'Green Ambassador' Works Toward a Healthier Planet

When Highland Heights resident Judy Dearden lost her job as an interior designer three years ago, she knew it would be tough to find another one.

The poor economy and changes in the industry had drastically decreased demand for interior designers. "People are losing their homes, they're not going to be redecorating," Dearden said.

She also had let her computer skills lapse to the point where it would be difficult to go back to office work she had done earlier in her career.

So she carved out a new position for herself as a "green ambassador."

Although she sometimes wishes she could get some payment for her efforts, Dearden said she's learned to do without and live with less.

"I had already started my path down the environmental direction," she said. "I'm thrilled to know that there are people out there who care and are willing to help."

Dearden already had been using her own handmade canvas grocery bags. "They used to call me 'the bag lady' at the grocery store," she said. Then she started making her own cleaning products, including laundry detergent. 

Now, Darden recycles so much that the small amount of garbage she generates goes into a neighbor's trash can.

A little over a year ago, she formed the Highland Heights Green Task Force to gather like-minded people to share ideas and information. The group meets at 7 p.m. the first Wednesday of the month to hear speakers on topics such as recycling, food co-ops, organic gardening, ridding your home of toxins and alternative energy sources.

"I'm trying to establish a network. I had an Avon Lake councilwoman contact me because she's trying to form a green committee," Dearden said.

She also has helped the city, applying for a $5,000 Fiskars Orange Thumb Grant for the community gardens planned for green space near Highland Heights City Hall.

Last fall, she assisted city officials with a Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District grant that paid for recycling bins at the community center and other buildings at the municipal complex.

Other projects include a shoe recycling and donation drive.

Dearden views her effort as payback for the waste created by her former career field, which encouraged people to get rid of the old and buy new regardless of whether the items are still useable.

"It was about playing into someone else's needs," she said. "We have got to get over that."

Still, she understands that not everyone wants to take up the green cause to the extent she's gone. So she encourages people to take steps they're comfortable making.

In particular, she doesn't understand why people buy window cleaner rather than make their own with vinegar. "Get away from the Windex, go to the vinegar," she said.

She also encourages people to stop buying water in plastic bottles. "You would if you could see how much it takes to produce that bottled water. And you're drinking tap water 90 percent of the time you drink bottled water," she said.

"We just need to get everyone to make a couple of changes. We can no longer do business as usual."