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About Dakota
As the creator of The Wander Center, I offer a multi-faceted approach to promoting environmental-consciousness to Austin, Texas and beyond.
I am the daughter of a professional organizer, who is unwaveringly committed to giving culled goods a second life by donating, selling, and otherwise connecting them with the people who need and want them. I also earned a degree in Wildlife Biology from Texas State University, where I fell in love with the natural world and made an unofficial vow to contribute to the cause. I did, however, do an TERRIBLE job of networking in college 🙈 and after many failed attempts to claw my way into the professional environmental world, I pivoted and began to embrace my creativity, entrepreneurial spirit, and small-business skills I had picked up over the years working for MANY amazing small businesses.
I now know that my "zone of genius" and greatest contribution to the environmental cause will not necessarily be out "in the field" 🔧, but working to bridge the gap between humans and the natural world. By helping foster an attitude of respect for our planet and encouraging behavior that is healthy for our HUMAN life as well as the environment. It's not as hard as it may seem 😃.
My Philosophy
As an environmental ally, I believe responsible individual action is a slice of the wholeeee pizza that is environmental health 🍕. Other slices include domestic and global policy 🍕, corporate action 🍕, habitat regeneration 🍕, innovation 🍕, and more 🍕🍕🍕.
As individuals, we are the consumers. We vote with our dollar on what is produced in this world. Some of us are or will be the decision-makers of large entities. Some of us are or will be the brains behind regenerative science. Some of us are or will be the educators of the next generation.
There is no denying that this is a team effort. A global team effort. I am not unrealistic in understanding that individual action alone is not enough to change the trajectory of our environmental status.
My goal for TWC is to engage and inspire as many people as possible in this collective effort, so that our individual action slice of the pizza, the attainable within our circle of influence, is healthy and stable 🍕. Not falling apart!
I also believe in finding a balance, rejecting the notion that extreme living is the answer. Personally, I live in a way I believe is sustainable if the lifestyle was adopted universally. I choose to not deprive myself of life’s offerings so that others can overuse and abuse them. Environmentally responsible choices are baked into every aspect of my life, and the health of the environment is *always* a consideration when making decisions, big and small. But, I have also learned to let go of perfectionism, knowing if we aren’t all on board, our Earth will suffer.
But, when the time comes for policy and action to align with the urgent need, myself and the eco-friendly community are poised and ready, eager to share our knowledge and teachings 🌱.
Wise Words To Live By
I borrow Edward Abbey’s brilliant and chilling closing to Desert Solitaire as my closing here and think of his words often as frustrations and feelings of hopelessness arise:
“One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am — a reluctant enthusiast... a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.”
We're thrilled to help you save time, space & money, Guilt-free!
Contact The wander center
Office # coming soon!
Message
Email: thewandercenter@gmail.com
Austin, Texas & surrounding
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