Alex Booth may have ended their time as a READY Crew Member in 2019, but the knowledge and skills they gained with EcoWorks continues to guide their decisions and impact their life today, even while living in Germany.
"My time with READY has impacted my life going forward in that I can now perceive how rainwater is mismanaged in my community. I've been empowered to pursue a path of political activism around the concept of green space management in my city," they said.
After graduating from St. Mary's College with a major in sculpture and painting and a minor in plant ecology and genetics, Alex spent a summer constructing stormwater management projects with READY. This was their first time getting paid for ecological restoration work and they reflect that they truly enjoyed the conscious community EcoWorks offered and the feeling of satisfaction in seeing the finished products they worked hard to complete. Alex is especially appreciative of EcoWorks' training program where they gained an understanding of soil categorization and water drainage. They carried this knowledge to their current volunteer position at a community garden in their hometown of Berlin.
In Germany, Alex works as an English teacher and as a fabrication artist, and they've found some interesting overlap between their environmental and artistic pursuits. "The elements of creativity and organization involved in making artwork apply seamlessly to garden planning. I've learned to see trends that exist in a space visually and functionally and to further these trends into intentional design," they explained.
Alex also spends much of their time working on the political side of landscape design and garden space. Specifically, they're looking into how green spaces can activate communities and build networks to promote stability and upward mobility in lower income communities. We're so proud to call Alex part of the EcoWorks community and can't wait to see what incredible things they accomplish!
