Be the Change

I met Addisyn Mayer on Instagram and we became fast friends. From doing beach cleanups in her neighborhood, to marching for children's educational, health and safety rights, she inspires me daily to continue to be the change. Did I mention she is just 10 years old? For BTC's 7th Season and 50th episode - I cannot think of a better guest to have on.Addisyn is joined by her Mom Jenn, and we will hear how being the change runs in their family and also how Addisyn inspires Jenn to keep fighting the good fight.You can follow Jenn and Addisyn on Instagram at jenn_mayer9 and rebel_addisyn

With a career in film spanning 40 years, Louie Schwartzberg has opened our hearts with his work - inviting us to sit in awe of this remarkable thing we call life. He is renowned and revered for his work in time lapse cinematography, most notably with his Moving Art series on Netflix and of course the film Fantastic Funghi.I am honored (and grateful) to welcome Louie to Be The Change to discuss his latest masterpiece Gratitude Revealed, an exploration into this emotion and how it is a healing salve in the most unexpected circumstances.To host a screening of Gratitude Revealed or to find one near you, visit www.https://gratituderevealed.com/ and gratituderevealedfilm on instagram

Numerous studies, including those conducted by our own governments show it is not just important, but imperative our children have consistent exposure to nature.The positive effects of nature include improved cognitive functioning, including increased concentration, greater attention capacities, and higher academic performance. Yet millions of city kids have no access to anything more than a cement park, already putting them at a disadvantage.My next guest is out to change that.Manny Almonte is the Co-founder of Camping to Connect, a BIPOC-led experiential mentorship program that uses outdoor recreation and nature immersion to address the diverse issues faced by young men of color in America’s cities. Led by and for people of color, Camping to Connect is elevating the narrative that the outdoors belong to everybody. For more information please visit www.campingtoconnect.com and www.mastermindconnect.com.

This October 22nd will be 10 years since much of NYC was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. With millions of dollars in federal funding, it wasn’t until this past year that NYC started to take action on making downtown neighborhoods more resilient to ever increasing storms. The plans approved and forced on to residents by former Mayor De Blasio, with the support of our city council and current Mayor Adams- reads like a typical political playbook.  How can we make things worse and spend billions of dollars doing so.Today I am joined by Allie Ryan and Tommy Loeb from East River Park Action.  Both Tommy and Allie have lived in the Lower Eastside for years, are lifelong activists with experience in NYC politics. They fought with the city for a true climate resilient plan in their neighborhood,  but unfortunately were unable to stop the city from cutting down 700 mature cherry trees, destroy the amphitheater and leave behind an asbestos problem that still is not remedied. They will give us an inside view on their remarkable battle against the greenwashing that took place in East River Park and how they will continue to fight for transparency. Want to get involved and #bethechange ? Visit www.eastriverparkaction.org

In NYC we are currently facing major green washing resiliency projects that are taking away our public green spaces and old grow vegetation and being replaced with cement mounds and more development. Is it possible to have resiliency and also nature? The answer is a resounding yes. Not only do we need to work with it, we need to partner with it.In this BTC conversation we will hear from Eric "T" Fleisher, an Environmental Restoration expert who believes we need to stop fighting with nature and learn to live in harmony with it – floods and all.Eric is the Co-Principal of F2Environmental Design, a Soil Scientist, an Evironmental Restoration Specialist and a A Loeb Fellow at Harvard University. He is a frequent lecturer on sustainable practices and serves as a consultant for some of the top institutions in the country including Battery Park City where he is the former director of horticulture.http://www.f2environmentaldesign.com

We all want climate resiliency to protect our homes and neighborhoods – but what do we do when our city officials use resiliency to develop our public green spaces for their profit?In NYC we are currently seeing our public parks being turned into cement, all in the name climate resiliency, except that it isn’t. Science shows that we need the trees and vegetation to soak up the heavy rain falls.  We recently saw the heartbreaking destruction of East River Park where hundreds of mature trees were chopped down. And now on the opposite side of the city in Battery Park City, Wagner Park is set to be completely leveled.Joining me today is Britni Erez and Kelly McGowan from the Battery Park City Neighborhood Association, along with Battery Park Montessori and Green Ivy School Founder Jennifer Jones.We will learn how the Battery Park City Authority is forcing their plans on the community, how it isn’t even needed in Wagner Park and how we all need to join together to protect our green spaces. www.savewagner.com