About Us
Hello everyone! Thanks for checking out our hive!
Hi, I’m Alanna!
Where to begin….
I currently live in the small town of Petrolia, Ontario and I am a recent graduate from Western University where I studied Chemical Engineering with a specialization in Biochemical and Environmental Engineering.
I like to think that I have always been mindful of the environment and climate change, but recently I’ve realized that just being “mindful” isn’t enough. I need to take action on my mindfulness and make changes to the habits I’ve grown accustomed to. My goal is to reduce my consumption and overall footprint and live a more sustainable lifestyle. Buying less and joining the slow fashion movement, grocery shopping package free, and refusing single use plastics will be a few of the steps I will take to work towards this goal. However, I realize that this does not happen overnight (not even close), and some things are just out of my control. So bear with me!!!
Over the past two years, I’ve been extremely fortunate to explore some incredible places around the world. In August of 2018, I went to Bali where I saw the endangered Komodo Dragon in the southeastern islands of Indonesia, I went diving in the Flores Sea, and I hiked to the top of Mount Batur, an active volcano. From Southern Europe to the North and South islands of New Zealand to the Eastern coastline of Australia, I’ve been extremely lucky to get a taste of what this planet has to offer us. My summers growing up have been spent on the water or in the sand at my family’s cottage on Lake Huron; a place I consider to be my second home. So it is experiences like these that drive me to take action on the things that I care about most.
This planet, which I love dearly, is SO worth protecting! One conversation or one small action is all it takes to start to grow this community. I’m very excited to share my stories throughout this journey towards a zero waste lifestyle and learn as much as I can along the way.
I hope it will inspire you to join our hive!!
Hi, I’m Caitlyn!
I currently live in Waterloo, Ontario. I attended St. Francis Xavier University (Go X!) before heading to Dalhousie, where I recently graduated with a degree in Environmental Engineering.
I have always had a love for the environment. Growing up, I would spend a couple weeks every year in a small Newfoundland town that resides along a beautiful stretch of cobblestone beach, a place I like to call home. Every year when the capelin role in (tiny fish that wash up on shore), hundreds of humpback whales migrate to this cove, and more often than not, put on a show for the spectators on the beach. This is one of the many reasons I am motivated to protect the things I love most.
This past summer I had the opportunity to spend a couple weeks exploring the beautiful landscapes of Switzerland. I flew into Zurich, and spent my first night roaming the streets amongst thousands of other people, who gathered for a celebration of Switzerland (I think that’s what they called it). While pushing my way through crowds of people I glanced down at my feet to find hundreds (if not thousands) of plastic straws scattered across the ground in every direction. Without thinking I began picking up as many straws as I could fit in my hands, dodging people’s feet as I made my way through the crowd of people trying not to get myself run over (yes, I probably looked as ridiculous as it sounds). I had straws sticking out the top of my bag, yet, I felt as though I had made no difference. The amount of straws still left on the ground seemed endless.
This was the first time I fully understood the extent of the plastic problem and felt determined to do something about it. Imagine if every person had picked up one or two straws from the ground that night; a small and simple action, yet impactful in the grand scheme of things.
Becoming sustainable does not require big grand gestures, and you may not always feel like what you are doing is making much of a difference. But if everyone does one small thing every day to lead a more sustainable lifestyle, our actions as a whole are enough to change the world!