PLANTS: THE OG AIR PURIFIERS WE NEED MORE OF

PEOPLE WHO ARE CRUSHIN' IT [the ecofemmag podcast]

Written by Brittany Shenk

Picture this: you walk outside your house, and you’re IN a park. Plants are all around you; they line the sidewalks, climb the walls of your home, huge trees provide shade and fruit for you to snack on. They cleanse your air. They decrease your stress. You don’t have to walk to the park to be surrounded by nature, you step out your front door, and boom, nature is just there, hugging you, cleansing you, loving you.

When did we decide that green spaces have to be confined within the boundaries of a park? Plants are essential to the health of the planet, so, doesn’t it make sense that we would want them EVERYWHERE?

Stevie Famulari, our podcast guest this week, is my new favorite plant enthusiast. She’s on a mission to integrate more plants into our environments, like rooftops, building walls, offices spaces, etc., to address the changing climate. Stevie has handfuls of brilliant projects that use plants as a focal point. Stevie “has been a Professor of Landscape Architecture for a decade, as well as a director, a green artist, an author, and a researcher”, and has been featured in hundreds of books, magazines, television shows, papers, and newspaper articles.

In our podcast episode, Ellen had the chance to chat with her about her latest projects, here’s a quick recap:

• EngagingGreen.com: a database for finding certain plants to uptake certain environmental toxins (cigarette smoke, formaldehyde, etc.)
• A rooftop garden chakra healing center for outpatient cancer patients: yep, it’s as cool as it sounds, and yep, even the crystals were approved
• Living green dresses: exactly what you’re imagining, roots and all
• Green Up!: her upcoming book to help businesses and individuals learn how to ‘green up’ their spaces; keep an eye out for this baby to hit the shelves

Simply put, Stevie is a plant-loving badass.

Let us know what you think of this week’s episode in the comments below, and be sure to check out all of Stevie’s impressive, green projects on her website.

Stevie Famulari, Gds teaches and designs public art, phytoremediation, stormwater management, landscape architecture history, and specialty green courses. Her research in design explores the relationship, extension, and application of green designs to other professional fields. Stevie’s PhD, ABD research is at RMIT. She received her Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry with a concentration in Fine Arts from Syracuse University. Her Bachelors of Fine Arts is from New York University.

Ms. Famulari’s works explores the relationship, extension, and application of green designs to other professional fields. Her work focuses on greening designs and practices to create healthy spaces for living and working. With the science of phytoremediation applied to the art of landscape design, her works have aesthetic beauty as well as healing properties for both people and the environment.