Presbyterian Manor Accessible Raised Gardens

AND POLLINATOR WAY STATION | Feb 2023 - present

Serving as Vice Chair to the Natural Resources Advisory Board (NRAB), I brought ​the idea of accessible raised gardens with pollinator features for local retirement ​facilities to the board as a new member in 2023: it took. From there, a committee ​formed and began making relevant connections in the community to execute this ​project correctly. We quickly formed a partnership with Emporia Presbyterian ​Manor to pilot this project for their resident Garden Club.

We pulled community experts from Emporia State University’s Prophet Aquatic ​Research and Outreach Center (PAROC), K-State Extension and Research Center, ​Hetlinger Developmental Services, Healthier Lyon County, and other invested ​community experts to devise a plan and a budget for the project. We held ​numerous meetings, including some “town hall” meetings with the Presbyterian ​Manor Garden Club to converse over which plants they’d like to grow in their ​beds.

The Presbyterian Manor Garden Club is a group of seasoned experts as well; with ​each member having a gardening background - they all really love tomatoes and ​have so many great gardening stories to tell! The gardeners are incredibly eager to ​have their beloved and therapeutic hobby returned to them.

After a budget was created and agreed upon, we were able to secure funding from ​the BlueCross BlueShield of KS Pathways grant in the amount of $11,921 to be ​spent on accessible raised garden beds, produce, native pollinator plants, and all ​the care items necessary to maintain the gardens.

Street Cats Club Administration Volunteer

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER | Mar 2024 - present

I’ve always been a fierce advocate for animals: domesticated and wild, caring ​for many pets of my own and being a conscientious steward of our planet ​earth. With birds being one of my greatest interests, you can assume my ​position on feral cat populations -- when I saw the opportunity to support ​Emporia’s only local Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR) group by managing their social ​media, the decision was a no-brainer.

My funky, bold personal style matched Street Cats Club’s brand standards ​almost perfectly, with a little guidance and adjusting (and reducing my beloved ​usage of puns), I’ve been able to produce numerous educational/promotional ​graphics and original content for Street Cats Club’s Instagram and Facebook ​accounts.

I wanted to begin building a portfolio of quality photos for the organization to ​use in multiple aspects of their work - coordinating with the Executive Director ​to meet at TNR events such as the returning of spayed/neutered cats to their ​original colonies and K-State Mobile Surgery Unit spay/neuter days to capture ​and document the process.

Public education is my primary reason for volunteering my free time and ​artistic ability to Street Cats Club -- I do believe TNR is an effective solution to ​reducing the feral cat population. However, long-term change doesn’t come ​from a coalition of the willing alone; it comes from the whole public making a ​conscientious effort. I’m doing my due diligence by spreading education and ​empowering our community to do their part in stopping the spread of feral cats ​and preserving our native wildlife.