12 August 2011

Eco Friendly Friday

Happy Eco Friendly Friday everyone! I am so excited to introduce you to a fellow Eco Etsy Teammate. Tricia has such an interesting background and some very good advice to share. I love chatting with my fellow teammates because I always learn a new approach to keeping it green. Read her story, check out her store and blog and feel free say hello. Oh, and don't forget to keep it green today and everyday!

My name is Tricia and I am an advertising research consultant by day and green crafter by night and weekend! I run a little craft business called Upcycled Stuff which includes a shop on Etsy. My journey to this place in my life took lots of twists and turns but it has definitely given me a rich life.

tricia

In 1996 I returned to school chasing a degree that would land me teaching in a classroom. One of my greatest pleasures in life is watching that “a-ha” moment creep across the face of another. Soon after returning to school, I had to take a biology course to satisfy a General Education requirement and I just remember the horror that I felt looking back at my high school science career – not one of my most successful times in life. Little did I know that a randomly selected zoology course would change my life!

I quickly became involved volunteering at the Los Angeles Zoo and only two short years later landed my first paying gig as a Researcher and then another in Education and then another as the Volunteer Program Manager (a role that I also played at the Seattle Aquarium). Over the next twelve years, I would work as an animal keeper at the Playboy Mansion and at Hollywild Animal Park. I also stayed very active volunteering with several wildlife rehabilitation shelters and rescuing my fair share of domestic animals. Animals were all I knew for the better part of my adult life. I quickly learned that we are all connected and that what I do today really does impact the future environment and the animals that I so deeply treasured.

Having been out of the animal field for almost two years, I still work very hard to do my part to better the environment for people and animals. Of course, I reduce my consumption as much as possible, use my reusable grocery bags and recycle when I can. But I am so grateful for the outlet to teach others (through my blog and facebook page) ways that they, too, can live a little greener. And my crafting business, well I like to judge the success of my business based on the amount of trash that my friends, family and even customers bring to me. It really is very funny to get a bag full of odds and ends that were headed to the trash with a comment like, “I can’t wait to see what you come up with for these.”



If I could leave readers with one piece of advice for living greener it would be rethink the meaning of reduce, reuse, recycle. Too often we jump straight to the recycling part of the equation but even that has environmental costs associated with it. So save some money and reduce your consumption then reuse (or UPcycle) as much as you possible can before your items hit the recycle bin or trash can.

Destiny
This is Destiny, my very first cat colony rescue. She was named after a dream that I once had to open a wildlife rescue shelter. At the time, I thought it was my Destiny! She has shared my home quite boisterously for nearly twelve years. She is one of 5 cats, a tortoise, a Chihuahua and a love bird who saw the word sucker planted across my forehead and moved in.


THANK YOU TRICIA for sharing your story!

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