Christa Avampato

After heavy rains, I’m reminded of the life that thrives below ground, teeming, waiting for its time to rise into our view. I snapped photos of these fantastic fungi this morning while walking my dog, Phineas.

Fungi are the OG internet, a.k,a. the Mycelial Network and Wood Wide Web. Mycelium have millions of tiny threads below ground that connect all the trees and plants in an area to one another. This network transports water and nutrients such as nitrogen, carbon, potassium, and phosphorus for the fungi, trees, and plants.

The Mycelial Network also builds the immunity of plants and trees, and serves as a communication network to allow plants and trees to “talk” to one another. It’s one of the most incredible parts of our natural world.

Fire as a chemical process permanently transforms everything it touches—people, wildlife of every kind, land, water, and spirit. Bravo to the people of Paradise, California, Ron Howard, Sara Bernstein, and National Geographic Docs on the premiere of the stunning documentary, Rebuilding Paradise about the wildfire that ravaged the town last year.

I feel so fortunate that I was able to attend the online event. The film makes a powerful case for sustainable resilient development and climate change mitigation while telling a very human story. For more information, please visit the film’s website RebuildingParadise.Film. 

 

If you need some good news about COVID in your timeline, here it is: for the first time since the pandemic began, NYC has had no deaths from COVID in the past 24 hours. The turnaround in New York City’s numbers has been a massive community effort and I’m so proud of how we pulled together to take care of each other. I love you, New Yorkers! Please keep wearing your masks.

Here’s a news story about New York City’s numbers and our recovery: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/new-york-city-without-coronavirus-deaths-for-first-time-since-start-of-pandemic/2511864/

Have you ever loved a book so much you hug it and you’re sad that it’s over? That’s how I feel about Braiding Sweetgrass by Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer. Luckily, I got to hear Dr. Kimmerer talk to Alie Ward today on the Ologies podcast. So many smiles. https://www.alieward.com/ologies/bryology

I started reading this book during the darkest days of COVID here in NYC. The book became a friend. I would read a few pages in the morning and a few at night to find hope, courage, and wonder in the natural world.

Thank you, Dr. Kimmerer and Alie for this beautiful episode! Now I’m taking my loupe out for a walk to look at the micro-forest in moss.

How do we regenerate NYC as a healthy, clean, joyful, equitable, beautiful, loving city for ALL with the best education, healthcare, & opportunity? What if that’s not a pipe dream but the goal? How would the NYC budget need to change to support that? I’m dedicated to answering these questions as I write the research proposal for my PhD application in Sustainable Urban Development.

Around the 9/11 Memorial in the Financial District of NYC, brightly-colored street art in the pop art style is surprising and joyful. I went there this weekend during my first trip out of my uptown neighborhood in 3 months. The colors are so electric and unexpected on a sunny day that the whole scene looks like an Edward Hopper painting.

It’s usually a very busy area of the city. On Sunday, I saw less than 10 people in these few blocks.

I worked in a building next to the 9/11 site for 4 years while it was under construction. To see it now, so different and vibrant, fills me with hope.

We can rebuild from tragedy. There are seeds in the wreckage. It takes a lot of work over a very long period of time, and it can be done. We’ve seen it. We’ve done it before and we’ll do it again.

This weekend marked 3 months since I’ve left my neighborhood. Now that NYC’s infection rate is low and we know a bit more about how to protect ourselves against COVID, Phin and I rode the subway down to Battery Park City. We walked through the Financial District, Canal Street, and SoHo. I took a ton of pictures to share with you this week.

First up: the subway transformation!

The subways are empty. Not just less crowded. Empty. In some cases, I was the only person in the subway car. They’re so clean I can see my reflection in the surfaces. And that famous subway smell? Gone.

The signage is clear and everywhere. Wear a mask, stay 6 feet away from others, and use hand sanitizer.

Thank you to @weratedogs for the hat & @comscicon for the mask!

The solidarity in the Black Lives Matter protests gives me hope. Though COVID-19 has moved to the background in the past two weeks, I’m still thinking about it. Here are my thoughts about it:

– WEAR A MASK. They work. Remember that Black and Latinx communities have been disproportionately affected by COVID with infection rates as high as 40% and very high unemployment. Please wear a mask to protect others and yourself, especially since social distancing at protests is difficult.

– GET TESTED if you’ve gone to a protest. This data will be a very important part of how reopening may shift. And if that test is positive, please don’t go to future protests even if you don’t feel sick. You don’t want to get other protesters, friends, and family members sick and hurt the efforts. There are lots of ways to support Black Live Matters right from home—talk to your friends and family about racism, educate yourself on racism, donate to causes, and virtually volunteer.

– COVID SPIKES. Yesterday we saw the largest protests yet so in terms of COVID spikes the day to watch for is 2 weeks from now. Have spikes happened by then and where? I hope the national and local media cover this.

– PROTEST ORGANIZING TIP. I went to a relatively small vigil yesterday and distance was tough to maintain. I had to move across the street to get more space, which wasn’t ideal due to rain and an audio system that wasn’t great. Protest organizers need to be mindful of space. Get the street or space blocked for the time of your event so people can attend and feel safe.

More to come…