Sylvin Ashbrook is a true a weaver in the Erie Niagara region. They are a Land Stewardship Coordinator at Grassroots Gardens WNY, working directly with community members across a network of community gardens in Buffalo and Niagara Falls. This experience aligns well with their dream of community-owned regeneration, and allows them to embed themselves in the area. They also focus their attention in supporting and uplifting the many different nonprofits doing work on the ground. Whether it is attending events, serving on boards, finding unique ways to collaborate, or giving plenty of shout outs in podcasts like this one, Sylvin embodies the prosocial mentality needed to weave whole-systems approaches. And they are part of a larger team that promotes this co-creative, collaborative framework for the betterment of social wellbeing in the urban setting. In this episode, we discuss environmental education, Grassroots Gardens and other innovative collaborations which we are sure to visit again in future episodes!

If you would like to learn about or support some of the work Sylvin does, check out and donate to the following organizations:
Grassroots Gardens Western New York: grassrootsgardens.org
Pollinator Conservation Association: pollinatorconservationassociation.org
Western New York Native Plant Collaborative: wnynativeplants.org

Other organizations doing phenomenal work in Erie Niagara mentioned in this episode include:
Buffalo Women of Environmental Leardning and Leadership (BWELL): bwell.community
Buffalo Niagara Waterkeepers: bnwaterkeeper.org
Niagara River Greenway Commission: niagararivergreenway.com
Black Rock Riverside Alliance: brralliance.org
Western New York Environmental Alliance: wnyea.org

Some of the courses that Sylvin took that helped them along their path were through the following organizations:
State University of New York at Cortland Outdoor Recreation major
University at Buffalo M.A. in Sustainability Development
Center for Native Peoples and the Environment

Sylvin would love to share a list of books that have been incredibly helpful to them:

1. A Wetland Walk by Sheri Amsel (This was the first picture book that got me into nature and plants)
2. Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv (A big part of why I became an Environmental Educator)
3. Place-Based Education: Connecting classrooms & communities by David Sobel (He's a prolific writer and expert on place-based pedagogy)
4. Braiding SweetGrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (The quintessential book on Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and how we can use that indigenous way of knowing to come to a better understanding of the natural world)
5. The Nature of Oaks by Doug Tallamy (A wonderful entomologist and advocate for backyard conservation efforts through Homegrown National Park)
6. Meander: Making Room for Rivers by Margaret Wooster (This was the most recent book I've read and it set me up for a wholistic environmental look at WNY)

Networks that Sylvin has been involved with in various capacities include:

1. The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE)
2. The Ecological Landscape Alliance (ELA)
3. The New York State Outdoor Education Association (NYSOEA)

Some songs Sylvin would like to share include:

1. My Roots Go Down (This was a song I used in grounding exercises when I taught Forest Preschool) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZJfRunmd8c
2. The Rainbow Connection (This song is just good vibes all around haha) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS3Lkc6Gzlk

You can follow along as we continue to weave this story on our Substack at awakeninglands.substack.com.

If you'd like to support Anna and Benji to continue weaving stories through Awakening Lands, you can do that from our Patreon Page at https://www.patreon.com/awakening_lands.

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