Lorraine Graves was recently honored by the Ethical Cultural Society.
Lorraine Graves was recently honored with a Local Hero Award by the Ethical Cultural Society of Essex County for her work with the organization, her career in environmental protection and for being the founder of the Repair Café that gives new life to items that are broken but valued.
The event was held in person at the Ethical Culture Society and on Zoom.
Meredith Sue Willis, chair of the Social Action Committee of the Ethical Culture Society, introduced Graves.
“Lorraine has a way of being calm and creative,” she said. “She is a Jersey girl, and she made Jersey proud. The Repair Café, she took up on her own. It has built community.”
Graves, a long-time member of the Ethical Cultural Society, earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Rutgers. She then earned a masters degree there in algology and limnology, which is the study of stream ecosystems. She began working at the state Department of Environmental Protection on their wetlands mapping program.
After that, she went to the federal system working at the Department of the Interior, the Army Corps of Engineers, and finally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. There she worked in the Superfund program, then in the solid waste area, implementing the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) with the State of New Jersey as well as eight federally recognized native American nations.
Member Elaine Durbach presented Graves with an honorary plaque.
“The plaque is a symbol of our respect and love for her,” she said.
Graves said she was honored by the presentation.
“It is my honor to know that you think of my work enough to honor it in such a nice way. For me, the whole thing started with an apple. As a teenager, you shopped at the supermarket. You didn’t know where apples came from. When I learned where apples came from, I was entranced. It began with this stunning revelation of beauty and order of life.”
Continuing, she said, “I majored in algae. I was so taken by their beauty, if you look under a microscope, they are beautiful. I had a minor in limnology, the
study of streams and lakes. I enjoyed that very much.”
Graves first job was with the NJDEP.
“I quickly switched from algae to marsh cordgrasses,” Graves said. “That was fun. It was interesting.”
Moving to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act was a “bright instance” for Graves. She spoke about her work with recycling and tribal communities. Indian nations come directly to her to help their communities.
There were dump cleans ups and management of tire piles—a large, often illegal, accumulation of scrap tires that can pose environmental and health risks.
“They had cameras set up to catch people doing this,” said Graves. “They put up billboards shaming (those who did it). You have to resort to whatever you have to.”
In 2017 Graves started the Repair Café, which operates out of Morrow Memorial United Methodist Church in Maplewood.
“We have a wonderful team of repair people who will fix your item,” she said. “We get so many lamps. Maybe it’s an heirloom. We get some furniture, jewelry, that’s a niche. The Repair Café has been an enormous amount of fun for me.”
Graves said she feels there is never enough time and enough energy to do what’s next. But she has some ideas. She wants to work in schools teaching climate change and food waste management. She also wants to start a program, “Love Your Leftovers” and offer a $100 cash prize for the winner who comes up with the most creative use of leftovers to make them more interesting.
To learn more about The Ethical Culture Society of Essex County, visit: https://www.essexethical.org/
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