1:1 welcomes our newest bestie, Brian.  Things he has in common with Bree: their names start with B, they’re high school students, and interested in careers in criminal justice. Oh, and they both love The 1:1 Movement, San Diego, and sustainability. Enough from us, get to know him! 

Hi guys! I’m Brian, a senior at High Tech High School, interning at 1:1 as part of my school and interest in gaining more knowledge on being more sustainable by living a greener life. I’ve lived in San Diego my whole life and love this city. I want to pursue a career in criminal justice and love playing with my brothers. I love my family more than I love life itself.

1:1- What’s your favorite place? 

Brian- I’d have to say that Balboa Park is probably my favorite place in San Diego, I’ve always been there for school field trips or just with my family. Every time I walk around, I always see new things that have always been there but didn’t catch my attention before. That really makes it more enjoyable and make me want to come back more often just to take it all in.

 1:1- If you could have a meal with anyone (dead or alive), who would it be and why?

Brian- If I could sit down and and have a meal with any individual, I’d probably have to say I would want it to be with Jon Heder. He’s the actor that plays Napoleon in Napoleon Dynamite and he has been a star in The Benchwarmers and Blades of Glory. There isn’t a moment where I have watched his movies and never laughed. I also feel like all of his characters that he has played reflect somewhat of how I am myself. I would definitely enjoy to sit down and chat with Jon.

1:1- Drum roll for our final question (for now)…. how do you define sustainability?: 

Brian- Sustainability to me is living a life where you are living your normal day life without it having a bad effect on others or the environment. Say, for example, growing your own garden without using pesticides- that is an organic garden and is not only healthy for you, but as well as the environment. Pesticides have harmful chemicals that can affect your body as well as the environment, and pollute the air. That is sustainability to me.

Keep tabs on Brian as he works with us over the next six weeks!

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In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week (and since we think every week is Teacher Appreciation Week), we caught up with Ms. Katie Mickelson, extraordinary elementary educator! She attended 1:1’s first Educational Symposium and the rest has been history. She has welcomed us into her classroom of fourth and fifth graders at Riverview Elementary who played a few competitive rounds of Waste Bingo and constructed our first classroom vinyl mural of what a sustainable and unsustainable world would look like. In addition, Katie volunteered her kiddos to be 1:1’s pilot After-School Sustainability Series to continue the conversation on conservation. While we’re on the topic of volunteering, Katie has dedicated a handful of weekends to joining 1:1 wherever we are! Vinyl bag art show, FIGMENT, Earth Fair, we say the date and Katie shows up with a smile and helping hands. 

Round of internet applause for Ms. M! As per usual, we had a few questions for Katie. Check ‘em out below: 

1.      What inspired you to pursue teaching as a career?

My teachers inspired me; they always looked like they were having fun.  I grew up in the small town of Truckee, and the teachers where a solid group of educators that weren’t just educating children, but educating their own.  Although not cut from the same cloth, I felt like one of theirs.  Similarly, it was a career that allowed me to continue having fun, learning new things, and working with youngsters. Furthermore, I also have a responsibility to the future!   I once heard, teachers create all other professions.   It is part of who I am to motivate and a mission to leave this place better than how I found it.  The love continues as I explore new options and put myself in new situations.  Being flexible means survival. 

2.   Do you have a funny story from the classroom you’d like to share?

Like the times when kids toot in class?!  Just kidding.  A funny story, in my perspective, was at the beginning of year.  It was my second year at the school and they kids were now, top dog!   I guess the kids were used to teachers doing things for them, because one student sat at a black screen for 5 minutes before I finally said, “the computer is not going to turn itself on.” It was a year of learning that, no one is going to do it for you!

3.      Book recommendation? What are you reading right now?

The Power of a Habit, Charles Duhigg

How do you define sustainability?

 The productivity of an agent for a(n) (un)determined amount of time.  

And now you know why we appreciate her so much. Our 1:1 team is so thankful for educators like Katie who are working hard for the future! We feel fortunate to be able to work alongside so many wonderful teachers in the San Diego area keeping this America’s Finest City!

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What if cities looked like this?

Today’s message comes from Yenny, a mover and shaker… who is also a high school student working to create a more sustainable San Diego. Read below to get to know her and her push to ban Styrofoam in SD!

My name is Yenny Zhang. I am a senior at Canyon Crest Academy and co-president of my school’s Ecoclub. I recently started a petition to ban polystyrene food containers in San Diego; this would forbid restaurants from using any type of polystyrene takeout containers, silverware, or cups.

I was driven to start this campaign when I first noticed a local frozen yogurt shop using polystyrene cups, despite the fact that most other frozen yogurt shops had already switched to paper. After trying to advise that shop to change their practices and seeing the inordinate amounts of Styrofoam on beaches, I realized that both were related. I did more research on polystyrene bans in various California cities and realized that it is necessary for San Diego to follow the same path to sustainability.

It was at the Green Students Youth Forum where I really began my campaign. I brought forth the issue in front of the various city council members who came to speak and was told to immediately “start a petition.” So… I proceeded. After getting over 400 signatures at my school with the help of Ecoclub, and over 2,000 online, I became really encouraged! Now, my goal is for San Diego City Council to make this issue a priority in their agenda and have them vote to make it the ban a law. 

Once a ban is in place, I hope that it will trigger a drastic reduction in Styrofoam waste on our beaches and in our waterways and that it will influence businesses owners and citizens to continue making environmentally-conscious choices.

Little changes can go a long way. It is our responsibility to be as conscious as possible and make the world a beautiful and healthy place for generations to come!

If you’d like to join Yenny in her crusade against crappy containers, sign her petition and/or shoot her an email: yennyszhang@gmail.com 

Reconsidering what we throw “away,” 1:1 saw 2 liter soda bottles as an opportunity for utility. We’re talking about REUSE! Ok, we also saw some really cool photos of clever, creative people who had already constructed similar structures. 

Vertical gardens are a solution for apartments, condos, large walls, outside areas, inside spots, you name it. Instead of spreading out wide, these bottles allow you to plant tall. 

Here’s a detailed account on how we constructed our vertical garden:

Materials suggested:

• 2L bottles 
  For bottles, we collected 2L soda bottles from neighbors and local recycling company. Please avoid buying a bunch of soda you don’t normally consume to complete this project. Smaller or other plastic/sturdy containers could work- a little experimentation could lead you to new heights!
• Twine
  We like to use sturdy string that won’t fray easily as we loop the string through the bottles and take it up and down from our tabling tent. If your structure will be more permanent, explore your house or local hardware store to see what options are available to you.
• Extra bottle caps or washers
  To hold the bottles in place, you’ll need either big sturdy, exact knots, or a material to hold them there. We chose washers and bottle caps. The washers already had a hole in the middle, and we simply used a nail and hammer to pierce through the middle of the bottle caps.
• Scissors, exacto knife, nail, car/house keys
  A diverse group of sharp items helps as you cut out the hole for the plants to grow as well as the holes for strings to go through. We used scissors for the large hole, exacto knife for the smaller holes and car keys to define the smaller holes to make it easier for the string to loop through. A nail was needed for putting holes in bottle caps. 
• Sharpies
  We used Sharpies to outline the string holes, the larger cut out portion for the plants, and to mark the string to ensure we placed nuts and caps at even spots. 

Not big on words? Here’s a picture: 

1. Collect materials
2. Make four small holes for string to pass through the bottle- holes needed on both top and bottom in straight line on both sides of the bottle.
3. For the cut out, we guesstimated and traced a hole that is about the length of a hand and as wide as the middle of the bottle. This can vary depending on plants you’d like to use- the taller the sides, the more space roots will have. 
4. Cut out the large holes and recycle middle cut outs.
5. String marking time! This depends on the desired height and spacing you’d like for the bottles. (We did 6 1/2 feet of bottles with a little over 1ft in between each bottle and an extra 2 ft of string) Ensure the string is as long as you’d like the wall to be, allow a few feet for tying/hanging (or using a board or coat hanger as hanging mechanism- think outside the box for this one!). Cut two lengths of string. Tie a washer/cap on each of the ends of the string. String the twine through both holes of the bottles until the washer/cap is at the end of each bottle. Measure your desired space between bottles and mark with a Sharpie. Include the height of the bottle as you continue marking up the string. To ease process, we used one string as the “lead” string to mark the rest of pieces of string. 
6. To string the next bottle, tie a washer/cap where you marked in Sharpie. We simply double knotted- if you’re fancy with knots, the world is your oyster. Get masterful. Hold them up to make sure the bottle looks even (enough), and keep going! 
7. Repeat until you’ve run out of bottles or space!

Notes:

These are not perfect drip irrigation systems so as you water your thirsty plants, be sure to water each of them. Generally, plants do not enjoy drowning either so be conscious of your water patterns! If you are hanging this inside, place a container or tray beneath each of the bottom bottles as some dirt and water will drain. 

For what you choose to plant, go for it! We had starter plants of cabbage, but as these get larger, we’ll transplant them. Herbs and succulents will be quite happy in these containers. Lettuce and other shallow rooted edibles would be, too. 

Keep us posted on what you find- challenges, short cuts, what you plant! Share pictures and stories with us!!  If you’d like to see one of these constructed at a local school, contact us about our after-school sustainability program. 

Yes. Off the Grid. Rob Greenfield and fellow sidekick Brent Martin are taking off on an epic adventure coast to coast, and are taking themselves “off the grid.” What does that even mean?

Off: not on
the: definitive article with specifying or particularizing effect
grid: electrical interlocking system of transmission lines and power stations 

To be more specific, Rob is pedaling for a more sustainable America.

We were lucky enough to meet the Greenfield Adventure team before they begin their journey. The relaxed sort of folks we are, we won’t break into a Q&A. Here’s what we learned… 

Practicing what he preaches, Rob has outlined his Off the Grid Across America by defining his parameters:

• Transportation: cross the country with zero fossil fuels. No help from vehicles other than body and bicycle.
• Electricity: create and use their own electricity with the help of solar  panels (Goal Zero to be exact) equipped to the bike trailer. Avoiding light switches and automatic doors, too!
• Near Zero waste:  No inorganic waste- all of his waste (read: food & human) will be composted with the help of bokashi, an effective microorganism that speeds up the breakdown process. Human waste will be composted as well.  Any accidental inorganic waste created will be carried for the entire journey unless otherwise upcycled or reused. 
• Food:  Locally sourced, organic, natural, and unpackaged foods. Getting back to the energy point, cooking will only use fires or Power Pot, coil stove powered by solar.
• Water: Drinking from natural sources like rivers, lakes, and rain as well as from wells. (read:  no water from faucets or bottles and no using flush toilets) Drips Water will accompany him to purify his hydration sources. 
• Consumption: Voting with dollars, Rob will shop at businesses that are committed to creating a healthy planet and practice corporate social responsibility.

We should also mention he’ll be singing songs accompanied with a ukulele to teach kids and communities about his adventure and sustainability, just like his friends at Guitars in the Classroom do. 

He is also our latest Straw Pledgee signer! Not only has he taken the personal pledge to say “no straw, please,” he will be enlisting the restaurants he comes across on his journey to join the Last Straw campaign in effort to reduce single-use plastic waste. 

Looking forward to following his adventure and wishing safe travels across the nation! 

This is Mitch, our second 1:1 bestie who happens to be significantly tall. You may remember Shane- don’t worry, he’s still hanging. With their forces combined, we have the tallest intern team in San Diego. Quite literally reaching new heights, we are delighted to have Mitch on board as 1:1 pushes the sky to the limit on raising awareness about sustainability!

We had a few questions for him before we completely welcomed him with open arms. Read below and you’ll welcome him, too. 

1:1- Playing baseball in college allowed you to travel to many different parts of the US. Tell us about one of your favorites places and why :

Mitch- I’ve been all over the country and have seen so many little towns that no other city dwelling San Diegan would find themselves in because of baseball.  So it’s tough to say but, aesthetically, the favorite place I’ve been would be a town I lived in called Wenatchee, Washington.  It was tucked in between the Cascade Mountains yet it was 90 degrees every single day in the summertime. Good thing the two halves of the town were split by the mighty Columbia River.  My favorite people have to be Nebraskans though.  Even though our view points weren’t the same, it didn’t stop them from having the most generous hospitality.  Everywhere we went, people were saying hi and wishing us good luck.  It was refreshing because people forget how far something as simple as a smile goes.

1:1- If you had a theme song, what song would it be and why?

Mitch- Well, I’m one of those people that are way too into music so it is hard to sum up my life in one song.  I feel like the impact music has on a person or what music means to a person is all dependent on the environment that surrounds them.  That being said,  I would have to say, that at this moment in my life, my theme song would be “Hero” by Family of the Year.  It is powerful to me for some reason.  Maybe it is with you too; check it out; oh and you’re welcome!

1:1- As a former student athlete, how do you define sustainability?

Mitch- That’s a tough question, but sustainability from my perspective would be doing anything and everything you can to lessen your impact on the environment.  Athletes generally do not have knowledge of environmental issues, so while I was a student-athlete I tried to preach simple things like turning the water off while shaving, keeping the air-conditioned clubhouse door closed at all times, and taking quick showers after the game.  If I had access to reusable grocery bags in college I would have put one in every single teammates locker with a note saying “using this is the right thing to do”.

Sloppy’s Burritos,
The newest Straw Pledge signers,
Number thirty four