Hello from Central Connecticut! Adventures establishing a nature sanctuary, building eco homes + helping folks build their sustainability lens'

Hello all! My name is Cori. I'm a first-genner Millenial who grew up in a sustainable home in the 90s- my immigrant father (for whom ‘sustainability’ wasn't a trendy term but just a way people lived and survived) remodeled my childhood home using recylced materials he would haul out of the dumpsters behind big stores. A deck built from upcycling the big metal clothing racks TJ Maxx was tossing or a room built with windows reclaimed from the curb somewhere. My mom, having grown up a poor kid in a rural area, was heavily involved in local conservation efforts for open space. I credit them with how I came to see and move in the world and my connection and role within nature and the work I now do.

Now, I work as an artist, environmental educator and sustainable designer in my own business as well as in community outreach and advocacy in my community.

In 2020, when the pandemic pushed big life changes, I wound up purchasing my first home that happened to be a little 4.8 acre chunk of woodland and riparian corridor with a literal island where an old gristmill once stood. I set about renovating the 2 cottages on the property using sustainable design principles and turning them into ‘eco homes’ where their environmental footprint in terms of waste and energy production is minimized. The first cottage I turned into a hospitality business- the funds of which support the conservation and habitat restoration work here. That eco-home has hosted hundreds of guests who learn about the ecosystem around them and are guided through the exercise of elevating their critical consciousness and intentionality during their stay as well as reconnecting to nature. They experience a ‘sustainable home’ and plastic free stay and are asked to participate in our way of life here and experience a level of comfort and relaxation that maybe they didn't realize was available to them via sustainable practices. I've had so many guests walk away saying they learned so many new ways to do things in their own homes or found inspiration and even though I don't always love running a hospitality business, that makes me feel like it's all worth it.

After the hospitality business was established I was able to begin focusing on habitat restoration and conservation work on the acreage here as well as building my sustainable design and consulting business. I've designed and built out all-native, organic gardens that cover the outdoor living spaces on the island and create vibrant, thriving habitats where I give tours to folks and local garden clubs with the goal of shifting their lens' on beauty and how to achieve it away from traditional practices that have environmental harm and towards sustainable ones. I've removed thousands of invasive species from the island and woodland and replanted with natives or watched as nature filled back in native species and seen the ecosystems begin to rebalance themselves. Our pollinator, dragonfly and firefly population exploded and I partner with local schools and universities so they can host their labs on the island and run educational programming. In my work as an educator, I run various classes on landscape management and design for the ecosystem and work with people to help them reframe their existence in their homes as part of an ecosystem and understanding that they are part of nature, not APART from it.

I founded a native seed bank as a mutual aid project utilizing the gardens to provide anyone in my community with access to free native plants and seeds as well as founding our town's chapter of Pollinator Pathways and now work closely with my town's various committees to push for environmentally friendly policies and sustainable land management on our public lands.

My goal, whether in my art, design, consulting, educating or working with community groups, is to help people develop their own sustainability lens' by reconnecting to nature and realizing we are part of a big picture happening around us- but starting by helping them see how to interact with the smallest ecosystem around them in their home and yard. My aim is to help raise critical consciousness amongst Americans to shift our values and actions and help people come together in this so individual actions may come together to put pressure on large corporations and power players systemically doing the most damage. Some folks think in sustainability and environmental movements, we need to free individuals from responsibility because it detracts from the blame large corporations hold for immense environmental damage- but I believe this is a case of 2 things being true at once. Particularly for Americans for whom our culture and way of life generates an immense amount of environmental impact for the rest of the world. I think the best way to put pressure on large power players, is from the ground up as those players gain their power from our dollars, time, energy and attention we give them. So I focus my work on helping individuals take a stance by learning to navigate what they've been taught, show them other ways, and help them think critically before acting. There is no ethical existence under capitalism, but we can all do our best to reduce our harm to others and the world around us wherever possible through intentionality. Helping folks learn to do this is my goal in life.

I joined the EcoLeaders Community because, especially being someone who often works independently in my business, I miss being part of a bigger team and love connecting to others who share values and understand the importance of what is happening around us in the world. Glad to be here!