By
Sophia Elmblad
Greetings everyone! My name is Sophia Elmblad and I’ll be interning at Michael Mobbs Sustainable House until mid-December.
My first day at my internship testing out the Coolseats!
I’m currently in my senior year at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. My major is environmental management and I’m minoring in biology. Throughout my studies in environmental management, I’ve learned many useful topics such as GIS (geographic information systems), LCA (life-cycle analysis), land measurement tools, and data collection/analysis techniques. Within my minor, I’ve enjoyed topics such as mammalogy (the study of mammals), entomology (learning about insects), rangeland management, and ecosystem ecology.
I am very passionate about protecting the environment and creating sustainable change for the future. Additionally, I have fallen in love with the world's biodiversity, leading me to my biology minor. My school's motto is ‘learn by doing’ and I am excited to continue this throughout my time abroad and take advantage of everything Australia has to offer.
• Highlighted in red is San Luis Obispo county, where my college is
My college is located in San Luis Obispo, on the central coast of California. It has a Mediterranean marine climate with hot, arid summers and cold, wet winters. Since San Luis Obispo is a mountainous area and close to the Pacific, the orographic effect occurs. This is when hot air is forced to flow over high topography. As the air reaches the top of a mountain, it cools and water condenses creating heavy rainfall on the other side.
• The view from Perfumo Canyon is one of my favorite places to view the sunset over the clouds in San Luis Obispo, California. It’s also a great spot for picnics and camping!
The main trees scattered throughout San Luis Obispo are coast live oak, California sycamore, and blue oak. This makes for beautiful green hills and, for part of this year, we were lucky enough to experience a super bloom as we exited a long drought period. Looking at the color-splashed flowery hills was like nothing I’d ever seen before and made me feel like I was living in a painting. I have truly fallen in love with my college town.
• The super bloom in April 2023, about an hour north of San Luis Obispo
Though I’d like to think I give off California vibes I’m actually an out-of-state student attending Cal Poly Slo.’ I grew up in a small town in Massachusetts, Sharon. This is a suburb about 45 minutes from the city of Boston. I lived there until I was 13 years old when I decided I wanted to attend a performing arts high school for dance. I then moved to Chicago Illinois in the heart of downtown near Navy Pier. I then attended Chicago High School for the Performing Arts
• On the left, Massachusetts highlighted on the map. On the right, Illinois highlighted
I had an amazing time in Chicago as it was a new city experience in comparison to the quiet suburban town of Sharon that I’d been accustomed to. Although, I always dreamed of going to California. I loved how you could experience all types of climates from low-elevation deserts to high-elevation snow-covered mountains. Not to mention the warm weather and vast coastal beaches.
Sydney, Australia
In my first three weeks at Michael Mobbs Sustainable House, I have been engulfed in the world of composting. On my first day, I learned how impactful food waste is on the environment as well as how avoidable this waste can be. Michael showed me around the Chippendale area and I was in awe of the footpath gardens and beautiful greenery on the streets. I also learned how to use composting tools such as a Ho-mi and Soil Auger. Although this was slightly intimidating at first, I’ve quickly grown used to using the tools.
Initially, I can’t say I was super excited to handle lots of decomposing food waste. It’s filled with worms, larvae, and flies which we as humans typically try not to come in close contact with. Luckily, I have taken an entomology class at my university where I had to collect 50+ insect specimens so I wasn’t as squeamish because of this.
I’ve found just in my three weeks of gardening and composting that there is so much community able to be built when you are outside and connecting with the earth. I’ve met cafe owners, influential people, community members, and many curious people while composting on the streets of Chippendale.
Not only is composting a great way to connect, but it is also a sustainable choice we can all make as consumers. In my first week, I brought home a food waste container and asked my roommates to put their food waste inside. My roommates adapted to this promptly and before I knew it the 10 liter food waste container was full in a matter of a week!
• The food waste bin in my apartment! Check out @michaelmobbs and @coolseats on Instagram to see ‘How I Compost’ along with other informational videos/posts I create throughout my internship
I’m excited to inform everyone that in my time collecting food waste at home and in Chippendale, I’ve been able to compost 600.35 kg of food waste. I have therefore avoided 900.525 kg of harmful emissions by redirecting waste that would have otherwise ended up at a landfill.
• Calculations by the compost calculator available for download by anyone on the Coolseats site
• Calculations by the compost calculator available for download by anyone on the Coolseats site
If my roommates and I continue collecting food waste at the rate we currently are. I expect we’ll save 108 kg of harmful pollution from reaching landfills by the end of the program.
Although I never foresaw this in my future, I’m proud to say that I am giving back to the earth and doing good by Mother Nature. Composting and collecting my food waste has already become second nature to me. Once you start, there’s no stopping! It becomes an engrained habit that is fueled by the knowledge of the huge amounts of waste we contribute otherwise.
Not many can say that they do much to help the environment although composting is one of the easiest ways to reduce your environmental footprint on earth. I’m excited to continue on my composting journey and aid in the creative process of bringing coolseats to market! Stay tuned for information on the latest design of coolseats.
Sophia Elmblad
Intern