Tag: MotivationMonday

Motivation Monday #9 – Zeb McLaurin

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Happy #MotivationMonday, GreenATLiens! Meet Zeb, Sustainability Director of Goodr! Zeb and his team of DoGoodrs are actively reducing businesses’ edible and nonedible food waste in Atlanta. Edible food is taken to local food insecure communities who take what would have been methane-emitting landfill waste and turn it into nourishment for their families. Nonedible food waste is taken to partner facilities where it’s converted to compost, animal feed, and more!


Originally from Chicago, IL, Zeb moved to Atlanta to attend Morehouse where he graduated in 2018. A car fanatic since childhood, Zeb was initially drawn to sustainability via his early fascination with EVs and renewable energy. Along the way Zeb’s main interest became the intersections between sustainability, environmental justice, and racial equality. Just as Zeb was developing an interest in leveraging sustainable systems towards environmental justice Jasmine Crowe, Founder and CEO of Goodr, gave a talk at Morehouse that compelled him to pursue an internship at Goodr. The rest is history. Zeb has risen from intern to Logistics Director to Sustainability Director, where he oversees operations and logistics, maintains carbon neutral operations, tracks and analyzes data, and much more! Sounds like a full plate to us (pun intended 😂)!


Zeb’s #calltoaction is to ask questions, explore new options, and don’t be afraid of change. The grass is definitely greener on the sustainability side. Got questions for Zeb? Ask him here! Stay green, ATLiens! ✌️👽
#GreenATLiens #DoGoodr

Motivation Monday #8 – Jordan Herring

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Meet local green ATLien Jordan Herring 👽

Time to #GetMotivated ATLiens!

Meet Jordan Herring, a local #GreenATLien making the world greener through soybean genetic lab research at UGA. Soy as a crop is often derided by environmental conservationists because of the deforestation caused by soybean farming, particularly in rainforest regions in South America. Jordan is working with a team of scientists at UGA to increase soybean crop yields and improve disease resistance so that soy crops may take a smaller acreage to produce the same yield needed to supply global food chains.

Originally from Decatur, Jordan was first inspired to pursue conservation work during a high school summer internship led by The Nature Conservancy where he and other students learned how to identify and remove invasive species at St. Simons. As an undergraduate at UGA Jordan became a Doris Duke Conservation scholar, spending his first summer internship studying the effects of dams on fish ecology along the Colorado River and then the following summer engrossed in research on the effects of the BP oil spill on sea turtles in Miami. In case you weren’t sure whether or not Jordan is a friend of the fishes, he’s also dedicated time to on-site research of the effects of tourism on fish migration in the Great Salt Pond of Bainbridge Island, Rhode Island.


Through his studies Jordan became increasingly interested in the impacts of environmental conditions on human health. To pursue this interest further, Jordan completed an Environmental Health and Safety internship where he monitored the impacts of a Georgia aluminum manufacturer on local water and air quality, as well as worker health. Not long after Jordan graduated with his bachelor’s in Environmental Health at UGA.


In the future, Jordan envisions opening a nonprofit organization that will educate and mobilize low-income Atlanta youth to improve local air and water quality, greenspace access, and food security.


Jordan’s #calltoaction is to learn more about what your local recycling service does and doesn’t accept to prevent recycling contamination. Be sure also to check out Jordan’s eco-travel blog Jordan and the Traveling Peach @_jtpjourneys 🖖👽

Motivation Monday #7 – Taylor Howard

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Happy #MotivationMonday GreenATLiens! Meet Taylor, a local wildlife conservation educator and leader in sustainability in Atlanta! Taylor currently spends her days educating the next generation about wildlife conservation at Zoo Atlanta, and actively dedicates her free time as a Climate Reality Atlanta member and Browns Mill Food Forest volunteer

Born and raised in Decatur, Taylor first became interested in wildlife after watching an Animal Planet special on dolphins. In high school Taylor gained hands-on experience in conservation in North Dakota via The Nature Conservancy’s Leaders in Environmental Action for the Future (LEAF) program. This experience as well as Arabia Mountain High School’s environmental integrated curriculum piqued her interest in pursuing conservation further as a biology student in college.

As an undergraduate at the University of West Georgia Taylor became a Doris Duke Conservation Scholar, spending two consecutive summers in service to conservation work in the Colorado Plateau with the U.S. Geological Survey and Northern Arizona University and with the University of Maryland studying the effects of sea level rise on salt marsh migration, respectively.

Taylor’s experience as a Mayor’s Office of Resilience Sustainability Ambassador further inspired Taylor to make connections between sustainability and other areas such as environmental justice, workers’ rights, and how our consumption habits can influence the systems at work in our daily lives.

Taylor’s #calltoaction is to watch the documentary The True Cost on the fast fashion industry’s environmental and human impacts and consider boycotting fast fashion.

Motivation Monday #6 – Parul Srivastava

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Meet Parul Srivastava! @parul.s.srivastava is a GreenATLien making Atlanta greener by mobilizing her classmates to climate strikes on and off campus! An ambitious Georgia Tech Math major + CS minor from outside Des Moines, Iowa, Parul has always taken an interest in political advocacy.

As a high school student, she founded the Community of Racial Equality (CORE) to build solidarity between students of color and provide opportunities for internships and college preparation. From there, Parul organized CORE members’ participation in #ClimateStrikes and @marchforourlives in Des Moines. As an undergraduate in Atlanta, Parul continues to advocate for climate justice, starting with organic conversations with peers and organizing her network to show up at climate strikes at the GA State Capitol and on Georgia Tech’s campus.


Parul’s #calltoaction: Try reducing red meat consumption and learn more about the meat industry. If the amount of energy it takes to produce one burger is equivalent to running an A/C for 24 hours, something is wrong!

Motivation Monday #5 – Baba Sol

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#MotivationMonday – Meet Baba Sol! @baba.sol is a GreenATLien making Atlanta greener through indigenous plant walks, herbal medicine, and songwriting. Listening to a few tracks from his album Aquarian King you’ll hear verses on sustainability themes from plastic in the ocean and plant care to spending time in the woods and clean eating. Sol has maintained a vegan diet for 14 years, and has spent the past 10 years involved in community agriculture efforts including @gilliamscommunitygarden and Mystic Roots (@teena_myers) making healthy, locally-grown food available to the surrounding community.

Originally from Decatur, Sol developed an interest in medicinal plants through early experiences hiking through the woods and visiting his grandparents’ farm in Eatonton, Ga. Sol applies his knowledge and passion for herbal medicine leading indigenous plant walks across Atlanta and by creating herbal medicinal formulas through his business Royalish LLC. All formulas are made to order from hand-picked, foraged ingredients and prepared with the utmost care.

Sol’s “Indigenous Plants of Atlanta” tour has over sixteen five-star reviews on AirBnB Experiences, through which he’s hosted visitors from across the globe. Join him on one of his upcoming plant walks to learn more about edible and medicinal plants 🌱

Sol’s #calltoaction is for all #ATLiens to get involved in a community garden and start learning how to #growyourownfood. Got a question for Sol? Let him know in the comments!

You can see Baba Sol perform live next at @artisansbarandgallery 2/21. Head to the link in his bio (@baba.sol) for tickets and use the code BABA897 for $2 off admission
Stay green, ATLiens! 🖖👽

#GreenATLiens #GreenAtlanta #Aglanta #UrbanAg #UrbanAgriculture #communitysupportedagriculture #CertifiedOrganic #veganatlanta #atlantavegan #naturalist #herbalist #plantidentification #herbalmedicine #urbanforaging #foraging #foragingforfood #indigenousplants #atlantahiphop #alternativehiphop #psychedelichiphop #sustainability

Motivation Monday #4 – Martin Roseman of Roseman’s Remedies

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#MotivationMonday – Meet Martin! Martin Roseman is a GreenATLien making Atlanta greener through his sustainable wellness company Roseman’s Remedies. Roseman’s Remedies harnesses the health benefits of CBD in their wellness products, and Martin has engineered their product packaging to reduce their environmental impact significantly versus the mainstream market. From using water-based inks and plant-based compostable plastics instead of their petroleum counterparts, to offering a mail-in and drop-off recycling program for all their product packaging, Martin has gone the extra mile as an Atlanta-based entrepreneur to do right by the environment.

In addition to his sustainable practices as an entrepreneur, Martin has organized several street cleanups in metro Atlanta, most recently in Edgewood to clean up and beautify the area. Martin volunteers with the Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (@livethriveatl) whenever he can because he loves learning about circular economy when he’s there.

Martin has always had the heart of an entrepreneur, from walking dogs and selling candy at school as a youth to launching his own wellness company in 2018. Inspired at a young age by his father’s example, a New Yorker fluent in the region’s side job culture, Martin’s father’s success instilled in him an essence of entrepreneurship. Additionally, playing in the woods as a kid in Gwinnett further instilled in Martin a connection with and appreciation for nature


Martin’s #calltoaction for all #GreenATLiens is to visit the Center for Hard to Recycle Materials. If you’ve been there before, take the next step and sign up for their volunteer orientation! It’s a very illuminating experience.
Give Martin a warm welcome and shoot him any questions you may have about sustainability in entrepreneurship! 🖖👽

Motivation Monday #3 – Andrew Wright of Green Done Wright

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#MotivationMonday – Meet Andrew! Andrew Wright is a GreenATLien increasing awareness around sustainability by organizing community education workshops and tours. Andrew is the founder of Green Done Wright, where he applies his background in Environmental Science to educating the public on a range of topics including but not limited to vertical hydroponic farming and zero waste cleaning.

Andrew has always been a mover and shaker. As an undergraduate Andrew spearheaded a student-led effort to start a community garden on his college campus, and as an alumnus he continues to provide technical support to its current student leadership. As a Master Composter, an LEED Green Associate, and a Sustainability Ambassador of Atlanta, Andrew has a wealth of knowledge and expertise he is excited to share with others.

Andrew recommends taking a look at the daily waste you produce and finding low or zero waste replacements. Everything from food waste, clothes, household utilities, dryer sheets, and even recyclables are made from precious resources. The things we consume take a lot of time, energy and labor to produce and transport to you, the consumer.

Share in the comments what waste you’re struggling to reduce right now, Andrew is here to help!

#GreenATLiens #SustainableAtlanta #GreenATL #Atlannuh #Sustainability #ZeroWasteAtlanta #Hydroponics #UrbanAg #Aglanta #MasterComposter #Composting #EnvironmentalScience #LEED #SustainabilityAmbassadors #ProBiosphere #ActOnClimate #LeadOnClimate #ClimateAction #WasteAudit #EcoConsumerism #DIY #DIYTilIDie #SustainableLiving #ZeroWasteLiving #GreenLiving

#MotivationMonday #1: Stephanie Simmons of Imagimatics

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Meet Stephanie! Stephanie Simmons is a GreenATLien empowering youth and families through food justice, sharing economies, and entrepreneurship education! At the homeschool collective Stephanie co-founded Imagimatics youth learn more than just the core subjects, learning about food systems and where their food comes from, how to grow their own food, and how to turn the fruits of their labors into money at local farmers’ markets.


Stephanie got her start in urban agriculture with The Food Project in Boston, Massachusetts. Serving two years as FoodCorps member Stephanie led youth education workshops on gardening, cooking, and food justice, as well as hands-on projects installing raised garden beds with teens. Since then, Stephanie has served as a FoodCorps Fellow with Georgia Organics, Community Ag Program Director at Athens Land Trust, and provided resource developing consulting to the Georgia Farmer’s Market Association and the International Rescue Committee.


Prior to serving in the FoodCorps, Stephanie’s background primarily centered on youth and early childhood education, and at-risk youth advocacy. Today, Stephanie marries her passions for youth empowerment and food justice through her work at Imagimatics. Not stopping at Pre-K through 12 education, Stephanie and her co-founder Anjel also organize community events for parents to pursue personal and professional growth as well as strengthen community ties- like the Community Clothing Swap she’s organizing at Gallery 992 ! Donations of clothing, home goods, and dry pantry goods are welcome!

Stephanie’s Call to Action

Stephanie recommends GreenATLiens plant pollinator-friendly plants around their homes, or if you’re ready to take some BIG action, replace your lawn with native groundcover! Stephanie shares the Atlanta and DeKalb public libraries have free seeds to “check out” for this purpose .

Do you have any questions for your fellow GreenATLien Stephanie? If not, say hi!🖖