I am childfree. Being a teacher for decades filled that itch nicely. We have one car used mainly locally. We are vegan/vegetarian, and enjoy growing food and native plants on our half acre. I help my husband with online outreach at Scale Down, advocating for lowering human numbers and reducing consumption such that other species and ecosystems suffer less from human impacts. International flights are infrequent for recovery of endangered giraffe in Kenya and tropical forest conservation in Ecuador. I bring joy to my community and self through music, fiddling at old time and Celtic music jams.

One of my favorite ways to give nature a little boost is to replant or propagate the discarded plants I find piled at the end of people’s driveways after a big weekend of yard work. I take them home and either plant them directly into the ground or I root them in little pots and eventually give them as gifts. While it has resulted in the opposite of a trim and pristine front lawn, my yard is always full of birds, butterflies, and busy pollinators, and I delight in giving them a lush place to snack and rest.