September Member Spotlight: Laura England

We are excited to feature the passionate Laura England as our member spotlight for September. Laura is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sustainable Development at Appalachian State University. Before teaching, she worked as an outreach professional in the non-profit sector dealing with environmental sustainability with a major focus on water issues. Laura recently became a founding board member for the Carolina Wetland Association and currently serves on the board of Valle Crucis Community Park. She inspires students in the classroom and has created positive impacts in her community.

When Laura was growing up, her parents emphasized the importance of service. For years, she volunteered for a therapeutic horseback riding program. The experience inspired her as an adult to always be involved in organizations whose missions she cares about.

Laura's passion for local food can be seen through her backyard garden and her support of local farms and farmers, as she has been a CSA member for 15+ years. Laura's favorite BRWIA memory is of her family volunteering to help build the learning garden at the ASU Child Development Center. She explains "My son Gabe loved helping install the locust fence posts, build raised beds, and more."

Laura became a member of BRWIA "because food that's healthful--for those who grow it, for the ecosystems where it's grown, and for the people who eat it--is something that we should all get excited about! I'm so grateful for the amazing work that BRWIA is doing in our community and the region, making our food system more equitable and sustainable. As a mother, I have a lot of concerns about the world that my kids are going to inherit. So it feels really good to support organizations like BRWIA that doing such hopeful work."