Feature
Katherine Kerns, of rural Ames, says if we all make minor changes in the way we consume single-use containers, the ripple effect will be profound.
‘Activist heart’ led to local woman’s ‘go green’ mentality By Sara JordanHeintz Contributing Writer
6 | FACETS | APRIL 2020
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atherine Kerns, of rural Ames, says if we all make minor changes in the way we consume single-use containers, the ripple effect will be profound. “I grew up in a household where my mom recycled a bunch, so that planted a seed early on about being resourceful,” she said. A graduate of the University of Iowa, she is the founder of the downtown Ames-based store Miss Meyer’s Clothing Consignment. With a love of thrift, she now works at JB Knacker vintage shop in Gilbert. “I shop thrift before I do any new shopping,” she said. Possessing an “activist heart” Kerns said while in college she was involved in social justice causes. In Ames, she’s an active member of Collegiate United Methodist Church and part of its Creation Care program. Kerns said motherhood further opened her eyes to how wasteful consumer-driven products can be, especially single-use drink containers at restaurants and the myriad of packaging in which snack foods are sold. “Right now we live in a time of cheap abundance and it
just makes it so easy to replace something quickly. You need to think about where it would end up if I threw it away,” she said. “Straws are what I call the poster child for single-use plastic, but if your cup is Styrofoam and lid is plastic, the straw isn’t the whole unit.” Kerns and her husband Nathan have two children — Abram, 7, and Annie, 5, who attend Gilbert Elementary School. This gave Kerns the idea to approach the school about implementing ways in which it could reduce its eco footprint. “She’d come to us last year about some ideas, and we really started with marker recycling in the building,” Principal Staci Edwards said. “At the beginning of this year she and teacher Katie Wallace and myself met to brainstorm ideas.” The talks launched Gilbert Green, an educational program to inspire youth to be good stewards of the earth. Students use both sides of a sheet of paper, single-use container usage in the lunchroom has been curbed and youngsters have learned about the life cycle of a piece of
