By Dalia Díaz
Through the years, there has been a cry for education on the benefits of recycling in the City of Lawrence. The excuse was always lack of resources but a person with creativity and the proper education could make things possible.
As Frank Bonet said on an email introducing her, “Lorena comes to the City from Lawrence Community Works as a Lead Community Organizer and also worked on Groundwork’s Green Teams during the summer focusing on recycling outreach. Her experience understanding the community and creativity with working with recycled products (she worked in her native Colombia in a company that repurposed plastic products into accessories like handbags, purses and bracelets!) will be a great asset as we work on moving our recycling program forward.”
Since a young age, Lorena was interested in recycling and the environment so it was only natural for her to attend the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, a private university in Colombia with its main campus in Medellín where she studied Industrial Design. She was fascinated every time a product was introduced in the market as a result of utilizing prior materials to become something else.
After graduation, Lorena went to work for two companies where she was assigned the work within certain scopes and limitations not allowing her creativity to flourish. She ended up starting her own business, Sustainable Design, and in a couple of years had a respectable amount of success.
Fortunately, she decided to come to the United States and it was our gain.
“I consider important of my background that during me years in Lawrence, I’ve been actively involved with the community first as a volunteer with Bread and Roses Festival, and then on my work as a Green Team Leader at Groundwork Lawrence on the summer 2014, and then as a community organizer for 4 years 2014-2018 at Lawrence CommunityWorks,”she said.
Lorena understands the need for an educational campaign before the city starts enforcing the recycling rules. “Some people think that we should start giving files to residents that don’t recycle but I believe that to be unfair,” she said. “An educational campaign definitely should include school children. They take the message home and educate their families,” she added.
She has found the job that will allow her to use her imagination and creativity. Once residents learn the three Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) they will understand that it is fun finding new purpose for material or things that otherwise would have ended up with the regular trash.
The gas emergency that the city is going through has put a damper on her efforts because all monies available should go to remedy that situation. Once it is over, she is loaded with ideas, particularly in the schools to star using.
“I have learned a lot about my community and I have a deep sense of ownership and good connections within the City that, despite its reputation, offers opportunities and a great community that comes together to move it forward,” she concluded.
