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.
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.
Write every day: Rebuilding Paradise documentary film
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.
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/
Write every day: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
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.
Write every day: Bringing NYC back to life
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.
Write every day: My feature on biomimicry is in The Henry Ford Magazine
I’m so excited to share that the feature I wrote about biomimicry, Making Mother Nature Our Muse, has been published in The Henry Ford Magazine‘s latest issue which is all about sustainable design.
The Henry Ford is an innovation museum in Detroit, Michigan, that I’ve admired for years. I’m so pleased to be able to speak to their members through this piece.
Big hat tip to Lex Amore at the Biomimicry Institute, Jennifer LaForce, the wonderful editor of the magazine, and James Round for his beautiful illustrations.
You can find my stand alone feature here: Making Mother Nature Our Muse by Christa Avampato
The whole issue is fantastic and is available for free online here: The Henry Ford Magazine—June-Dec 2020
Write every day: 9/11 art grows hope from tragedy
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.
Write every day: I rode the NYC subway for the first time in 3 months
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!
Write every day: 30 Days of Reconnection with the Biomimicry Institute
When COVID-19 started to spread across the U.S. in March, the Biomimicry Institute started 30 Days of Reconnection to help people stay connected to one another by reconnecting through nature. Each day they sent an email with a nature topic, resources to learn more, and a prompt. Then they asked people to reflect on the prompt with something creative and share the reflections on Twitter and / or Instagram with the hashtag #30DaysOfReconnection. https://biomimicry.org/30days/
I was finishing my Biomimicry graduate program in March and April so I didn’t have time to participate then but I do have some time now. Luckily, the 30 days of prompts are all available on the Biomimicry Institute website. I started yesterday and will be doing a prompt each day for the next 30 days with the lens of building back better after COVID and to create equity and justice in our society.
I’ll post my creations each day. If you’d like, please join me and share your creations with me. I’d love to see and hear them! Here’s my Day 1:
Day 1 was about the topic of regeneration. I created a word map about what regeneration means to me and drew a sketch of the Eurasian Wolf. When wolves return to an ecosystem, their presence is a sign that we’ve turned the corner from regeneration to restoration. I also included what I think is my superpower: an endless supply of joy and curiosity that keeps me strong, hopeful, and active even in tough times like the times we’re facing now.
Destruction and ruin are often heartbreaking to witness. Destruction is now visible in every corner of our country. Some of that destruction is causing intense pain and suffering among people who were suffering even before the pandemic—job losses, hunger, and intense fear about our democracy and the future. Some of that destruction is tearing down structures that have grown brittle with efficiency—our food supply chain, education system, healthcare, and housing to name just a few. It all hurts.
The only hope I can find in all of this wreckage is that through regeneration we have the opportunity to build back better, with more justice, more equity, and for better mental, physical, emotional, and economic health. I’m committed to that process, and that commitment is what’s getting me through the pain, fear, sadness, and uncertainty I have faith in our will to collectively choose to create a braver, brighter future for all us.
Christa Avampato 