Professional Goals:
The current professional goals of mine include: a photography gallery opening along with the completion of a 3-year old photography project, Solar Energy NABCEP certification, the MSc program for which this paper is written, using Spanish in a business setting, and starting a self-owned ecological design business. Many of these goals overlap into the personal and project areas, and I will discuss these aspects in those sections separately.
I have three professional goals surrounding my growth in photography for the next year. One is to have a gallery opening in which I also have a party for the release of the book on Ecological Design as an Inter-American Dialogue that I successfully funded as a kickstarter project last year. Another is to redesign my web-based photography portfolio (www.DBLfoto.com) to include more interaction, comments on each photo, and the ability for me to write an introduction to each gallery and write a short description and/or poem for each photograph. The last is simply to improve my technique, understanding and dexterity with cameras, video, lighting and everything else that comprises that vast world of photography in this exciting age of rapid technological development!
I have recently started writing as an online SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Content Writer in Spanish. Basically, the job entails writing short articles with key words so that search engines can read them. For me, the job signifies the achievement of a professional goal to make income and utilize my Spanish at the same time. In addition, the majority of my co-workers at my landscaping job are Mexican. I am grateful to have the opportunity to speak Spanish at work with them. There are times when I do not use my Spanish and I can feel my ability to communicate in that second language fade. I am glad to be in a position to be able to write, listen and speak in Spanish as a part of who I am professionally. I even recently ordered new business cards, and I included a line that says, “Se Habla Español,” (Spanish Spoken). The steady improvement of my Spanish grammar, lexicon and conversational idioms will continue to be a goal of mine throughout my capstone year.
I have also recently started a sales position with Consumer Electric Inc., the president of which is the father of Bradford White, a recent BSc Gaia U graduate. Bradford’s father, Forrest, has helped in the design of a new microprocessor called the Aire Chip. The Aire Chip is designed to retrofit existing HVAC (Heating, Air-Condition & Ventilation) units in hot and dry climates to reduce monthly costs by 14-35%. There are many ways that the Aire Chip is programmed. One of the most energy saving aspects of the Aire Chip is how it dynamically measures the amount of moisture present on the compressor coils after each cooling cycle to then extend the duration of the fan in order to optimize the usage of latent energy. The compressor is a 6,500-watt consuming device, whereas the fan is usually around 600watts. HVAC costs can be as high as 30-40% of monthly energy bills for some home-owners and businesses, and HVAC energy consumption has a large net impact on the entire energy grid, which has further environmental implications such as air quality. It is my hope that the Aire Chip will give me experience and networking in the areas of energy optimization and sustainable professionals in the area, so that I may more easily be involved with other solar and ecological projects as I become more qualified.
Professionally speaking, I strive towards becoming a qualified Permaculture Designer. By having a California state certified Solar Energy Technician NABCEP (North American Board of Certified Energy Practicitioners) license, as well as a CA-C27 Landscaping Contractor’s license, as well as my past experience and continuing studies in the field of applied urban permaculture, I intend to create a credible business that is recognized as such by home-owners. I am very happy to have recently been hired to do a permaculture design for a client here in Santa Cruz shortly after returning from Costa Rica, and I feel as though this was a mental hurdle that I needed to overcome in order to push edges and grow closer to achieving this sometimes-very-far-off-feeling-dream of having a comfortable livelihood through engaging in permaculture. Although it is true that my current job of installing and maintaining suburban landscapes does satisfy many steps necessary for me to achieve my ultimate goal of being a successful permaculture-business owner, it is also trying at times to participate in activities on a daily basis that seemingly go against the principles of permaculture. Activities such as: covering soil in plastic to suppress weeds, guiding the roof-water run-off directly to the storm drains while installing a grid-connected drip-system, and throwing away partially used materials that could still be utilized.
Although I am conflicted at times, I am also amazed to be living during times of such great transition, and I recognize that I have to understand the in’s-and-out’s of normal (or, ‘old-fashioned’) landscaping in order to be able to strategically direct a new form of business in ecological design that has never really existed prior to this unique age. Solar Energy, as a marketable business to consumers started in 1998 in California. In addition, Permaculture Design as a practice is still very much off-the-radar for most people. Thus, my over-arching professional goal is to be able to arrive at a client’s house, and be confidently versed in the following: edible/medicinal plant guilds suited to the microclimate, solar energy, greywater, mushrooms, compost, soil, bees, chickens, aquaponics design, tree care, irrigation, building, painting, and more. This means that I would have to be prepared with the tools necessary to get the job done in a manner that is acceptable in the current culture of landscaping in the urban setting. In fact, one of my output packets during this capstone year will be focused on exactly this topic. I plan to create spreadsheets, diagrams and business plans for everything from a compostable toilet on a trailer, to strategic partnerships with wholesale nurseries and solar energy suppliers.