SHELLEY LANDIS
SOLAR Member Spotlight
Tell us a little about yourself.
I first became engaged as an advocate for the environment when I lived in New Mexico and worked to help protect Navajo sacred sites from uranium mining and drilling. The experience opened my eyes to the sacredness of our environment as well as the power of a small but focused group of people working together for a common cause. Presently, my passions are focused on my work as a social worker and community organizer with Rebuilding the Wall, a local non-profit, that has partnered with KIB in the past.
Why did you first support SOLAR?
Partly because I want to be a model for and encourage my daughter to love and care for her environment. I also wanted to stay connected with what KIB is doing in the city, and , particularly in inner city neighborhoods like ours!
Do you have a favorite KIB experience or memory?
One of my first and most fond memories involve the planning and coordination of a tree-planting project with KIB and Rebuilding the Wall in our neighborhood! We planted somewhere between 35 and 50 trees in one day and engaged scads of neighbors and volunteers in the process! It was a beautiful picture of the community coming together to create spaces of beauty in our own back, and front yards!
What keeps you involved?
Stepping out of my house keeps me involved and inspired. I live near the Monon trail and benefit from the KIB-planted trees whenever I ride my bike! One of the things that keeps our city beautiful is the GREEN provided by the hundreds (thousands?) of trees being planted by KIB and friends! Natural beauty inspires me to stay involved!
Do you have a favorite place in the city?
Hmmmm. I would have to say that my daughter and I really enjoy Holliday Park. It is a little known fact that the park offers a plethora of hiking trails bordering the river, and offers opportunities to get lost even! I can drive there in less than 15 minutes from downtown and land in a space where the crickets overpower the motorists!
