About

I am transitioning to an as-close-as-I-can-get-to-zero-waste lifestyle at home, at work, at play, and on the road. Other no-waste blogs I've encountered offer invaluable tips and insights, but their authors are usually already based in the greenest of cities, established pioneers on the sustainability front... places where you can get refills of bulk hair care and even enroll in curbside composting programs!

I'm a little different. I live in Richmond, where that stuff is as close to reality as Fern Gully. I love my city; it's the lively, creative, and diverse capital of Virginia, but it has surely lost touch with its earthly origins. Other than farmers' markets, there are some high-end merchants making progress in the local green arena, but doing 100% of my shopping with them would burn an enormous hole in my wallet.

And since I'm young and nowhere near rich, this is an important consideration. Oh, and did I mention that I live in a second-story apartment? So, this blog is also about my journey to self-sufficiency in a small urban space and my search for lost wisdom, free from fine print and packaging.

You'll find posts about the synthesis of sustainability, creativity, and culture, within and beyond my city. I mostly reach out to other wild and on-the-go cheapskates, but if this doesn't describe you, fear not, you might still get a laugh out of my adventures.


A little about little old me...

I am a primate who eats, sleeps, loves and fears... a penny-pinching worker/adventurer/traveler/performer. I grew up on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay and its rivers (if I'm landlocked for too long, my gills dry up). I have a BS in Geographic Science; the best thing college gave me was the opportunity to study indigenous permaculture methods in Costa Rica.

As an intern with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, I conduct weekend storm water audits for the RiverWise program, analyzing properties’ contributions to runoff and recommending best management practices while educating homeowners about how communities cumulatively affect water quality. I also write about local environmental issues. During the week, I work as a GIS analyst. Eventually, I want to apply these skills to mapping the impacts of climate change on tropical ecosystems... or track endangered species' populations... oh, I just don't know what I want to be when I grow up yet, OK?!

You'll usually find me outside; I especially love scuba diving, surfing, camping, and backpacking. Since I'm passionate about nurturing environmental and bodily health, I cook with fresh, local, and mostly vegan ingredients. I'm obsessed with movement arts and perform as a hoop dancer with Richmond's Dogtown Hoop Mafia.