Exploring Life & Business with Aiyana Welch-Muraski of Crunchy Leaves Sustainability Collaborative

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aiyana Welch-Muraski.

Hi Aiyana, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was raised very sustainably, with a plant-based diet, a home garden, a wood stove instead of a furnace, and an area with so many trees we didn’t even need AC in the summer! Composting and recycling were part of my family’s weekly chores, and we always tried our best to repair items before tossing them. This way of living seemed pretty normal to me, but once I moved away from my home near Cleveland, Ohio, to attend the University of Cincinnati, I observed different lifestyles and quickly learned that sustainable living isn’t the norm or even regularly taught. While pursuing a civil engineering degree, I spent my free time learning about the climate crisis and the negative impact of human activities on the environment. I wasn’t going to school for sustainability or anything environment-related, but I knew I had to do something to help out the Earth. What can I do without a degree or work experience within a related field? What I came up with is Crunchy Leaves Sustainability Collaborative; a community-focused organization that encourages and supports people to live a more sustainable lifestyle by sharing skills, hosting events, sharing resources, and bringing like-minded people together.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The biggest struggles have been working full time while running an organization. Crunchy Leaves is a passion project, so the countless hours spent preparing for events, sourcing materials sustainably for workshops, and sorting through donations were more than worth it. But I could not have made it this far without good friends and volunteers who have supported Crunchy Leaves. Rafael Manrique, with Rafa Made It LLC, has been helping with Crunchy Leaves since day one. He’s volunteered his time to create graphics, organize files, and do anything else under the sun. Mckenley Walters is another passionate volunteer who has taken initiative to host events on her own when I’m unavailable! Crunchy Leaves is currently volunteer-run, and it has grown thanks to the many people who support it.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Crunchy Leaves Sustainability Collaborative?
Crunchy Leaves is an unincorporated organization working to become a nonprofit. It was founded by me (Aiyana Welch-Muraski) in August of 2024. It all started when I began hosting clothing swaps at home. Friends really enjoyed them, and I noticed my own closet quickly became a collection of clothes obtained from swaps. Hosting swaps grew to hosting skill shares, outdoor activities, and more! Crunchy Leaves has an Instagram, where we share sustainability-related lifestyle tips and information. We also like to highlight other environment-related businesses/organizations, their events, campaigns, and more. We are a collaborative. To us, that means we work together with our community and local groups to change the world for the better. There are so many different groups that all have their niche; Crunchy Leaves’ niche is creating collaborations between those groups to make all our efforts more impactful.

There’s a lot we do, but if I had to choose one specialty, I’d say it’s our Clothing & Item Swaps. The motivational energy and positive vibes are immaculate. We usually have a DJ playing tunes, a local coffee or bakery business that keeps people refreshed, and the overall mutual aid experience is motivational and heartwarming. We have tons of items people bring in to swap; our last large swap in collaboration with Cincy Closet Swap, 1300 lbs of clothes and other items were brought in. Of the items brought in to our swaps, guests take whatever they’d like to home. The leftovers are sorted by our team of wonderful volunteers to either be donated to local organizations in need, sold to raise money for Crunchy Leaves, or recycled. Crunchy Leaves organizes our swaps in a way to avoid throwing out as much as possible. Our Clothing & Item Swaps are a great way for our community to declutter their homes, avoid spending on new items, keep perfectly good items out of landfills, avoid overburdening donation centers, all while supporting local organizations!

Crunchy Leaves has so much to offer. At our events, we are always meeting new people and teaching practical skills. Our repeating events include: Mending Mondays, Monthly Meetings, Recycling Sorting Socials, Hike & Hammocks, Clothing & Item Swaps, Metro Field Trips, Make Don’t Buys, Plant-Based Potlucks, and our community is always brainstorming other events. Climate change is scary. There’s a lot of negativity out there that can make people lose hope and shut down. But that attitude isn’t going to get us anywhere. There is so much hope! There is so much we can do to help the Earth. This is something I thought long and hard about when starting this organization. We need positive energy and collaborative community efforts to get people motivated. A green future is possible, and we just need to see our own potential to reach it.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
The minimalist phone app. It keeps me off social media, which distracts me from work. Social media is crucial to furthering Crunchy Leaves’ reach, but it can sometimes affect my productivity. Social media is a great tool, but in moderation.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crunchy.leaves.collaborative/
• Other: crunchy.leaves.collaborative@gmail.com