A big part of the high school and college experience is about learning how to think. Very meta I know…

We spent the morning cleaning camp, getting back to NYU, and preparing proposals in hopes of getting some projects funded (more on that in a sec). I got to thinking, “what if I made an awesome proposal, got funded, and it grew really big. Then what do I do?”

Connie Henshaw had insight to this. Her proposal for Urban Explorers got funded at last year’s summit. She reaches out…

Hey hey! Here it is, the moment you have all been waiting for!!! Our most-awesome weekend volunteer event picture! LIKE this picture for all the trash MEVO removed from Stag Hill this past Saturday. Come volunteer!

https://www.facebook.com/mevoearth

Someone asked us through the other day on Twitter, “What does it mean to be an outsider?” I don’t know if there’s an actual definition to that, but what I can say is we’ve been stuck all day long behind concrete walls in the most crowded city in America and still found a way to enjoy the outdoors.

The Outdoor Nation NYC delegates, the ON crew, and our newfound park ranger friends all camped out in Central Park like bosses. And we earned it. After spending the day brainstorming project…

Sometimes, when there’s good energy, good people, and good coffee, hunger and lack of sleep can be ignored. That’s what happened yesterday during our NYC Summit planning meet.

So our usual cohorts including Chris Fanning, Ivan Levin, Julie Munro, and Stasia Raines joined guest photographers and reporters, Becca, Alex, and Yoon. We chatted through expectations of the assignment to a rain storm that delayed the arrival of some the attendees.

After a few hours, the hunger and lack…

Lorin Paley

Check out this ambassadors way of finding the outdoors in her new season of life.

Summer is here and the summits are about to begin for Outdoor Nation and the Ambassadors. Since it’s the close of the school year I wanted to check in and see how things were goin for Lorin, as well as see how adjusting to university life on the right coast has been.

Lorin, 19 years old of Steamboat Springs Co, has just finished up her first year at Dartmouth in New Hampshire…

It's been four years since this photo was taken. Since then, MEVO has grown from a high school student group to a 501c3 registered non-profit. As of now just started it's very first community farm at Bergen Community College, has gained 12 interns over this summer, and has been recognized by various organizations from New York University's Gallatin School to the North Face Explorer's Fund. Imagine, what will happen during the next four years...…

This past Saturday (June 16th) MEVO and a bunch of awesome volunteers worked to clean up the center of Mahwah. These three lads even carried out an old rusty wheelbarrow. All in a day’s work.

Come help us at our next clean-up this Saturday at Stag Hill!…

Just got a new shipment of dirt for our farm! Thanks to Mayor Bill LaForet and the Mahwah DPW for this rich, hearty, black gold! Our plants will be happy!…

MEVO has been busy at work! Our farm is getting better and better every day, and we have peas, peppers, and raspberries already growing!

We worked in the area around our farm today to remove invasive species such as garlic mustard, Japanese knotwood, and multi-flora roses to help Hugh, the grounds supervisor of Bergen Community College. Among other things, invasive species compete with native species and contribute to biodiversity loss to harm the environment. If you want to learn…

Emma Spett and Keith Shane have just won the Mahwah High School Certificate of Achievement for over two years of ridiculously awesome work here at MEVO! They have planned on average three MEVO events every month during their time as supervisors, and will continue to keep hosting events with as much as 50 people, until they depart for college this August. Emma will be heading off to NYU and Keith will be going to Cornell University. MEVO wishes them the best of luck with their college…

MEVO’s first ever farm at Bergen Community College, has grown fast! What was once a patch of weedy grass has transformed into thriving sustainable community garden. Our first peppers are coming in, and last week the volunteers at the farm shared the first harvested raspberry (there were five volunteers at the time, and only one small raspberry, so sharing was tough, but everybody managed to get a piece). Our other food, such as kale, potatoes, and tomatoes is growing quickly too, and within…

MEVO’s first ever farm at Bergen Community College, has grown fast! What was once a patch of weedy grass has transformed into thriving sustainable community garden. Our first peppers are coming in, and last week the volunteers at the farm shared the first harvested raspberry (there were five volunteers at the time, and only one small raspberry, so sharing was tough, but everybody managed to get a piece). Our other food, such as kale, potatoes, and tomatoes is growing quickly too, and within…

How would you use these bins to keep them from going to a landfill? Comment here with your ideas on facebook, email us at mevo@mevoearth.org, or check us out this Sunday at the Ramsey Farmer’s Market! They will be hosting a competition to see who can come up with the most useful ideas for the bins, so come out, show your support, and save the bins! http://www.ramseyfarmersmarket.o…

Summer is finally here and not a moment too soon if you ask me. (I know at the time of this writing it is technically not officially summer yet but close enough) This time of year brings about a certain mood in everyone. School is wrapping up for many folks which means beach trips must be planned. Being a beach kid I don’t think there is anything better than creating a playlist to blast as the wind fills your car on the journey to the shore.

I guess since this is a music blog I should…

MEVO is expanding its borders! This Saturday MEVO is going to be at the Green Festival in Seacaucus, New York and the Suffern Farmer's Market in Suffern, New York. We will be giving away free recycling bins at both and be having a great time. Visit and get some free bins!

MEVO is expanding its borders! This Saturday MEVO is going to be at the Green Festival in Seacaucus, New York and the Suffern Farmer's Market in Suffern, New York. We will be giving away free recycling bins at both and be having a great time. Visit and get some free bins!

Great News MEVO Volunteers! MEVO jut won the $2500.00 NorthFace Explore Fund GRANT! MEVO Earth Crew, yeah that's us, was selected from over five hundred national applications submitted for the first of two grant cycles in 2012, because of its continued pursuit of its goals of service, sustainability, and environment. Give this POST a LIKE and help MEVO celebrate this beautiful MEVO moment. Life is good.

Check out these cool environmental sustainability facts!

http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/03/05/six-surprising-sustainability-facts/

It has been four years since MEVO—the Mahwah Environmental Volunteer Organization—began as the project of two high school juniors who wanted to clean up the litter at the local state park, Ramapo Reservation, and make their town a better place to live. Now, MEVO is a certified 501 (c3) non-profit, and it intends to blaze new trails in environmental activism this summer. MEVO, now extending in its activities far beyond Mahwah, has recruited twelve interns who are working six days a week from…