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Rachel L. Stronach
Executive Director at Lloyd Center for the Environment
- CEE-Change Fellow
- 2025
Rachel is a passionate environmental educator who aims to connect children/adults to their local environment, cultivating a respect, appreciation, and connection to the natural world.
About Rachel's Community Action Project
As my CEE Change Community Action Project, I am developing and implementing a series of programs that highlight the Lloyd Center's new Living Building Challenge™ (LBC) Welcome Center and its innovative systems, as well as the diverse communities that participated in the construction of the LBC building. The LBC certification is the most stringent environmental standard that a building can attain. For instance, the building must create more energy than it uses. These programs demonstrate how these innovative systems could be used in businesses and/or private residences and address the benefits of nature-based solutions.
Programs:
- Water & Energy: Where does it come from? This session is geared towards students (ages 9–12) and focuses on thinking about the ways in which we get water and energy in our homes, schools, and businesses. Students generate questions and then discover how the LBC building works in terms of water and energy.
- Going Green for Green$: This session is geared towards community members and takes a focused look at the cost-effectiveness of green construction.
- Green for All: This session is geared towards community members and looks at the diverse groups that came together and brought the LBC building to fruition.
More About Me
What (or who) keeps you hopeful for the future?
My eight-year-old daughter, Grace, keeps me hopeful for the future. Watching her in nature and seeing the delight of discovery unravel before my eyes keeps me motivated and energized.What is your favorite memory of being in nature?
When I was growing up, my family would spend a lot of time on the coast of Maine. I remember losing track of time looking for shells with my sisters, searching through tidepools, and looking for periwinkles. The way the ocean moved allowed us to uncover new discoveries every day—it just seemed like magic. I am still in awe of the ocean today.If you could tell your past self one thing, what would it be?
Never give up! Some things seem impossible to get through, but hard work, perseverance, and surrounding yourself with a supportive community can make anything possible.
