Spotlight on Cindy Villaseñor
/BY CARA SCHAEFER
If there’s one person who can make digging around in the dirt and low-waste living look fun, it’s garden educator Cindy Villaseñor.
We were lucky enough to speak with her about growing food and finding ways to reduce your environmental impact.
PHOTO COURTESY Cindy Villaseñor
OUT THERE: How does gardening provide you with a connection to nature?
CINDY VILLASEÑOR: I think it’s as simple as touching the soil. You interact with the soil, and you see how plants grow. You get to see life basically happen in front of you through a plant. And you see how many insects interact with it, whether it’s a bee pollinating or a spider somewhere in the garden. Even though they’re very small little things, you realize that there’s a whole big world that is around you and alive, and that you are part of it.
OT: What started you on gardening?
CV: When I was in college I ended up volunteering at the campus garden and compost facility. Towards the end of the summer, the student manager who was in charge saw how interested I was in the compost, and he ended up passing his job to me. I honestly didn’t know much about gardening, even though I was going to be the student manager handling volunteers and things like that! I started learning on my own and from the professors that were in charge of the food garden. It all just started from there.
OT: What’s your favorite thing to grow in your personal garden right now?
CV: Hmm, I would say tomatoes. It’s very satisfying to see tomatoes come to fruit. And one other that I was super excited about: we actually grew a butternut squash! I didn’t think it was going to happen because of not having enough sunlight for plants like that, but we ended up getting this one full-grown butternut squash, and I was really proud of that one.
OT: I know you do some really fun cooking stuff with some of the food you grow. How do you use tomatoes in the kitchen?
CV: I like to make a lot of salsas. One of the things I really started incorporating a couple summers ago was making our own pasta sauce from scratch. I love putting garlic with them and all these other herbs.
PHOTO COURTESY Cindy Villaseñor
OT: You talk about being low-waste versus zero-waste. What does that mean to you?
CV: I tend to use those two terms kind of interchangeably, because “zero-waste” is more of a concept. And I say “concept” because in the world that we live in right now, true zero-waste doesn’t exist. I usually use “low-waste” a lot because that’s the reality that we live in. Low-waste is you will still make some trash, you won’t be perfect and that’s just how it is. At least right now in these times.
OT: What are some simple changes you’d recommend to someone trying to transition to a more low-waste lifestyle.
CV: One I love to recommend is trying reusable paper towels. And the other tip would be try to see what’s available to you in your local grocery store or market. To see what’s available package-free or in reusable containers, and seeing if you can get creative with what you have. I tend to do a lot of googling for recipes and seeing what I can create with package-free items that are available to me.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
PHOTO COURTESY Cindy Villaseñor
To read more about Cindy, follow her on Instagram @cerowastecindy or visit her website.
