creativity

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.

 

creativity

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.

creativity

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.

creativity

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.

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creativity

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

creativity

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.

creativity

Write every day: After the rains came the fungi

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.

creativity

Write every day: Rebuilding Paradise documentary film

Screen Shot 2020-07-12 at 9.25.56 PMFire 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

 

creativity

Write every day: New York City’s good news

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/

creativity

Write every day: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Me with Braiding Sweetgrass

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.