Mikaela Thomas started her journey through sustainability with her family when they built an Intentional Living Community called Grace Roots Farm in New Albany, Indiana. She assisted in building a passive solar duplex house with a small scale biodiverse garden on the land. Each fall the farm invites the community to an Apple Cider festival using a traditional apple press and apples from the orchard. Additionally, they host many activities and community engagement events, including hiking the surrounding trails.

She graduated from Appalachian State University in 2019 with a degree in Sustainable Development focusing on Environmental Ethics and Anthropology. While in Boone, North Carolina she worked with Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture, running their winter season farmer’s market. She also assisted with their Food Hub, designed to be a centralized location to pick up CSA orders. At the same time, she worked with Lively Up Farm, an organic farm producing heirloom squash and other vegetables to the High Country community.

She is very passionate about the various types of food systems. Each type (local, organic, and industrial) has a uniqueness which teaches us the stories of our food and the journey it takes to get to our tables. She is a writer, artist, and musician who likes to take a creative approach in talking and learning about the ecological world around us. She believes that it is very important for everyone to have access to healthy food and to know how to implement tactics of sustainability in every aspect of their lives.