CSC welcomed Cheshire resident Amy Velasquez as our newest board member at our annual meeting in May.
Amy finds working in the garden relaxing and loves to see all the pollinators and other insects the plants attract to her yard. She began working with the Cheshire Pollinator Pathway since shortly after the installation of the original garden on Brooksvale Road.
Her love for the environment and working to protect it began when she was a teenager picking up cans and trash during her daily walks.
She went on to get her Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from UConn. After college Amy began working as an environmental consultant which led her to her current job as the Environmental Compliance & Sustainability Lead at the Regional Water Authority (RWA). Over her nine years at the RWA, she 's led the effort to reduce RWA's carbon footprint, increase its use of renewable energy and educate the employees on ways they can help the environment at home. She also helps out with RWA's pollinator gardens.
Amy has been working on her own pollinator garden and wildflower meadow since she moved to Cheshire a little over three years and is an avid raiser of monarch butterflies.She has gone from raising just a handful a few years ago to raising and releasing ~80 in 2021. Her gardening efforts are assisted by her very patient husband Neil. Amy has also been working with Cat Tales of Middletown for 20+ years as a cat foster mom. Her and her husband live with one dog, two cats and three foster cats.