Alec Hill

Before he was out of High School Alec knew there were things worth changing in the world, and somehow he was going to work to be that change.   Currently he is facilitating and working with CatalystNow, a non profit that works toward bringing about social change for the better.  The website, catalystnow.org contains various components all working toward achieving social and ecological harmony.

One such component is the Bioregional bulletin, a media outlet where information about nonprofits, activists, and organizers can be shared with everyone. The idea is to give people a chance to see what is being addressed in their own bio-region.  If anyone would like to begin a bulletin for their area, Alec can share an online template to start one up.

Another one is the Peoples Voice Initiative, which gives everyone a chance to share their vision of society and focus abstract ideas to provide a world vision to work towards.  His own lifestyle reflects a vision of harmony more than most people I know…

His happiness comes from helping people when they need help, smiling, listening, and saying ‘hello’ to people he sees.  His yurt does not have too big a footprint, and getting around means taking a bike or sharing a ride.  He usually fixes or patches things that need mending, but when he does buy things he shops at ecologically responsible stores.  He brings jars and bags to the grocery store, or otherwise things with no or minimal packaging.

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The Koren Family

I knew I was going to stay with Ben and his family my first night so I asked him if there was anything I could write about in the blog. He did not think of anything right away, so when I saw their composting operation I asked him why he had not mentioned it. “It is just something we have always done.”

Ben with the compost pile

Composting, or the decomposition of organic waste by micro-organisms and bacteria, is one of the more sustainable efforts you can take part in because the use of compost (rich soil) in your yard or garden returns organic matter, nutrients and vital bacteria to the earth. Composting is also a component of the growing international movement striving toward Zero Waste. Keeping things out of the landfills and incinerators starts with only buying things you need, reusing what you or other people already have, recycling (I guess I could have said ‘the three Rs’), and composting the organic waste.

On another note Ben’s parents are pretty cool for school. His father Ed is a cartoonist for the New Yorker, while his mother Curtis is the founder and director of Vermont Intercultural Semesters (VIS), a program for High School students to gain credit abroad in Ladakh, India. VIS offers semester and year long immersion courses during which students take part in lectures, discussions, field trips, home stays, and workshops with themes of community heritage, sustainable development, and cultural identity. The placed base courses infuse hands on learning with critical thinking, a method which I can say from experience brings significance to what is being taught in a way that classrooms cannot. For more information visit