Dearest supporters of Sustainable Flatbush,
I am a new member of the SF Community, being brought on board as an intern for the fall semester. My name is Elisabeth Deogracias. I come to Flatbush originally from Santa Cruz, California. I am starting my junior year at NYU, majoring in environmental and metropolitan studies. I’m excited to be working with an organization committed to actively engaging the surrounding diverse community around issues and questions of sustainability. I think sustainable environmental and social change has to happen on a local scale for individual and visual impact. Through its community outreach and activism, Sustainable Flatbush embodies the kind of environmental advocacy I am most interested in learning about first-hand.
I am approaching my internship as an opportunity to learn and live through the practical experiences of the concepts we interrogate in the classroom. Already I have had the opportunity to attend a grantwriting workshop and a community education demonstration on composting at the Flatbush Reformed Church, site of SF’s newest community garden project. I am looking forward to participating in the upcoming Park(ing) Day event on September 17, the New New York Green Street Fair, and the ongoing project of the community garden and administrative maintenance of SF as a non-profit.
As I continue with SF through the semester and afterwards, I hope to grow in not only my understanding of sustainability in a situated context but also to grow in relationship with the many individuals, such as yourselves, connected through the SF network. Stay tuned for more updates, reflections, and referrals throughout the season!
