Stephanie Duffy: Accept The Invitation

Stephanie Duffy wants people to be better hosts in their backyard, supporting the local wildlife, from little squirrels to towering oak trees. Stephanie is developing a community education program teaching people about the ecosystems in their neighborhood and how to better support the nature around them. She felt inspired to start this project because she wanted to bring a localized perspective to environmentalism and show people how easy it was to make a difference just outside their door. She found that taking the first step was easier with some guidance from our program.

Stephanie shared that she was at a personal crossroads when she first considered the idea of community action: “I had an abrupt career change and was reassessing what I want to do with my time and my career. I really wanted to work towards something that I believed in and that made the world a better place.” She signed up for a session with Idealist Action Incubator coach Tatiana and immediately felt a difference in her direction. She says that Tatiana helped her shape and refine her initial idea: “She asked really great, simple questions about things that I hadn't even considered yet. They were reframing what I'm doing, why I'm doing it, and who I'm speaking to. Then, later that evening, she followed up with a big email with tons of resources, including local ones.” 

In her own words, Stephanie’s project, Wild Invitation, is “kind of cheeky.” Wild Invitation “is about creating a backyard party space for your non-human neighbors (local wildlife). You are the party host and they are your guests. So not only are you learning about the guests, but you're learning how to be a good host.” She notes that she is already very involved in her local community, so feels this would be a very “natural extension” of what she is currently doing. She has already begun to share her project locally and hopes to curate educational programs about it in the future.

When I asked her about what advice she would give to someone looking to get started in community action, Stephanie recommended pitching their idea as she did with Tatiana. She elaborated on the value of explaining your plans and goals. She says, “It really allows you to approach your project from angles that you might not have considered before and assess the hows and whys and wheres of everything and critically look at it from angles that will help it succeed.” Even straightforward things make a difference, she adds, “Just filling out the form (for her introductory coaching session) and answering the questions and defining what my project was allowed me to focus my scattered neurotype brain into something a little bit more concise.” 

Stephanie is excited to bring Wild Invitation to her wider community and widen the definition of that community to include the plants and animals in our neighborhoods.

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