Grounded in Maine

Julie Colombino-Billingham was working in disaster response 15 years ago, and was in Haiti after the earthquake of 2010. She never went back. She fell in love with the resilience and kindness of the people, and started a business with them called Deux Mains (two hands), making sustainable, fair trade leather bags and accessories - and also school shoes for students that they sell to churches and ministries to distribute. These beau...

As everyone is seeing their electricity bills rise, the opportunity to speak with Our Power Maine came up. I'm speaking with the Executive Director Seth Berry, and Policy and Communications Fellow Isabelle Winstead - just days after  they succeeded in pausing what seemed to many as a huge increase in Maine's CMP (Central Maine Power) rates. It's historic to halt the monopoly of a utility like this, and they are very ...

Y'all, sometimes things just fall into place, and the chance to talk with Annamarie Pluhar is definitely one of those! As I'm in the process of selling my VA house and looking for a new place to live, and knowing that to grow food for more than 1 will take more time and energy than I have, partnering with folks feels like it needs to be part of my plan (always was, but less for the financial aspect), but then enters Annam...

When I was approached by Brett Aldrich's team, I wasn't quite sure how the conversation would go - if it would be something you would be interested in; but maybe this convo was more for me than you? I booked a visit with her, at least! You'll hear me fumble my way around what I thought Ayurveda was (clearly I'm wrong), but Brett's practice is absolutely fascinating to me! Did you know about Ayurveda before ...

I was first introduced to Clara Schroeder through recent podcast guest Brittany Hansen, knowing that I would love talking with Clara - I'm super grateful to Brittany for that!

Clara is an Eco Therapist who has been working with big companies like Microsoft, Women in Cloud, Aura, and Insight Timer, and more. Clara recently published ReNature: How Nature Helps Us Feel better and Do Better, and she's here to talk about that, ...

This conversation is a little heavier than most, but it's so important to talk about. I can honestly say I knew almost nothing about West Virginia before I came across these ladies, but I can't say that anymore. Julie Eisenberg and Babette Hogan are here to talk about their first documentary together that just debuted called Running for the Mountains. "This is about politics and keeping our water and air safe, requir...

I hope you love this conversation with Vince Aiello as much as I do! I found Vince by chance on Instagram - or maybe he found me? I forget. But I love his business Fire and Foraging, and we struck up a conversation and I invited him to talk on the podcast, and I'm SO glad I did! 

Vince is a nature guide in Wisconsin, and is a real pro! I learned so much - he talked about fire adaptive species and fire ecology; we talked about i...

I loved learning about Kimberly Haley Coleman and Globe Aware- an award winning short term volunteer abroad program available in 26 countries. I didn't know this was a thing, but I'm so glad it is! You can travel abroad to learn about a new place, help people and find purpose - this sounds like my kind of vacation! Tropical destinations, cooler weather, far away, or closerby, there's something for everyone. Kimberly ...

This conversation with CEO of Dip HairCare Kate Assaraf was so fun for me, because 1: it's Dip shampoo bars, and if you've listened to the podcast for a while, you've heard me talk about shampoo bars, and 2: we're talking about an exciting collab with Kate/Dip and GoGo Refill, my refill store back in Maine that I love. They've done a few collabs together, but this November 13, Kate is debuting GoGo Refill&a...

I loved learning about Lindsey Turnbull's life in activism! I did an episode with Laura Marston of GoGo Refill way back in episode 10, I think... Anyway, it's been a while since we've talked about the cool things about refilleries. Lindsey is the owner of From Here To Home Essentials, a really cool home based refillery in Maryland and Washington DC - and she offers DELIVERY for busy folks, even! Like Laura of GoGo Re...

I learned so much speaking with Kelsey Green about digital minimalism!  I've heard about more and more people removing themselves from social media, and the thought seems overwhelming at times, but at the same time knowing there's some addiction (where's my phone? I need my phone handy! What if someone can't reach me? Have you had any of those thoughts?), and we've probably all heard the phrase "loneli...

Y'all, I'm feeling like a million bucks sharing this conversation with you that I got to have with Amanda Leland, Executive Director of the Environmental Defense Fund... I'm still pinching myself! Amanda became a member of the EDF when she was 13, so she's been training to be Executive Director for a few years!

Amanda just published Sea Change: Unlikely Allies and a Success Story of Oceanic Proportions, with Jame...

Y'all, in over 3 years, I can't remember doing a full episode on the OCEAN! Until now - Andrew Lewin is a total ocean geek - in the best way! He grew up far from the ocean, but watched Jacques Cousteau shows and was OBSESSED. He has a Masters in Marine Biology, and hosts the How To Protect the Ocean podcast and co hosts the Beyond Jaws podcast. How To Protect the Ocean has over 1800 episodes! He was recording 5 episodes a...

I learned a lot about wardrobe management in this conversation with Julia Dietmar! I had a totally different idea of what Open Wardrobe was going into this convo, but she set me straight. There are so many ways to use Open Wardrobe, developed by Julia. Her goal is to cut down on overconsumption of clothes by digitizing, which is very cool! you have your entire wardrobe handy, so when you go shopping, you already know you have 4 whi...

Oh my goodness, this conversation with Megha Patil made me wish I had a young girl in my family! Megha describes Happy Lilliput as "Exquisite Celebration Attire" - can you just picture that? Megha said growing up in India birthdays are a BIG DEAL - like sometimes thousands of guests to celebrate you, and very fancy clothes. She was fascinated by fashion; she went to design school, and was frustrated by the waste that she ...

This conversation with Ali Waks Adams was soul feeding for me- I love talking to people who are passionate about helping to solve food insecurity, and Ali is on the board of Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program (MPHCC) in my hometown of Brunswick, Maine, and she's sharing some of the things that they're doing that have been working to feed the people of Maine. (I said Maine, not just Brunswick - Ali says they feed people f...

Keith Bearden is the CEO of Alter Eco, a sustainable chocolate company. Under his direction, Alter Eco isn't just delivering delicious chocolate and granola; it's doing so with a mission that aligns perfectly with people who are looking for better options. Keith's initiatives in regenerative farming and sustainable packaging are reaching a broad audience. Alter Eco does more than purchase from growers, they provide t...

Y'all, I hope you love this conversation with Joshua Harrison as much as I did - I was glued to what he was saying! As we talked in the middle of a hot hot summer afternoon, his plan is to cool our paved, blazing hot cities, in the simplest of ways.  He has decades of research and experience to prove it works. Joshua started asking about solar energy in the 70s (incredible story!), and never stopped! He has a center for educat...

I got to meet Patrick Kelly this past January at Podfest, and we talked about doing this episode then - timing was just weird, but I think maybe it was just meant to happen now... Pat is the host of The Produce Industry Podcast and also runs The Produce Industry Network, on the side of his actual produce business and family life... I've said so many times that we should know where our food comes from, and I've talked abou...