Meet Beth Alaimo, one of RIEEA’s new board members of 2024!
Beth is the Education Program Manager at Ocean Hour Farm, a Newport center for education, research and regenerative agriculture which highlights the critical connection between land management and ocean health. The role combines many of her passions and career experiences, including environmental education, farming, community engagement and systems thinking.
Q&A
What’s your favorite outdoor place in Rhode Island, and why?
El Pond/Long Pond for hiking! I love how magical it feels with all the rhododendron, and it’s one of the few hikes in Rhode Island where I break a sweat!
How did you get involved in the environmental field?
While attending the University of Connecticut, I took an ornithology class and LOVED it. I decided I wanted to add on a minor in ecology and explore the environmental field a bit more. So during my summers off of school, I worked with a local raptor rehabilitator and completed a zookeeper internship at the Roger Williams Zoo.
I enjoyed these experiences so much that I decided to apply to an Environmental Education AmeriCorps program upon graduation. I got the job and joined the Ocean State Environmental Education Collaborative (OSEEC) AmeriCorps program, then moved to Rhode Island and spent a year serving at the Norman Bird Sanctuary! This year of AmeriCorps changed my career path. I met so many amazing people, connected with the natural world and realized I was a pretty natural educator! This was the beginning.
What’s your favorite environmental fact to share?
Soil is ALIVE! It is full of microscopic critters called microbes that help make nutrients available to the plants above!
Why did you become a RIEEA board member?
The community! RIEEA members are the people I want to work alongside to promote a healthier Rhode Island for everyone, including the critters! Everyone is so kind, knowledgeable and energized by environmental stewardship. It is such a special community.