Monday 9am/9pmET

Winner of Dreamvisions 7 Radio Network’s
Spring Host Extravaganza 2019!

The Story Walking Radio Hour with Wendy Fachon

Tune in to Nature’s loving vibes. Listen to nature-inspired stories and interviews with environmental educators for new ideas about how to make our world a better place. Sustainable Living Newswriter, nature walker and youth educator Wendy Nadherny Fachon hosts the Story Walker Radio Hour to talk about issues that matter and to introduce you to people who are coming up with creative… sensible… solutions. Let’s engage with Earth… with Spirit… and with one another… heart to heart… to solve problems and co-create more meaningful life stories. By integrating environmentalism into our professional vocations and passionate avocations, we contribute to building a healthier, more beautiful and sustainable world

www.storywalking.com  and www.wendyfachon.blog
Join Wendy on facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/StoryWalkingRadio

New! Wendy’s Special Book to Be Published

The Difference Maker is Wendy Fachon’s inspirational memoir of her son, Neil, a high school student and environmental activist who espoused a different style of leadership. He was touched by many lives, and he touched many lives in return, before passing away at age 20. Download the pdf version for free. If you enjoy the eBook and wish to spread its positive messaging by helping Wendy publish the narrative in paperback for wider distribution; enclose a $1, $5, $10 bill or check in an envelope and mail it to: Wendy Fachon, P.O. Box 2221, East Greenwich, RI 02818. Fans can also help by sending a brief review to wendy@netwalkri.com.

Broadcasts Weekly Monday 9am & 9pmET

Wendy’s Planet Health This Week

Monday 9am/9pmET

Designing Biomaterials for a Circular Economy
with guests Megan Valanidas, Principal Designer, Altimeter Group
and Callie Clayton, Designer and Former Material Design Researcher, Modern Meadow

How does one go about designing materials and products that are truly sustainable? Biodesign is a nascent field seeking to solve the problem of plastics pollution. Today’s guests provide an inspiring example of how one can pick a problem, study it, discuss it, brainstorm with others and help devise solutions that are both innovative and sensible. Graduates of the Rhode Island School of Design, Megan Valanidas and Callie Clayton are both bioneers, bringing together the disciplines of art and science to help create new bio-based materials, products and circular systems.

Valanidas works as Principal with the Altimeter Group, where she is exploring biodesign and helping to create compostable materials, products and systems that are truly sustainable. Specifically, she is working to ensure that biomaterials function in a seamless and intuitive way once they inevitably rise to everyday use and scaled applications.

Clayton studied Textile Design and minored in Sustainable Studies. She has been working as a Material Design Researcher at Modern Meadow, a startup that is transforming the material world through the development of textile materials that are both design-conscious and eco-minded.

This forward thinking episode begins with a story walk that leads across an algal bloom and into a new world of bioplastics. Along the way, we suggest resources for further discovery, which are listed below.

INFORMATION RESOURCES FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION

eXXpedition all-female voyages exploring the impact of and solutions to plastic and toxic pollution in our ocean – https://exxpedition.com/

SHiFT Platform sharing hundreds of solutions to plastic pollution – https://shift.how/

“The Breakup: Microbes + Bioplastics” article in Biodesigned by Megan Valanidas –  https://www.biodesigned.org/megan-valanidas/the-breakup

Creatives in Biotech youtube video series – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDJgY29A4Ys

Materiom open source library for experimentation with loads of biomaterial recipes – https://materiom.org/

Ecovative Design mycelium foundry – https://ecovativedesign.com/

Biofabricate resources from consultancy working with brands, startups and investors on biomaterials and sustainability – https://www.biofabricate.co/resources

Atelier Luma/Algae Project design-oriented studio/research group experimenting with algae to create products via 3D printing and other methods – https://atelier-luma.org/en/about

Atelier Luma Algae Review newsletter – https://leeloo.luma-arles.org/s/wWi8NFcKHnLoxPy#pdfviewer

Global Community Bio Summit annual conference for biologists and biodesigners – https://www.biosummit.org/

Fashion for Good sustainable textile innovation platform, with an accelerator program that funds emerging startups – https://fashionforgood.com/about-us/

RELATED EPISODES

Voyaging into an Ocean of Plastics

Earth Care Composting for Climate Restoration

Developing a Sustainable Textile Industry for the 21st Century

RELATED STORY WALKING PHOTOBLOGS FOR KIDS

Story Walking for Answers – https://netwalkri.com/blog/f/story-walking-for-answers

EcoPirate on the Cover – https://netwalkri.com/blog/f/ecopirate-on-the-cove

EcoDetectives Dig Up Some Dirt – https://netwalkri.com/blog/f/ecodetectives-dig-up-some-dirt

EcoDetective at Bleachery Falls – https://netwalkri.com/blog/f/eco-detective-at-bleachery-falls

Learn more at www.storywalking.com ,  https://netwalkri.com email wendy@netwalkri.com or call 401 529-6830. Connect with Wendy to order copies of Fiddlesticks, The Angel Heart or Storywalker Wild Plant Magic Cards.

Subscribe to Wendy’s blog Writing with Wendy at www.wendyfachon.blog.
Join Wendy on facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/StoryWalkingRadio
The Empowerment Factory https://www.theempowermentfactory.org/

BIO: Story Walking Radio Host, Wendy Nadherny Fachon empowers young people, by showing how to step forward into each new life learning adventure with clarity, confidence and positive energy. Wendy began her youth work training in the school of life by observing and listening to her own daughter and son as they faced the challenges of growing up with bullying, fickle friends, and tough teachers. When her nephews, aged 5 and 7, lost their father on 9/11, she joined the boys and her sister on their bumpy journey along the road to recovery from deep trauma and upheaval.

As Wendy’s children grew into their independence, she entered into youth work and earned her RIPQA certification, Rhode Island’s 21^st Century Community Learning Center program quality training. At the same time, she joined a holistic community, which informed and inspired her Story Walking practice, and in 2011, Wendy created a lyrical Storywalker CD, Fiddlesticks, to introduce the concept of Story Walking to children and parents. Wendy’s stories and associated lessons combine mindful walking, word play, environmental education and spirituality to nurture the personal development of her followers. From there, Wendy began leading programs for in-school and out-of-school-time (OST) enrichment.

One of her first youth work assignments was to form an after-school walking club to help an unusually obese child get more physically active, make friends, and increase self-esteem. At the core of the Story Walking practice is the concept that each individual is the main character in his or her own unique life story, holding the power to weave the fabric of that story through the conscious energetic choices of words, thoughts, intentions and actions, elicited in response to both fortunate and unfortunate situations. Inevitably, each story becomes an important piece of the great storied tapestry of humanity.

In 2014, Wendy published her Storywalker children’s book, The Angel Heart. Dedicated to her late father, this poetic story presents a metaphor for finding the peace, love and joy within ourselves when confronted with sadness, loss and grief.

In 2016, Wendy’s faced the unimaginable, when her 19-year-old son, Neil, was diagnosed with DIPG, an aggressive, rare, inoperable form of the brain stem cancer. Doctors said he would be dead within three months. Neil’s story was an epic battle on multiple fronts, where he rose above overwhelming adversity to outlive his prognosis enough to create a lasting impact on the world, before finally departing from his physical body. His story continues beyond his passing, as his spirit guides Wendy and the rest of his family in finding ways to bring greater hope and joy to children experiencing life threatening illnesses and other challenges. After a year of caregiving and a time of intense grief, Wendy was guided back to her Story Walking practice with a higher sense of purpose and seeks to expand her practice through the Story Walking Radio Hour.

Affiliated with The Empowerment Factory, Wendy is recognized for her creative collaboration with many youth-focused organizations and Title I schools. She is also a regular contributor to Natural Awakenings healthy living magazine, writing articles about children, health, and environmental issues.

Learn more at storywalking.com, email wendy@netwalkri.com or call 401 529-6830. Connect with Wendy to order copies of Fiddlesticks, The Angel Heart or Storywalker Wild Plant Magic Cards.

Subscribe to Wendy’s blog Writing with Wendy at www.wendyfachon.blog.
Join Wendy on facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/StoryWalkingRadio