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Each month we ask a new eco-maven 18 questions about his or her life, occupation, and advice for other like-minded people. This month we connected with the Founder of Birds Nest Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on education, healthcare, human rights and environmental matters and Birds Nest Productions which produces videos for charitable organizations.
1. What is your name?
Avis Richards
2. What is your occupation?
CEO/Founder, Birds Nest Foundation & Birds Nest Productions
3. Do you have a “green” memory growing up?
Growing up in upstate New York, my favorite memories include picking apples, grapes and pears from my family’s backyard garden. My favorite recipe was a fresh strawberry rhubarb pie that I still make today.
4. What’s your favorite meal?
Any quick and easy vegetable dish that includes fresh ingredients from my local farmers market.
5. Who/what inspires you to be more “green” in your life?
Upstate New York’s vast farmland fostered my appreciation for the “green” lifestyle. Now I serve on the board of Earth Day Network, which informs and energizes communities worldwide, so they will act to secure a healthy future for themselves and their children.
Additionally, observing how Birds Nest Foundation’s Ground Up Campaign impacts children through hands-on gardening reiterates the importance of living a “green” life.
6. Where on the “green scale” do you fall ?
On a scale of 1-10, I give myself an 8. I only buy organic/ eco-conscious products and foods. I also support my local farmers, recycle, drive a smart car, and ride a bicycle whenever possible. Of course, there is always room for improvement, and I hope to do just that over time.
7. What are the most rewarding and most challenging parts of your job?
I love helping both non-profits and companies tell their stories in a unique, innovative way, but having to limit our projects due to time and financial constraints is always disappointing.
8. Where’s your “green spot” for food, body care/beauty, oceans, home or neighborhood, explain:
My home in Southampton, located just across from the ocean. While there, I shop at farmers markets, buying only organic, in-season produce, and grass-fed, organic beef from our local butcher. I love that I have access to fresh, local fish during these summer months, too.
9. Where do you turn for your news?
I love the Huffington Post, CNN, and The New York Post.
10. What is one environmental change you vow to make in the next year?
I hope to compost more and own a battery-operated car.
11. If you could trade places with one person from any time in history (past or present) for one day—who would it be and why?
I don’t want to trade places with anyone! I am blessed with wonderful, family and friends, and I wouldn’t want to miss a moment of it.
12. You have a meeting with the leader of every country in the world. You have 30 seconds to tell them anything you want. Go!
Let’s secure a commitment to enduring peace, cleansing the environment, liberalizing the economy so that all workers have an equal chance for prosperity with the less fortunate gaining access to better healthcare & education.
13. You have the chance to send one tweet to all the tweeps in the world. Let’s hear it in 140 characters, or less!
Let Birds Nest Foundation, a one-of-a-kind non-profit, help tell your story– and donate to the cause today!
14. If there was one industry/product that you could make more eco-friendly, what would it be?
Cell phones. They give off harmful microwave radiation that has lasting negative effects on the human body. I explore this issue in-depth in my upcoming documentary, Talk Smart http://www.birdsnestfoundation.org/about-talk-smart
15. Where in the world would you most like to be right now?
Although I love it here at my desk in NYC, I wish I could be in the Hamptons: sitting on my patio, drinking iced green tea with mint from my garden, and listening to the ocean waves. Otherwise, I would love to be walking down the streets of Paris on my way to Café de Flore for a cappuccino.
16. What is the best book you have read recently?
Thug Kitchen, Eat like you give a F*ck by Matt Holloway and Michelle Davis
17. What makes you cringe?
Seeing young people smoke cigarettes.
18. What do you want your legacy to be?
Knowing deep down inside that I did my part to support my community and improve the environment so that the world is a better place for our children, elderly, and those less fortunate.
