31. Raju Rajan on Rewilding

In Episode 31, Raju Rajan, President of Rewild Long Island (a non-profit organization), teaches us about rewilding, why we should do it, and how to do it. Rewild Long Island promotes sustainable landscaping practices with a focus on native perennials, growing organic food, and reducing waste. They encourage replacing lawns with native plant landscapes, increasing biodiversity, locally grown organic produce, reducing waste through recycling and composting, conserving water, reducing carbon emissions, and avoiding chemical use. Raju Rajan is a technologist with a strong communitarian ethic. He came to the United States from India to obtain his Ph.D. in Communication Networks at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He has enjoyed a long career as a researcher, consultant, and technologist. His strong entrepreneurial ethic has led him to found two IT start-ups, as well as a number of community groups aimed at organizing people for systemic change. He is currently active with Long Island Together, a progressive collective that organizes around education, immigration, and social change, as well as ReWild Long Island, which brings native plants to public spaces and private yards. Raju resides in Port Washington, NY, with his wife Sonia Arora who is an educator/community organizer, son Kabeera Singh, a Schreiber High School student, and cat, Lucky, who does nothing. Raju serves as the President of the Board of ReWild Long Island. Resources from the Interview Website: www.rewildlongisland.org Email: [email protected]