Hello, Brooklyn! I’m Dassa, and I’m excited to say that this semester, I’m interning here at Sustainable Flatbush! I’m an undergraduate sophomore at Macaulay Honors College at Brooklyn College, pursuing a major in psychology, with a couple of fun minors to shake things up.

I’ve been interested in urban sustainability, especially public parks and recycling/composting, since I was in elementary school. I remember that when I was about ten or so, my family had our postage stamp-sized backyard paved over. Previously, it had been a scrap of green heaven for me, full of weeds and bees and basketballs and wonderful childhood memories. I actually cried as three men in blue overalls pulled out our tiny swing set from the ground. I trace my love of public parks to that incident — it was as if I was determined that if my own private parkland was wiped out, there would at least always be a patch of park for me to go to, to explore, to love, to adopt as my own.

When I’m not out doing my part to save the world (or at least save the parks), I enjoying reading, bike-riding, and volunteering with children with disabilities. I hope to be back here on SF’s site soon, with more information on their events — and of course, with good, green news!