new year, new direction!

Conserving Amy was born of a challenge to conserve mind, body, spirit, sanity and a few natural California resources, all while training for my first marathon.
It provided a personal platform to document the uniting of canyon trail and beach boardwalk runs with a growing knowledge of the need to protect these same places (and others like them) many of us love and enjoy.

In a single month, my crew and I raised a few hundred dollars for a non-profit environmental conservation organization and I ran my first consecutive 26.2 miles. While training, I had a ton of time to think of ways I might continue challenging myself in the future; of ways to continue Conserving Amy.

But all I could think about was the way I felt incredibly bothered by my driving to trails – and everywhere else for that matter.

Buying coffee after runs, to-go, in disposable cups.

Re-fueling with take-out from joints that sent food home in plastic bags.

The journey and careful reflection helped me realize that making an impact – or less of one - doesn’t have to come in the form of a check or donation, of saving a forest or adopting a coral reef.

Making an impact can be as simple as taking one small step, once-a-day, in my daily routine, toward a more sustainable, eco-conscious way of living. Only by changing my world first might I be able to one day help change the world.

Conserving Amy will call out and bring to light all of the non-environmentally-friendly habits I want to personally shake, but haven’t yet because ignoring them has been easy... And I know committing to thoughtful change will be hard.

I'll explore solutions in an effort to modify behavior, implement them in the best ways I know how and monitor progress day in and day out. It’s an experiment. An experience. And here on Conserving Amy, you’ll read and see it all.