Trained scientist hosts 'Sustainability Salons' with a world-changing goal: 'I like to be around other curious souls'

For Maren Cooke, climate and community go hand in hand. 

The 62-year-old Pennsylvanian, a scientist, environmental educator, and passionate volunteer, was recently profiled in The Allegheny Front, a public radio program, as she achieved a significant milestone: hosting her 150th "Sustainability Salon" in the Pittsburgh region. 

The salons are, in Cooke's words, "giant potluck miniconferences," per The Allegheny Front. To be clear, Cooke added, that's "in the French Enlightenment tradition of conversational salons, not hair salons." 

She hosts most of them in her backyard, which is "lush with greenery, well-tended yet wild." Cooke's mission is simple: get people in the community together to learn, share, and connect about climate. 

You might say Cooke has climate leadership in her genes. 

She grew up in a home constructed "completely from scratch" by her parents, The Allegheny Front explains. Her grandmother ran a community summer camp, and before graduating high school, Cooke was already part of local environmental organizations. 

"I've always had a really strong connection to nature and a feeling that it shouldn't [be] destroyed," she said. 

That connection led her to train in planetary science, join countless groups advocating for nature preservation and protection, and pursue both volunteer and leisure activities related to her passions: from gardening and secondhand shopping to crafting her "green and creative" home space and one of her most involved endeavors yet, the Sustainability Salons. 

The series was inspired by a dynamic, spontaneous climate discussion Cooke had with a friend one day. "I said, 'There need to be more people at this table,'" she recalled to The Allegheny Front. 

Her first salon focused on Cooke's new (at the time) rooftop solar panels. Now, each event tackles one or more environmental issues, such as plastics or air quality — unpacking them with the help of expert guest speakers. 

For Cooke, there is tremendous power in education. "I am a curious soul, and I like to be around other curious souls," she explained to The Allegheny Front. Participants, now numbering in the thousands over the program's course, enjoy the ever-changing structure and themes. "Literally every facet of the way we live has been explored at some point," Tommaso Giampapa, one community attendee, said.

Another, Dave Blair, said, "Everybody here has a different area of expertise, and so it's quite an interesting exchange of ideas." 

Climate change and its many real-life consequences — toxic air pollution, extreme heat, overflowing landfills, natural disasters, and more — can feel overwhelming and isolating. 

Throw in day-to-day stressors from family, finances, mental health, and a loneliness epidemic, and it gets downright scary. 

That's where the power of connection comes in. By opening up, talking, and listening to each other, we can turn our private anxieties into productive brainstorming, community support, meaningful action, and even foundations for new friendships to blossom. 

With a diverse, intergenerational group of residents, Cooke's Sustainability Salon setup ensures all voices can be heard. The atmosphere is positive, enthusiastic, and interactive. Cooke "talks about so many different levels of what we need to make this world a better place," salon member Gabrielle Marsden told The Allegheny Front.

The solutions-oriented mindset extends to an even broader population, with members bringing what they've learned back home. "Having that … knowledge is great," Giampapa said, "because I can tell the people around me and break those hidden lifestyle habits [that] we don't realize are harmful." 

By providing helpful, hopeful elements such as new relationships and community networking, Cooke's events turn a staggering, stressful situation into an opportunity for both individual and collective empowerment. 

The 150th monthly salon was themed "celebration." The intimate gathering took place in July in Cooke's backyard garden — featuring her staple homemade pesto (grown in part from that garden). Cookies, homemade by another attendee, were iced with the words "Thanks Maren." 

Cooke's potluck element is purposeful. "We break bread together with food that most attendees are contributing to," she told The Allegheny Front, "and that's very powerful." 

Cooke defines herself by her "dogged determination" — a trait that's powered her salons through 12 years and counting, including during the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of putting them on pause in March 2020, "Cooke signed up for a Zoom account and spent [a] day teaching herself how to use the platform," The Allegheny Front said, later returning to outdoor gatherings. (A digital option remains.) 

She "doesn't plan to stop volunteering or hosting Sustainability Salons anytime soon," The Allegheny Front noted. Most recently, the September salon focused on "stories that inspire," Cooke explained in her blog, Putting Down Roots: Maren's List.

"Life is vigorous, and that vigor enables it to overcome a lot of obstacles," Cooke told The Allegheny Front. However, she warned, human actions impose limits on that inherent resilience.

"We've all seen the weed growing through a crack in the sidewalk," she said, "but if you just keep paving over that sidewalk … that plant won't be able to get through. And that is what people are doing to the planet."

A force of nature, indeed.

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