Recognizing the Deep rooted Nature of Trees in Our Communities
Abigael Rice inspires climate action change in her community through her passion for trees and education. Abbi works as the education manager for Impact Earth, a composting company in Rochester, which serves as a platform to plan online and in person classes about composting and food waste. Her interests in gardening, compost, and sustainability drew her to the Cornell Climate Stewards (CCS) program.
The CCS program has been an immersive and collaborative experience for Abbi. As someone with a master’s in environmental anthropology, the CCS volunteer training helped refresh her knowledge on science and climate change and also learn more about what other volunteers were doing in her County. Collaborating with the other volunteers provided brainstorming ideas for her climate action project, including public education and implementation.
A common theme in Abbi’s work is bringing awareness to how important the trees in our communities are and fostering an appreciation for our city’s natural environment. As a volunteer for the CCS program, her climate project has focused on educating the people in Rochester about the city’s trees by providing resources for the public and holding free community events.
One of the ways Abbi has contributed to her project is through a handheld booklet identifying common trees, which she illustrated by hand. By providing the tree guide for the public, she has helped her community identify trees in their neighborhood. Her handbook shows the three main indicators; the leaves, tree shape, and tree bark, that you can use to try and identify a tree. For example, for the magnolia tree, you can see the texture and shapes of the leaves and flowers, as well as the tree shape and patterns on the tree bark.
For Earth month, Abbi is planning a guided tree walk in the Beechwood neighborhood of Rochester and other free events all month to learn more about ways to better the environment, including composting, food waste reduction, and low waste living. Additionally, this fall, she plans to expand the network of trees by planting a variety of trees in public areas of the city.
Abbi’s climate action work appeals to a large range of people because of its outdoor nature and accessibility to the public. Because of this, she says one of the best parts of volunteering for CCS is her =involvement in her community, which allows her to connect with and educate more people. This ranges from kids in kindergarten to retired individuals in the community. Through these connections, she is able to create a greater impact by changing the behaviors and everyday habits of people, so they can have lasting effects on the environment.
Getting involved in climate action work can seem daunting if you don’t have the experience or expertise related to the environment and sustainability. However, an important message Abbi gives is that these projects are for anyone with any background. As long as you have an interest in science and climate change, you can start with the basics and continue to grow a foundation and passion for creating meaningful changes.
Read the full story (again!) here:
https://climatestewards.cornell.edu/files/2024/07/Abigael-Rice.pdf
