foods

One of my big goals this year is to commit to a plant-based diet—better for my health and the planet. I’m also passionate about fighting food waste and promoting justice and equity. This is why I’m so happy to be a customer of Imperfect Foods. This is a post about all the reasons I love them. I’m not being paid by them to write this. I just wanted to share it with all of you. I do have a friends and family link that you’re welcome to use if you’d like. To give Imperfect Foods a try, use this link to get $10 off your first box: http://imprfct.us/v/christa_580.

They mitigate food waste with their own line of products and rescue food from producers who would otherwise toss it into a landfill.

40% of food in the U.S. goes uneaten even though 1:5 people experience hunger on a daily basis. $218B in food is thrown away every year. 21% of our water is used to produce uneaten food.

Their prices are better than my grocery store.

They have a huge variety of products including fruits, veggies, baked goods, snacks, dairy, and meat and meat-alternatives. You can completely customize everything in your box each time so you don’t end up with anything you don’t want & skip a shipment if you don’t need it.

They’re committed to food & social justice. They walk the walk with their money, time, and efforts.

Even though people can’t use SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits to buy Imperfect, the company gives a 30% discount to anyone receiving SNAP.

Their podcast, Unwasted, is fantastic with a wide variety of topics related to food including climate change, food justice, and community gardening. Their social handles are also fun and informative.

Their drivers keep you up-to-date on your delivery status and they’re awesome people.

You have a 48 hour period to shop for the coming week’s delivery, and their online experience is easy and fun.

Everything I’ve gotten is delicious and I’m now using them for almost all of my groceries. It’s making me a more creative cook and eater.

Their beautiful new website, The Whole Carrot, is loaded with recipes, food tips, & everything you’d ever want to know about Imperfect Foods.

Their packaging is made of recycled content and it’s either recyclable, compostable, reusable, or returnable.

Write every day: It’s okay to walk away

I don’t know who needs to hear this but it’s 100% okay to explore an opportunity, decide it’s not the best use of your time & talents, & walk away. You’re a marvelous, gifted person & deserve to have a life you love. Just putting the truth out there in case you need a reminder.

Write every day: My short film, Beyond Plastic, is a semi-finalist in a film festival

My film Beyond Plastic, a science documentary short I created in my biomimicry graduate program at Arizona State about plastic pollution, is a semifinalist in the Vienna Science Film Festival! It’s the first of a series of science communication shorts I’m making.

Write every day: Mannahatta

I dream of a New York City that is beautifully integrated with nature—clean, green, healthy, and sustainable for all beings who call it home.

It’s going to take a while but I think we can get there. And I’m committed to doing what I can to make that dream a reality.

Write every day: The wonder of flatworms

The flatworm is my spirit animal. These badass animals won’t be stopped. Cut them in 1/2, they become 2 worms. Split their head, they grow 2 heads. Lose an eye, they grow a new one. Stick an eye on a flatworm that lacks eyes, the eye becomes fully functional.

Pieces of flatworms that are one-279th become whole flatworms again. They overcome every obstacle put in their way and become even better for it, again and again and again. You can’t beat ’em. They clap back. That level of resilience is my goal.

Read more about these wondrous animals at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/science/flatworms-eyes-regeneration.html

Write every day: Why I’m grateful for Tax Day today

Today’s Tax Day. Because I work for myself, today I had to pay my Q1 & Q2 2020 estimated taxes. And I’m grateful for it. It may sound strange to think of paying taxes as something to be grateful for. But I am. Grateful that I do the work I do, especially now, and because that money funds so many programs that help others. I used to be one of the people it helps. Now, I’m able to give back. And that is no small accomplishment.