I joined the Edible Landscape Initiative in January 2020 as a new member during our Honors 3000 course. I had no idea what I was exactly getting myself into, and it has indeed become a wild ride that I would not forget. I always liked the idea of a campus orchard that was first presented to me by some of the original/former members of the group, and I am glad I decided to join in and do my part to make everything we aspire to do happen.
I believe my passion for the environment comes from where I was born and raised. I was raised in the small town of Warsaw, North Carolina (located about 70 miles south of Greenville), and I have spent my entire life here in Eastern North Carolina. For many people on the outside looking in, this region is probably nothing more than a bunch of farmland and scattered little towns in the middle of nowhere. For me, it has been and always be my home. If you take the time to explore it, you can find some of the most beautiful landscape imaginable, and see just what nature can offer to us at its absolute best. As things change, I worry that this might not be the case when we do not care for the environment around us. I worry about us losing these things that I hold dear if the environment changes and is at the point of no return. Wanting to keep this is why I want to do whatever we can to assure this does not happen. I know it would take more than us simply putting an orchard together, but I still believe we can do our part to make a difference, and it would be great to know that we did something with our name on it that can make a difference in the community around us.
Comments