By: Ava H.
Rozina Kanchwala is the founder of non-profit Eco.Logic, an education, arts, and community building organization committed to making environmental education accessible and inspiring people to join the movement in ways unique and personal to them. Her upcoming virtual six week program Camp Eco.Logic is occurring from April 22-May 27, register today!
Photo from: Medium
Please introduce yourself!
My name is Rozina Kanchwala and for most of my life, I’ve been thinking about, studying, or working on environmental and energy issues. Because climate change is such an urgent issue that affects everyone and intersects with so many other issues, I am constantly seeking creative ways to talk about climate change and find ways to bring people into the environmental movement.
What was your dissertation about during your time at University College London? How does it connect to the work you are doing today?
How multimodal transportation systems can create more equitable societies. Though I don’t currently work in transportation, the dissertation was really about equity and access and how to foster healthy communities. The lessons learned from this apply to many other aspects of clean energy and environmental work. It helped shape my understanding of DEI work.
I actually wrote an article about GRID Alternatives a few months ago! What was your experience like working for the largest non-profit solar installer in the country and how did your experience shape who you are at Eco.Logic today?
It was great to be a part of GRID Alternatives and especially their new DC office. I was one of 4 employees when the office first opened so it was great to be both part of an established organization and also at a startup at the same time. GRID’s focus was on energy equity and making sure all communities were able to access the benefits of clean energy and the job opportunities in the field. It taught me a lot about energy equity issues and also about communications, which help me in the work I do currently at Eco.Logic. I also made lifelong friends at GRID; many GRID employers were involved in the play I wrote and produced and 2 former colleagues serve on Eco.Logic’s board.
I looked into the non-profit Eco.Logic you founded and love how you are providing adequate environmental education about how people can take tangible action to mitigate climate change, not just giving silly individual action advice like metal straws and reusable totes. Can you give some background on what sparked the founding of this organization and how it continued to grow?
I created and ran Camp Eco.Logic years ago in Texas where participants learned about local environmental issues and how they could directly get involved by contacting their elected officials. With one group of students, we went to city hall and students spoke out about issues they cared about. It was amazing to see the students learn how to engage in the democratic process and recognize that they could have an impact. I’ve since been wanting to bring back Camp Eco.Logic because I think middle and high school students are able to understand complex environmental problems and think creatively about solutions. More recently, I wrote and produced a climate comedy play called Love in the Time of Climate Change. Having never written or produced a play, I wasn’t sure what the response would be but after seven consecutively sold out shows, it was clear to me that there’s an appetite for climate education that is entertaining, educational, and moves people to action. The success of these two programs (Camp and play) led me to ultimately start Eco.Logic. Camp will be a flagship program and I will continue to leverage the arts in our programming because there’s space for art in the environmental movement.
One of the reasons I started my magazine is to show our readers how non-STEM fields are integral for climate action. Could you explain how Eco.Logic equips individuals who are not interested in STEM with meaningful ways to tackle climate change that are unique to them?
Similar to above, we need creativity in thinking about climate solutions. We need good communicators, artists, educators. Ultimately, we need all hands on deck so there’s plenty of space for STEM and non-STEM fields to engage.
For good reason of course, there are hundreds if not thousands of nonprofits aiming to provide environmental education. What sets Camp Eco.Logic apart and why should people join?
Definitely. We see Camp Eco.Logic as another option for people to learn more about environmental topics and learn how they can effectively take action. We aim to make environmental action tangible, we aim to build community, and we aim to provide inclusive spaces. A lot of environmental camps or nature camps focus on outdoor learning, which is very important. We want our camps to equip participants with ways to also take action.
I love how you curated a group of environmental speakers with a diverse range of interests for Camp Eco.Logic! Could you provide an overview on these amazing people and how were you able to connect with so many environmental trailblazers?
Since Camp is virtual in Spring 2021, we are able to take advantage of this moment and gather amazing environmental trailblazers. A lot of the speakers are people I’ve worked with at some point in my environmental career. I wanted to have a diversity of voices to represent the diversity of the environmental movement.
What are some of your biggest successes throughout running Eco.Logic?
People are really starting to understand the seriousness of climate change and so we are here ready for people who want to learn more and learn how they can engage. One of our biggest recent successes was the play “Love in the Time of Climate Change." It was so well received - we had 7 out of 7 sold out shows and media coverage.
Biggest challenges?
Navigating how to run an organization in a COVID-world. We couldn’t do the play in person again so we turned the play into a podcast series. We’ve been trying to build community and in some cases have been successful doing so virtually and bringing people together that otherwise wouldn’t have met, but it’s hard to maintain that when Zoom fatigue is real.
Where do you see Eco.Logic going in the next 5-10 years?
I want to see Camp Eco.Logic as a flagship event and Camp Eco deep dives where students can explore certain topics more thoroughly. (i.e. climate justice, sustainability and food systems, etc). Eventually want to host adult eco retreats and find more ways to connect with larger audiences through plays, podcasts, workshops, etc. Additionally, we hope to have an Eco.Logic site where we can host our camps and retreats and have a living classroom.