Q: How is it you came to live and work in Oberlin?

A: Very simple. I was looking for a piece of land. I saw this property with the tree lines and fell in love and bought it. I had no ideas that I'd ever be married or have kids or anything, and all that just fell in place afterward.

Q: How did you decide to create your hydroponic garden?

A: Well I've been growing for twenty-plus years. The flower industry took a big hit at the advent of 911. After that, the farm market and the pop-up tent farm market started making an appearance. And that transitioned my flower sales from wholesale to retail, which helped out a lot. But then, we also started recently noticing a decline in flower sales. It has become more of an impulse buy, rather than a necessity. Because I can grow pretty well, my wife and I decided to take the food route and put this endeavor together. We finished in December of 2014 and our first crop was this year, in February 2015. It's been a lot of learning curves since. Everybody needs food and we are doing our part in providing healthy choices for the food that you buy.

Q: Some people use the word "sustainability" to mean actions that enhance/maintain the economic, environmental and social welfare of the Oberlin community. The Climate Action Plan defines it as "policies, decisions, and actions that meet current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs" (7). What does sustainability mean to you?

A: Sustainability-- a lot of people use as a marketing tool. We actually practice it. So we're conserving water with hydroponic farming where we use 1/10th of the water of a conventional crop. We use 1/3 the conventional fertilizers. We understand that it takes generations to make changes, but we are doing our part right now to at least reduce. The water system is closed so there's no runoff, so we're reusing it constantly until we decide to replenish it. It is a slow process, but we are always open to new ideas. We would love to incorporate a wind-turbine. I don't think solar panels would be the key, but I think wind-turbine would aid with some electricity down the road. There are many possibilities to sustainability and we're open to every avenue that we approach.

Q: What actions are you [your business or organization] engaged in that relate to sustainability? (i.e. water conservation, electric conservation, local spending, education, services, and/or products as an example.)

A: I think water conservation is one of the biggest things right now. Let's not waste what we have and find ways to utilize it in the best way. And that's what hydroponic does.

Q: Why do you think these actions are important?

A: They are important because being just off of Lake Erie with all that fresh water, you take for granted what other peoples don't have. And you look at places like California--they had water, but they won't reuse it. There's a problem there. I don't see a problem with reusing water and filtrating it properly and such. They're quickly realizing that their ways have to change or they are not going to make it. And then places like Arizona, they rely on things like canals to bring the water in. And there, they have peak and nonpeak hours of which you can use water. We take access to fresh water for granted over here on the East Coast, but in places that really need it, I think the awareness needs to be heightened for us, as well. Just because we have it, don't flaunt it.

Q: Is there anything you would like to tell your fellow community members regarding care for the environment/sustainable living and respect for nature?

A: Just care. You can't stop litterbugs, but if we all bend over to pick up a piece of trash here and there to throw it out, that would help. Reduce, don't waste. Be more conscious of what you are doing. I'm not saying make drastic changes, but be aware. Have an awareness. We need this environment to be around for a while.

Q: What word(s) or image(s) would you use to describe Oberlin?

A: Vibrant and growing.

Q: Is there a reason you chose those words?

A: Well, I say that because come fall every year we have a new batch of college students with brand new ideas and hopes and desires for their lives. So I think that adds to the mix. By the time they are seniors though, they have a grasp of what they really want, which sort of keeps things in check. But I honestly think that Oberlin is vibrant and growing because of all of the ideas that come out of the college and the community.

Q. Are there other people in the community that you think we should interview about their commitment to sustainability or sustainable actions in their life?

A: We have lived here for some years now, but we have never really been involved like we are right now. I am a new venture and am just starting to learn everyone, but I would say The Oberlin Project has been very helpful to us and introduced us to many new people and businesses. The Oberlin Project is the ones that I would recommend right off the bat.

Q: How would you like to be referred to as?

A: Just Melissa.

Q:What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?

A: Diverse, community, on the cutting edge of new things, doing things in new ways, and being the first to do something.

Q: Could you elaborate on why you chose those words?

A: The diversity is very important to me. I think the diversity is not in different races but in different economic status and interests. There’s a lot of opportunities I would like for my children that I would like them to be exposed to beyond my roof. They will experience things here that they might not get to in another community. Diversity is really important to me. Community because this is a community where I feel safe, I feel connected, I feel like I can have a voice and I feel like I’m really a part of making it better. This is a place where you can really do that.

Q: How is it that you came to live and work in Oberlin?

A: I came to live here when my husband and I moved here thirteen years ago. We acquired this house as a gift from my step-father. Shortly after we got married, he had offered us this house and we moved in. Since then, we have had three children. We love it here and we love that we are here in this place.

Q: Some people use the word “sustainability” to mean actions that enhance/maintain the economic, environmental and social welfare of the Oberlin community.  The Climate Action Plan defines it as “policies, decisions, and actions that meet current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs” (7).  What does sustainability mean to you?

A: Sustainability to me means being able to make the environment better. We all have a part in sustaining what we have, and not adding or taking away from it. We can all contribute to making it better.

Q: What actions do you take in regards to sustainability in your own life?

A: We recycle, we try to use limited water, limited electricity, we have had some work through the POWER organization to come and do an energy audit in our home, we’ve had some duct work done, we’re better at conserving heat and energy in our home. Those are the things that stand out.

Q: Was it challenging to make those changes?

A: No, I don’t think so. I think the challenge is actually just doing it consistently. I think you just have to start somewhere. POWER had done a visit in the neighborhoods, and so they came to us and it wasn’t something I sought out, but they brought it to me and it made sense that they wanted to save us money. It really has been beneficial to us in our household.

Q: How do you think sustainable actions are important?

A: I guess this is kind of a cheesy answer, but they make the world a better place. We can do it one at a time, one household at a time. My influence influences, whether it’s my children or my neighbor. Or other people that I come across with sharing things that I’ve tried that maybe they might try. The more people that try sustainable actions, the more our environment is better for generations to come.

Q: Is there anything you’d like to tell your fellow community members regarding care for the environment and respect for nature.

A: I think everyone has a part to play. There’s so much education out there, obviously I’m not doing it the best or as well as I would like to. You know, I think that if you don’t know what to do, find out what to do. We all have a part in making our environment better. It’s not going to change just because we are talking about it. We have to actually do the work, and it’s one thing at a time. If it’s just recycling, I mean, that’s a big piece. If it’s just saving on electricity and water, composting. There are so many things we can do, if we just start somewhere, we can make it better.

Q: If there was just one small change yout think people could make today, what would that be?

A: I think recycling is one thing I hadn’t done for quite a while. We just adopted that in our home more recently. It’s a habit, to not just throw everything all in one bin. Now we can put all our recycles in one thing and we don’t have to separate them. That’s been really helpful to have the trash bins that are separate like that. That’s an easy place to start, that’s not too complicated. Environmentalism really is for everyday folks for us who are working and paying taxes in the community and contributing to leaving something beyond once we’re not around anymore.