Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Spring has officially sprung and that means the work of Gansvoort native Kelsey Trudell and her team at sustainable Saratoga are in full swing. The organization celebrated with numerous events kicking off on April's Earth Day to promoting the work of tiny pollinators during no Mole May to a Black Friday Door Buster type of atmosphere. On May 31 for the annual Pollinator Palooza plant sale and Oginley's Country Gardens, she sat down in the Daily Gazette podcast studio, talk about her work, the organization's cause, along with their extensive travels with her husband Ben, and why they even created their own YouTube channel. She talked about the organization's goals. What's up next? After a well deserved break, including a probable bucket list destination, along with what you and I can do to help the environment that we all share, I welcome Kelsey Trudell to the podcast studio to tell her story.
So thanks for coming in.
[00:01:05] Speaker B: Yes, thank you for having me.
[00:01:08] Speaker A: So we've seen each other and I know you were on kind of my list because. Oh yeah, we've got a new executive director and you've got to meet her. She's really great. I'm like, okay. And here we go, a year and a half later, right?
[00:01:21] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:01:23] Speaker A: And we get together.
So welcome to the podcast.
[00:01:26] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:01:28] Speaker A: And Kelsey, I'm going to say Trudell, Correct. Okay.
[00:01:32] Speaker B: Yes. Normally I get Trudeau or some version of Trudeau.
[00:01:36] Speaker A: Four tries to like, do I get this right on the first rip?
[00:01:40] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:01:42] Speaker A: So Gansvoort native.
[00:01:44] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:01:46] Speaker A: Went to South High.
[00:01:47] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:01:47] Speaker A: South Glens Falls for those of you who are not in sports.
[00:01:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:01:51] Speaker A: Then went to the Oneonta State University.
[00:01:54] Speaker B: Oneonta. Yes.
[00:01:57] Speaker A: Arizona.
[00:01:59] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:02:00] Speaker A: So tell me about Kelsey and just tell me what takes you from a kid in Gansvoort in Saratoga county and a South High grad.
[00:02:06] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:02:07] Speaker A: And to Oiana, which makes sense because you're in that three hour.
[00:02:12] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:02:12] Speaker A: I'm away from mom and dad, but I'm not to then Arizona.
[00:02:16] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. That was quite a move, for sure. So, yeah, I'll backtrack to growing up Southlands Falls.
My parents were very into getting us out in nature. We did a lot of camping, boating, hiking growing up. So I think I always had an appreciation for nature and the environment and I love being outside.
But it wasn't until my junior year I was in a biology class and our teacher in high school showed us a documentary about ocean pollution, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. And that's what kind of sparked my interest in environmental science being a career path for Me.
So kind of from that class on, I decided that that's what I wanted to pursue.
Graduated high school in 2013 and then went to SUNY Oneonta for environmental science. Ended up doing a bachelor's degree in that and a minor in geology as well. So rocks kind of rocks and fossils kind of piqued my interest during that time.
And yeah, I thought, you know, I was going to go into maybe environmental education.
My mom's a teacher. I had a lot of teachers in the family, so that's kind of the world I knew. I knew I didn't want to be in a classroom space though. But I knew I liked to teach, I liked to work with kids. So out of college I interned with the Lake George association doing invasive species education outreach. I actually got to teach the floating classroom program, which was really fun, and their stream ecology programs. So that was really great.
When that ended, I ended up getting a job at UL Underwriters Laboratory down in Latham. Worked there for six months. That was very opposite of what I was used to. It was a desk job, typical sort of 9 to 5 schedule. I was in the office.
I worked there for six months. I loved my manager and my team, but I said, you know, I went into environmental science because I want to be outside. That's, you know, the world I want to be in. That's kind of the field of work I enjoyed. I tested out. The desk job wasn't for me. So I left shortly after my husband, who was working at GlobalFoundries, had an opportunity to transfer to Phoenix, Arizona. So I was already at this point where I wasn't sure what was next for me, work wise.
We had always lived in this area, so we both went to South Glens Falls. We were in Saratoga Springs at the time. And we said, you know, this is the opportunity to go and live and try something new.
And I was always very intrigued by the western part. The us going to the Grand Canyon was on my bucket list, you know, but no plans were set. And so it felt like this opportunity fell into our laps. He was transferred for work.
I moved with him. We got an apartment in Phoenix.
We were there in the end of spring, so we kind of were eased into the Phoenix heat, I would say. But that first summer was quite an eye opening experience.
I actually ended up volunteering with a startup nonprofit out there called the Arizona Sustainability alliance, working on park cleanups, tree plantings, conservation type projects. So that was more the space I enjoyed. I was kind of back in my element outside working with volunteers and kids and leading programs, getting my hands dirty with tree plantings.
So enjoyed that for the two and a half to three years we were out there. Moved home and bought our house in Wilton. So that's where we're are now. We are now in 2021 and shortly after found the job opening with Sustainable Saratoga for an executive Director.
I was 27 at the time, so I applied for the job thinking, you know, I know I'm qualified for this, but I am young. Some might see that as inexperienced. You know, I felt confident, but I wasn't quite sure.
But it turns out that someone young was exactly what they were looking for. Like a strong young leader to get in, engage some of the younger generations in the work that we do. And so I've been with Sustainable Saratoga ever since, going in my third year now.
[00:06:21] Speaker A: And you came back to the rain?
[00:06:22] Speaker B: Yes. Yeah. So winters have been a kind of a sad time for us. Just, you know, we miss the desert, I'll say that. Yeah. Family is here, friends are here, so it's good to be home. But that sunny weather every day of Phoenix is hard to beat.
[00:06:38] Speaker A: How hot is it?
[00:06:41] Speaker B: Yeah, it really, you know, summer, it doesn't drop below triple digits for those couple months in the deep of summer. So I'd go out to bring the dog out at 10 o' clock at night and it's still over 100 degrees. It just feels like you're in an oven.
[00:06:57] Speaker A: How long did it take you to acclimate? I mean, you come from cloudy usa.
[00:07:02] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:07:02] Speaker A: To the oven.
[00:07:03] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. It was an adjustment for sure.
We came to realize that it's in the winter here we all hibernate. Right. We stay inside in the heat. In the summer there, everybody hibernates in the air conditioning. So it was kind of like getting used to the opposite seasons of like, it's summer, it's beautiful. Why is nobody outside? Why is nobody walking, biking, running these trails? It's because they're all waiting for the winter to get out and do that.
[00:07:30] Speaker A: When. When you come back now, Jehoshman come back for Global or.
[00:07:34] Speaker B: Yes. Yep, yep. So it was a transfer both ways. Transfer out, transfer home, which was really great as well, because it took the pressure off of us. Like we knew we were going to be supported in that movement. Yep.
[00:07:46] Speaker A: Kind of. What was the experience like for you?
So you started with a volunteer with a not for profit out there in Arizona. Yep, kind of. What do you think when you're doing the interview process with Sustainable Saratoga, in a sense, politely.
What do you bring What'd you bring to the table?
[00:08:06] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So, coincidentally, the nonprofit I was working with in Arizona that we call the Azsa Arizona Sustainability alliance, the structure of the organization is almost identical actually to Sustainable Saratoga. We had our five program committees that were led by volunteers that ran the projects and events that we did. And so when I applied with Sustainable, I was looking through the website and I was like, oh, I basically worked for this exact organization. Right. So I think that that helped me a little bit.
I was also able to come into my application process with SUSE having LED programs. I was basically a project leader in Arizona Tree plantings. Again, we do that with Sustainable.
I also had applied for some grant funding, some of which had actually reimbursed me for my volunteer time that I was giving to the organization. So I had leadership experience, I had hands on project management experience. I had maintained a small team of volunteers that led the work that we did. And I also had that grant experience. So I felt strong enough going into my application process that yes, I am sort of at the start of my career, you know, age wise, but I had basically what I felt like done the job already. Right. With this previous organization since it was so similar.
[00:09:44] Speaker A: Where is.
I think we talked about just before we sat down.
You're maybe a week away from taking the big breath.
[00:09:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:53] Speaker A: Because we have April is huge.
[00:09:56] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:09:56] Speaker A: And then we have no Mow May.
[00:09:58] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:09:59] Speaker A: Which I think is the coolest thing. I really do. I mean, I love saying the signs. I love seeing the signs. And then we have Pollinator Palooza, which I like to tell people it's the old school Black Friday door busters of Plant.
[00:10:15] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:10:15] Speaker A: Because I know it says 10 to 2.
I've arrived at 11:15 and it's been slim pick.
[00:10:21] Speaker B: Yes. Yeah.
[00:10:22] Speaker A: So this is kind of like your, in a sense, retail speak, your fourth quarter here in the spring. So what's this spring been about for Sustainable Saratoga? And then how are you? And then kind of like the gracious, you know, finish coming up on Saturday.
[00:10:40] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. So our programming schedule throughout the year, it's pretty cyclical and it's, you know, been maintained this way for a long time. And so we've got spring heavy on events, especially with April Earth Day. We kind of capitalize on that as a theme. People are already thinking in that kind of mindset. And so the more we can be present at that time of year, the better.
And then fall programming as well. So we've got like the sort of catch up time in winter and in Summer when we can take a deep breath, plan for the next round of event season. So, yeah, April, we started right at the beginning of the month with the sustainability fair that we've been co hosting with with Skidmore College now for several years. This year, we actually were in a brand new space on campus. So they have the newly renovated center for Integrated Sciences, and that was a beautiful venue. They have a big atrium, tall glass wall, really nice space. So that was the tabling event again this year. We had great attendance, as expected, as usual, around 35 other businesses and nonprofit organizations working in the sustainability space.
And then we moved into, actually one of our new fundraisers that we tested out, which was a cornhole tournament at the Saratoga Winery. So mid April, we had a fundraiser there, and that went great.
A mix of teams who were inexperienced, just there for fun, and some of the more serious players.
That was a great time. And then at the end of the month, we always have treetoga, which is our annual tree planting event. So that's the Saturday after Arbor Day each year.
This year, we planted 40 more trees in Saratoga. Our total now is 454 trees planted in Saratoga Springs through Tretoga. And that's been 12 years now that we've been hosting that event.
That's a great partnership with the city as well. So we split the cost with the city and are able to offer free trees for residents to be planted in their front yards.
[00:12:47] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:12:48] Speaker B: Yeah. So great win, win event there. So April's always crazy, right? Our staff is spread thin. We're trying to be everywhere, not to mention. Right. Like tabling events, supporting our other nonprofit partners in the area.
And then. And then once, you know, those three events are done, we're looking ahead to Pollinator Palooza and no Mow May. So May is a big time for talking about pollinators.
We're all excited that the weather is getting better. The flowers are coming up.
So we've been running the no momay campaign for, I want to say, three, maybe four years now. And I think everybody in Saratoga Springs, for sure, but the capital region is getting used to seeing our bright yellow yard signs out and about.
They're very flashy. They get your attention. They got the nice bee on them.
So, yeah, we've run that campaign again this year. And we. We've really worked on updating the messaging this year. So less focus on just not mowing from May 1 to May 31, but about all of the things you can do to support native pollinators.
So if not mowing doesn't work for you for one reason or another, especially if you have a yard that's just a monoculture, turf grass lawn. Right. Not much beneficial stuff coming up there if you stop mowing.
But other things you can do, like planting natives, like replacing, you know, pulling out invasive species that you have, replacing those with native plants, mowing less often throughout all times of the year. Right. So just kind of allowing those beneficial wildflowers, especially dandelions, that offer that early spring food for pollinators to come up and stay in the yard.
And then another big push is encouraging homeowners to not use pesticides, herbicides, those chemicals. Right. Because especially if we're planting native plants, we're attracting pollinators to our yard. And then if you're spraying your yard with pesticides, you're essentially leading them to their death, their demise. Yeah.
So, yeah. So I think no momay. It's catchy. It's. It's. You know, people are like, oh, what's this about? It kind of gets your attention, but we're trying to use it as an opportunity to educate about all of the things you can do to support pollinators, not just putting your mower to the side for, you know, those 31 days.
[00:15:07] Speaker A: And then heading into Saturday, how many plants are going to find homes? This is like an option event.
[00:15:15] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. Really?
[00:15:16] Speaker A: How many? How many new home? I mean, it's the greenhouse and outside, and people are there covering it for photos, wagons.
[00:15:27] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:15:28] Speaker A: And it's so nice because these are people that care, and it's family.
So many parents with their kids and the wagon. So, like, the kids got to jump out of the wagon to make room for all these plants.
[00:15:40] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:15:41] Speaker A: How many plants do you think you're gonna go through?
[00:15:43] Speaker B: Yes. So we ordered 1,660 plants. So that's what we ordered.
They were delivered in April. So our sales staff and volunteers have been caring for them since they were delivered to the greenhouse. We order them as plugs or flats, like trays of small plants. And then we have a couple volunteer potting days, which are really fun. We all get together and we repot them in the bigger pots. And then, yeah, daily we've been over there watering, checking on them, making sure they're doing well. So the estimate I've been saying is over 1600 plants. You know, we've had a few. A few losses, unfortunately, as is expected with growing plants in a greenhouse, especially with a lot of the damp, cloudy, cold weather we've been getting. That's not always conducive to plant growth in a greenhouse.
So over 1600 plants that will be for sale and that's 30 plus different varieties of native. So things like, you know, the popular ones that people look for, like purple cone flower, we ordered double of that this year because that's one that, you know, guests will arrive at noon and it's like, where'd this go? I was looking for it. Yeah, yeah, we've had lines starting around 9:30, so about a half an hour ahead of the event, you know, people are there and they've got their list because they've gone to the website ahead of time and they've made a list of what they want and they go in. We get the cardboard trays from Aldi's that like the berries come in. So we got those and they're grabbing their trays and they're loading up the plants, right?
Yeah, it's kind of like funny, like elbow to elbow, like pushing through the greenhouse to get what you want. Especially in the native gardening community.
Right. People are serious, they know what they want, they're there to get it. They're in, they're out. I find that the afternoon is a little bit more leisurely. You can kind of take your time in the greenhouse, pick through what's left. But our hope is that we've ordered more of the popular plants so that we can offer those throughout the whole day as well.
And yeah, there'll be the Illigne family, who is our gracious host. They offer us their property, their greenhouse, their lawn for the event and the months leading up to it. They're going to be selling some of their own plants and shrubs that they've been growing as well. And then we have 11 other tabling vendors. So some of them will be selling plants offering information about native gardening, wildlife, as well as soil testing with Cornell Cooperative Extension. So we're hoping to make this kind of like a one stop shop for all things native gardening with native plants and supporting pollinators.
[00:18:24] Speaker A: Growing up, did you always have the proverbial green thumb?
[00:18:30] Speaker B: You know, I wouldn't say that necessarily and I also wouldn't say I have it now.
I've been encouraged by our volunteers who are really committed to gardening with native plants that, you know, the only difference between someone who doesn't have a green thumb or who is inexperienced gardening and someone who is has a lot of experience is you've just killed more plants the more experience you have. So I find that really encouraging because, yeah, I've been known to kill quite A few houseplants, especially, you know, cactuses. I thought they were supposed to be sort of invincible, but I guess if you don't water a cactus enough, it could die. So.
Yeah, so I've been learning as I go just, you know, the two and a couple months, years that I've been in this job, I've been learning a lot about native plants and trees.
So when we moved into our house, we had a pretty blank slate to work with in the front yard. And I've been slowly growing the garden, adding more trees and shrubs and learning as I go, seeing what does well in different spots in my yard.
I call it sort of chaos gardening, where I'm just like buying native plants, digging a hole in the ground, sticking it in and seeing what happens. Right.
Maybe not the most effective method, but it's what works for me. And I think that's the most important thing, kind of with all areas of sustainability, is just to like, try something and see what works for you. I notice that a lot with like composting and gardening, like, people get intimidated by it because they think, oh, I have to be perfect. I have to do all these things in this exact order. And. And it's like doing nothing because you're scared to start isn't the solution. Right. There's no such thing as a perfect environmentalist. We all, you know, mess up here and there. And so I say just like, try something and see what works for you and learn as you go.
[00:20:22] Speaker A: You mentioned a little bit about composting. I think you, you've got a program that you've got underway with Pitney Meadows.
[00:20:27] Speaker B: Yeah, I would say that's kind of a big ticket item we can sort of talk about today. That's new and exciting.
Yeah. So we just officially launched the program on Saturday.
So this is community composting for Saratoga Springs residents that is funded through the city's participatory budgeting program.
So we were graciously awarded funds to support this first year program.
It's a direct partnership between Sustainable Saratoga and Pitney Meadows. So we have a food scraps drop off bin on the farm and then we'll be composting in these really big vertical drums. So basically what we did was buy a large road culvert and cut it into five sections to create these, like big barrels for composting in.
So yeah, we had our training session on the 24th of May with all of our participants, and they have now compost bins to bring home with them that they can use to collect their food. Scraps and then drop off at the farm as often as they'd like. So we're really excited. This has been kind of a long time coming.
There was some version of this program that started in 2020, and then the pandemic came along and it sort of fell through.
So we're hoping this year that we can really make it something consistent and successful for not only producing compost for the farm to use to grow food, but for offering a free option for Saratoga Springs residents to responsibly, you know, recycle their food scraps into a resource for our community and for our community farm.
Yeah. So it's. It's exciting. Yeah.
[00:22:08] Speaker A: And then we talked about, like, you kind of get a little bit of a breather once we finish off the big sale on Saturday. And then like, do you kind of like, regroup? And like I said, you can switch. You'll go. You start looking at the second season exactly in the fall. So what do we have to look for? Forward to this.
[00:22:26] Speaker B: Yeah. Yes, absolutely. So, yeah, I said this before we started recording, but I'm looking forward to having some downtime to just catch up on my email inbox. That gets crazy this time of year.
Work on some strategic planning as well for the organization. So that's a process that we're in right now of updating our strategic plan for the next five years. So we'll be completing that process through the summer, talking about, you know, not only what our capacity is as an organization, but what do we have to look forward to one to five years from now? What are our goals?
We have three part time staff right now. So this is kind of the biggest our paid team has ever been. And so we've got longer term goals to expand that do more advocacy work. And how can we accomplish that through this strategic plan process. So we'll be working on that.
Yes, we'll be getting ready for fall events. So those big ones this year are Paint Collection day and Recycles Day. So two big events run by our zero waste committee that again, we do every year annual events in the fall. The community knows to expect them. Around this time. I start getting emails from people saying, when's Recycles Day? I got a tv. Right. Like, we're holding onto our stuff waiting for those days. So I know those will be popular again.
Paint day will be at the high school like it was last year. That parking lot worked a lot better for us. And then Recycles day will be at the tried and true location of the SPAC overflow Parking lot. So October for both of those events, we'll be posting Save the Dates soon and then an electric car show. So normally we do an EV show as part of the sustainability fair in spring. We decided to simplify the event this year and luckily we made the right choice because it rained all day, so nobody would have wanted to be in the parking lot anyway.
So our climate and Energy committee is organizing an electric car show with Hudson Valley Community College and their TechSmart campus down in Malta.
So that'll be, you know, the typical car show where we have car owners, EV car owners displaying their vehicles, which is kind of unique. Right. It's not often that if you're shopping for an electric car, you can talk to an owner and their experience. Usually you're going to a dealership and you're hearing from the salesperson.
So really giving people an opportunity to ask questions, they have get over that hurdle of, like, things that might be holding them back from switching to electric.
And then partnering with HVCC and the TechSmart campus gives us an opportunity to showcase what's happening there as well. They are LEED certified buildings, so we can offer tours and have their staff on site to answer questions and bring the community to the campus, which I think doesn't happen often.
Yeah.
Even then is a deep breath. Right. It's like every time I talk about the things we're doing, it's like there's so much and it's all exciting and I think there's this impression that like, wow, you've got this massive team of staff and you've got this and that and all these resources and time and money and it's like, not always. Right.
[00:25:31] Speaker A: We don't need name tags.
[00:25:32] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:33] Speaker A: We know who everybody is.
[00:25:35] Speaker B: Yeah. Right. Like, you come to our events, it's the same faces. You know us, right. We're there to greet you.
It really is great grassroots in the feel and in the way we run still, which I think a lot of people appreciate. And it's. And it's part of what makes sustainable Saratoga so special.
But I am looking forward to these next five years and what we have to look forward to and, and maybe some potential growth and, and new things for us.
[00:26:02] Speaker A: So let's look to the past and then. And then we can fast forward. So when you come on bored three years ago as an Itty Bitty Hope Streams plans, what's been the big win in the first three years? The one, the one thing that you put your, your own stamp on, that you're like Oh, I really wanted to do this.
And it. Let's talk about the win. Yeah, we've got enough of. Okay, yeah, we'll revisit.
But what's been one of the wins?
[00:26:33] Speaker B: Yeah, I would say I mentioned grant writing, grant research, grant funding. I've been really investing my time in new funding sources for the organization. And so we are fully individual donor funded. We don't have much funding coming in from grants as of prior to my starting, and no county, state, no outside money coming in. Right. So our board gives. We have 100% board giving. And then we really rely on our supporters to, you know, fund the work that we do. And so, you know, I came in with these big dreams of, oh, we could do all these projects and new things. Right. But where's the money going to come from? That's. That's a common experience in the nonprofit world of where's the money going to come from? So I've been really investing a lot in supplementing our fundraising and donations that are already coming in with grants. And so applying for those micro grants, you know, a couple thousand dollars here and there to support new projects, to fund training for staff as well, so that we can continue to work on our professional development within our roles.
One of the grants I actually just received, which we're excited about, is from the Saratoga County Capital Resource Corporation, a grant for $2,500 to plant a pollinator garden at Geyser Road Elementary. So. So they have this beautiful outdoor classroom space with an apple orchard. They're building a pergola and cement pad to actually have, like, physical space for students to go out and sit in chairs and benches and things. And we're going to help increase the aesthetic of the garden as well as educational value for them to teach about pollinators and native plants. So that was a great opportunity, right. Where, like, a project comes along. It's not something that's currently in our work plan for the year, but I really want to do it. So how can we figure it out? And so applying for these micro grants and finding ways to fund extra work that we do or extra training opportunities has been really great. And then also, I would say, big win has been growing my team of staff. And so when I came on. Yeah, the big three. Right.
Which depends on who you talk to. Right. Like, some people are like, oh, wow, that's a lot of support. And then other people, not so much, but.
But, yeah, you know, burnout of volunteers is a real concern of mine, especially because we have some great people in the organization who have been around basically since the beginning. So, you know, 2008, when we formed, 2011, when we got our official 501C3 status, and many of our board members or committee volunteers have been around all this time. And so recognizing that people deserve a break every once in a while, especially volunteers who are doing this unpaid.
And so I've been really investing in making sure that we have a team of people who can make sure that the events happen, make sure the programs get done, our goals are met, and also take some pressure off of our volunteers who, you know, as of prior to 2018, when my predecessor was hired, it was the board doing everything and the volunteers doing everything. And so I think just recognizing that in the nonprofit space, there are some things that if you want them to get done and you need them to get done, you need the paid people to support it.
Absolutely. And so increasing funding and growing the team have been my priorities. And I feel like I'm making progress and the wins are there, which is reassuring.
[00:30:17] Speaker A: I've only got two left and be off the hook.
What. When we talk about sustainability and we talk about sustainable Saratoga, we talk about Saratoga home for you for many years.
What can the uninformed, not in tune newbie, the greeny, the green environmentals that's hopefully in all of us that may be unfamiliar, that a lot of, you know, a lot of young parents have kids that, like, it's dawning on them now, and they're really starting to embrace the world and the climate we live in and really taking to heart, like, I need to take care of them as well as take care of, you know, as we say the phrase Mother Earth, what's some of the early steps, the easy steps, the introductory steps to make someone environmentally aware and then also a part of sustainable Saratoga.
[00:31:21] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely.
So I think, especially with families with young kids thinking like, okay, we want to make the world a better place for them, for future generations, I think building their sense of appreciation for the environment, for the natural world, and understanding that humans are a part of nature and not separate from it. Right. I think a lot of times in our daily lives, especially if working in an office, you're commuting home, you're making dinner, going to bed, you're doing the routine again. It's not often that we go out of our way to connect with nature, to get outside, go for a hike, a walk, and just take a moment to have gratitude and appreciation for our natural resources in the world around us. And so I think just step one is get outside, right?
Get in the garden. If you have a garden, encourage your kids to. To get their hands dirty with you.
Go for a walk, check out some trees, right? Even just, like, going and trying to identify plants.
I walk around my yard, even with the Seek app open, and I'm just, like, identifying different trees and plants in my yard and just like, being aware of what's going on in the world around us separate from what humans are contributing to the Earth.
And so I would say that's step one, right? Is just working on that appreciation and that recognition of the value of nature and the environment and why we should care about it. I think for the most part, I think people want to do the right thing when it comes to taking care of the earth and the planet and sustainability.
We just don't all have the knowledge and the experience to make those decisions, right? And especially as a consumer, it can be challenging and overwhelming of like, well, I'm going to the store, but I don't want to buy plastic, but everything's wrapped in plastic, and what do I do? Like, a lot of the pressure is on us as individuals and our carbon footprint and our actions.
And so recognizing not necessarily all the things, all the odds stacked up against us, but the things that we can do, I find hopeful and encouraging to people when they get overwhelmed about the doom and gloom of climate change.
Because, yeah, it can be scary to talk about and think about, especially with kids, but focusing on solutions and ways you can help, rather than all of the problems and scary parts of our projected future of climate change.
And so sustainable Saratoga is here to be a resource, an educational resource.
Even just going to our website, we have a lot of printable resources, like how to compost pamphlets about pollinators, like coloring and activity books for kids, tree identification. So there's, like, activities you can print right from our website. But even just scrolling through all of our different five committee pages, you'll get a lot of resources and education.
So we have information about urban forestry, climate, pollinators, land use, and zero waste. So we try to hit all areas of sustainability as best we can within those five committees. But, yeah, stopping by our website, following us on social media, we're always sharing, you know, educational blogs, information, free workshops, as well as education opportunities. So we'll do a couple backyard composting workshops, totally free to the community. All of our events are, you know, open to anyone to attend. Ask us questions, learn more, get involved.
We have a lot of people who actually who are new to the area, who just moved to Saratoga and they want a way to feel a part of the community. And that's actually how we get a lot of our new volunteers is someone who's new and just, I'm assuming they Google, you know, nonprofit Saratoga Springs and, you know, we come up and it's great. If they already have an interest and they say, you know, I really care about trees, they can immediately sort of get onboarded to our urban forestry committee, help us plan events and future tree plantings and learn through their role as a volunteer as well. So my goal is that, you know, no matter what age, we have a way to interact with people. Whether that's through, you know, sustainable tips for homeowners, for electrification at home, you know, switching away from fossil fuel dependent appliances, vehicles, or whether that's. Yeah. How to compost or you want to plant a tree. Here's our list of trees, native trees we recommend. Same thing, pollinators. Here's our list of, you know, native pollinator friendly plants we recommend. My goal is that we're a resource and a source of education for all things sustainability for any age.
[00:36:18] Speaker A: I got a fun one and then we'll do the hard one. Okay, the fun one.
43 states, three countries. How your travels?
[00:36:27] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. You've seen my bio. Yes. Yeah.
This is something I'd like to talk about.
[00:36:32] Speaker A: Would you have time?
[00:36:33] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. So I think I hit the travel bug, you know, somewhere in my twenties during and after college.
So I went to Guatemala my sophomore year of college on a study abroad trip that was my first time out of the country, two week course.
And I just kind of fell in love with the experience of travel.
You know, we'd done road trips and gone to the beach and gone to Florida. Right. The typical sort of northeast vacations as a kid.
But I didn't feel like I had a ton of experience being exposed to different cultures and like really different geographic locations on the planet. So that was my first big trip that I took. And from that point on I was like, oh, well, now I want to travel all the time.
So when we moved out to Arizona, you know, we didn't know many people there. My husband Ben had made some friends through work. So, you know, we do some social things with work friends. But we were really kind of looking for a way to spend our time, our free time there. So we quickly got a dog and then another dog, which was step one, a dog, adopt two dogs, and then we decided to buy a camper van. So this was kind of like a hopes and dreams. Maybe one day we'll do van life kind of goal that we actually had individually and then talked about it one day and realized we had both been thinking the same thing.
So, yeah, we looked on Craigslist and we found a sprinter van that was for sale in California, so not too far away from where we were in Phoenix.
And the previous owner was a bull rider, so he was taking the camper van to rodeos and sleeping out of it, but had unfortunately gotten injured and could no longer ride. So he was selling the van. So it didn't really take much convincing for us. We saw it, it was in good condition. We drove out there, picked it up, drove it back.
So we fully tore this thing apart and rebuilt the inside conversion ourselves in the parking lot of our apartment complex in Phoenix with like two power tools and a folding table and made it work, we call it. We learned everything through a YouTube university, we say, so just YouTubed, you know, how do we install plumbing, how do we install electrical?
And we really turned this van into a little adventure vehicle, home on wheels. So every free weekend we had when we lived in Arizona, we were road tripping, so we did tons of national parks, you know, California, New Mexico, Texas, Utah. We kind of hit all the stops out there in the southwest.
And then after moving home, we did a couple more road trips, Acadia up in Maine, our honeymoon. We actually went back across the country and did the whole state of California, north to south and came back. So, yeah, that van had a good six years where it saw pretty much the whole country.
And I feel like we earned our title of at least part time van lifers with our weekend adventures. But yeah, but we definitely get antsy now having done all that traveling. The more we kind of sit still and do our somewhat mundane but happy day to day life and we get the travel bug again to say, what's the next big adventure? What are we doing?
So the van had a good run, but we did sell it last year, which was bittersweet. It felt like it was time for a new adventure.
So we sold the van and now are planning some more international travel this year, hoping to get to Australia at some point soon, which is a bucket list destination and just yet trying to see as much of the planet as possible. And I think that comes from my appreciation for the earth and my love of just like seeing as many landscapes, as many places as possible.
[00:40:44] Speaker A: When you're watching, when you have the moments that are few and far between to binge or watch, are you like, oh yeah, I remember that. Like when I'm A big Better Call Saul fan. So I listen to the podcast and so much was done in. In New Mexico.
[00:40:59] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:40:59] Speaker A: And the landscape that's there and the scenes and they break down the scenes and stuff like that. And being everywhere. Are you like, we were there. Yeah, we were there.
[00:41:07] Speaker B: Oh, totally. Yeah. No, we still have our, like, you know, travel YouTubers that we binge watch to get inspiration for kind of what's going to be the next thing we do. We actually made our own YouTube videos when we were traveling all that time out west. So, yeah, we're Kelsey and Ben on YouTube. And so we, we got a drone and we got camera equipment and we would make travel vlogs mostly for our friends and family to see what we were up to, to while we were out there.
And that has now evolved actually into a wedding videography business that Ben and I do together. So that YouTube channel has made a transition from van life to now wedding content. But. But yeah, we'll find ourselves, like, watching other vloggers, content creators, and be like, oh, yeah, remember that. Remember when we went here, we saw that too.
And I think that doesn't necessarily help us getting the itch to do more travel.
[00:42:05] Speaker A: And then from the videography standpoint with you and your husband, I saw one of those edges, one of those extras, One of those LinkedIn profile things is when you're doing these days, these moments, and you see the environment around you, are you. Do you think internally and probably unconsciously pulling in nature on these photos for the brides and everything?
[00:42:33] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Especially having the drone. So Ben's my drone pilot.
Getting the aerial view of these landscapes, these venues, these beautiful places. Especially when we get a Lake George wedding. Right. We're extra excited because I always want to pull in that appreciation piece for, you know, the. The space we're in and the land around.
Yeah, so absolutely trying to pull that in at all times. I've done a couple weddings and events where it's like very, you know, indoor ballroom type theme. And I'm like, I just want to be outside in a tent or in a barn, you know, like in nature. Yeah.
[00:43:12] Speaker A: How have the last apparently 27 weekends been? Apparently we've had 27 consecutive weekends with precipitation on one day or another. If for you is that as a photographer and a videographer, usually there's no such thing as too much sunlight envy. Are we in that too much precipitation? Because now things can grow because, you know, within two, within a month, we're going to be talking about drought.
[00:43:40] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:43:40] Speaker A: Because it's Going to happen?
[00:43:41] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely.
[00:43:42] Speaker A: Welcome to the Northeast. So how is rain for you?
For me as a weekend staff photographer and event driven, rain's a four letter word. I love overnight rain. Yeah, I don't like rain at 2 o' clock.
[00:43:56] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:43:57] Speaker A: So how is rain for sustainable Saratoga and has this been a weird spring?
[00:44:02] Speaker B: It has, it has been a weird spring.
Yeah. With all, with all the rain and you know, we adjust as needed. Like even for Saturday. We're looking of course at a 1. The one day that rain is definitely going to happen is Saturday for the plant sale. So we've got a tent, but yeah, we, we don't see it deterring attendance necessarily at anything we do. Right. When the rain comes, it's like we're environmentalists, we're.
We're kind of up for anything as far as weather conditions. So I don't see it changing much with, with the work we do with Sustainable. Like I said, it's made the greenhouse plant growing a little challenging just because we've been lacking some of that sunlight that the plants need to kind of fully dry out.
But overall, not bad for, for the video work though.
Yeah, the, the rain, the active rain during an event has been challenging. I actually just worked a wedding on Friday last week and it rained, but it actually made for some really great content and footage. We had, you know, the clear umbrellas and they're out there dancing in the rain and the lake behind them. So it actually added a new sort of dynamic element to my video that I liked. But trying to operate the camera on the gimbal and hold the umbrella and reset, you know, reset my settings and record it was a challenge that I think that's my first time that I've actively, you know, worked a wedding in the rain. Yeah.
[00:45:32] Speaker A: All right. The hard one.
[00:45:33] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:45:34] Speaker A: We got what's next?
[00:45:36] Speaker B: Oh yeah, that's a great, that's a great question. What is next?
For me personally, I mentioned Australia.
You know, that that's a bucket list destination that. I think what's holding us back is being intimidated by the travel days. I think, you know, there's always going to be a million reasons to not do something. And we really try our best, my husband and I, to, you know, don't let the fear of doing something or the potential negatives or what could go wrong or this is going to be a little bit inconvenient to stop you from living your life and having those experiences.
You know, we really don't know how much time we all have. And so putting off goals to the future.
Yeah. I see it as not a great way to live. And so I want to book that trip. We want to definitely do that this year, push through those long travel days and make it happen. So booking more travel, solidifying dates for that.
Yeah, professional growth for myself within this position.
I really, really enjoy the work that I do and the people that I work with.
The nonprofit world is a challenging place and space to be in and operate in, but I feel like I have a great support system around me to effectively lead Sustainable Saratoga.
And so working on my professional personal growth as an individual so I can be the best person I can be to serve the organization, lead the organization, but also, yeah, take time for myself to do the things that bring me joy, like travel, spend time with family, continue to expand my garden at home, be with the dogs, walk the dogs.
Just. Yeah, do more of what brings me joy and be the best version of myself that I can be. Not only for my work, but for my personal life.
[00:47:50] Speaker A: And then for the plugs. We can find Sustainable Saratoga at.
[00:47:53] Speaker B: Yes. So we're Sustainable Saratoga on Instagram, Instagram and Facebook.
Those are going to be the best places to stay in the know kind of as soon as possible. What's going on? We've been really working on bringing in some more engaging content to our social media. So pulling in my videography experience to create highlight reels from events video content there.
Sustainable saratoga.org is our website, so you can, like I said, educational resources, blogs, tons of information on our website.
And then the easiest way to get in touch with us quickly is an email info at sustainablesaratoga.
[00:48:36] Speaker A: Org.
All right, thank you so much for coming in.
[00:48:40] Speaker B: Thank you so much for having me.
