Occupation: Executive Director of Better Farm,
freelance writer and editor, photographer

Place of Residence: Redwood, NY 

Background and Personal History: In 2009, Nicole traded
pencil skirts for Carhartts and subway trains for pick-ups when she left her
one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn to open a 65-acre sustainability education
center and artist colony in northern New York called Better Farm. There, she
educates people about green living and sustainability issues through the
provision of workshops, internships and artist residencies.

Current Projects: Nicole and the residents at Better
Farm are in the midst of constructing an earth ship out of tires, a hobbit
house utilizing an old barn foundation, and expanding their aquaponics setup.

Other Fun Facts:

• Nicole may have left the city, but she still
  works remotely as a professional editor and writer. Her main gig?
  Editor-in-Chief of Playgirl.
• One of Better Farm’s most recent projects was to
  take a two-story hay barn and convert it into a 1,400-square-foot studio and
  gallery space featuring passive solar, recycled soy sprayfoam insulation, and a
  second-floor balcony overlooking a natural hillside amphitheater perfect for performances.
• Better Farm’s livestock–33 chickens–are
  comprised purely of rescues. Most recently, 20 “spent hens” were adopted from a
  nearby egg factory. Now free-range, the birds have regrown all their feathers,
  turned their crowns from beige to red, and enjoyed the freedom to peck,
  scratch, and flap their wings to their little hearts’ content.
• Better Farm’s internship and artist residency
  programs merge the creative with the sustainable. Artists, college students,
  WWOOFERs, and travelers from all over the globe converge at Better Farm to
  share farming duties, live under the same roof, and collaborate on projects
  ranging from construction to murals.
• The greenhouse on Nicole’s property was created
  using discarded windows from people in town.

More Places to Find Nicole on the Web:The Better Farm Blog

Kobiashi Maru

Better Farm

Better Arts