Growing up in New York City I had very limited experience with nature before coming to school. However, during my freshman year I took a class called Environmental Sentinels, which focused on primitive skills, it was the first time I had interacted with nature in a conscious way and it was very valuable for me. This class taught me to be aware of my connection to nature. Through experiential learning I let go of the fears I had about nature and gained outdoor skills.

This course focused on ecological issues associated with practical conservation and management practices. On the Ithaca College Natural Lands we learned how to run a sustainable maple syrup production, grow both Shiitake and Oyster mushrooms and keep bees in order to make valuable products while managing the forest at IC.

My senior research class focused on aquaponics. In a group of eight students we researched the viability of aquaponic systems and creative design. Through our research we were able to understand how valuable this innovative type of agriculture could be in relocalizing our food system. Our project was successful because we were able create a productive aquaponic system with 26 tilapia and tons of lush leafy greens.

As a side project to the aquaponics senior research I looked in to building a black soldier Fly composter and received a Commit to Change grant for it. My goal was to make our aquaponics system more sustainable by finding an alternative to commercial fish feed. To learn about the black soldier fly and its potential as a sustainable feed source click on the document below->

My senior year I did independent research on Oyster mushroom kits. The goal of my research was to create viable kits that people could take into their homes and grow fresh mushrooms. I ran in to several problems with the designs of my kits, as mushrooms need specific amounts of moister, air and light in order to grow properly. There where quite a few deformed mushrooms but in the end I came up with a few successful kits.