Every week in the climate, science, social justice, and environmental spaces is as diverse as Uproot’s membership. Field Notes, our week-in-the-life blog posts, are snapshots of the varied experiences that make our community so vibrant.
Field Correspondent
Name: Angely Mercado
Pronouns: she/her
Location: Queens, NYC
Job description: Freelance fact-checker and writer who focuses on sustainability, environmental policy, and climate.
Years of experience: 6
Social media handles: Insta and Threads – @angely_mercado
Twitter – @AngelyMercado
One word to describe your week: Hectic
A Week in the Life
Monday:
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I needed a breather after a morning of emails and calls, so I took the cats onto the fire escape.
I spent the day managing my emails and responding to edits in drafts that I’ve submitted to editors. I had a call with a potential fact-checking client, which made me feel a little bit more hopeful about the state of freelancing. I hopped off the call and made myself go for a walk in the middle of the day to get away from my screen. I then went back home for another afternoon of freelancing, setting up calls, and cleaning up at home. I have two cats; they are brothers, and their names are Nacho and Lalo. I put harnesses and leashes on them and we sat on the fire escape of my building to watch birds and clouds together.
Tuesday:
I got some freelancing out of the way in the morning. But then I had to hop on the train to the Nest Climate Campus next to the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan. I had been invited to speak on a panel with the Green Jobs Board and had the opportunity to share my experiences as a freelance environmental journalist with the crowd. I spoke alongside Matt Scott, Madeleine MacGillivray, and Jacob Simon. It was great being in conversation with all of them and learning more about their creative careers. I was honest about how difficult it feels in the industry right now and my reservations about what I should do in the future. The evening ended in an upbeat tone. I took a train further uptown and attended Grist’s event for the Grist50.
Wednesday:
I had another morning of freelancing and sending out emails. And then, I had to commute back to Manhattan to attend a sustainability and fashion event at the New School. There were displays of clothing made from used textiles and materials in a room adjacent to the auditorium that would hold several panels for that day. I attended one of the panels, which was held in a boxing ring. Several of the speakers were fashion designers, professors, and sustainability experts. I took the subway back to Queens for more freelancing.
Thursday:
I had an early call with a sustainability content creator. I interviewed her for an article about ethically reselling clothing and sourcing good quality clothing. I asked Gi about her favorite marketplaces for selling and buying secondhand, we discussed growing up in Queens, and how she got into learning about sustainable fashion and travel. I spent the rest of the day hanging out at home with my cats. I had been sick a lot this year, which had slowed down so much of my work. But this was one of the first weeks that I felt fine and could work for long periods of time. That evening I attended another event on sustainability in the beauty industry in Williamsburg with the Davines Group and Rodale Institute.
Friday:
I got on an early call with a professor about clothing quality for a series of sustainable clothing guides that I’m currently working on for One5C. After my interview, I grabbed my bag and ran to a nearby train station. The Uproot Project held a panel at The Climate Imaginarium on Governors Island, which is just south of Manhattan. It was fun taking the subway all the way to the edge of Manhattan and then hopping on a ferry to get to the event. I had some snacks set up for guests, and I listened to the panel discussion about food, community, and agriculture in reporting and storytelling.
Saturday and Sunday:
Some weekends, I try to relax and hang out with friends and family whenever I have time. Other days, I try to finish up all of the pending freelance work. I also write cover letters for job applications. On this particular weekend, I grabbed some amazing Thai food with fellow freelance journalist Yesenia Funes. It was a rainy day, but it was worth taking the train all the way to Elmhurst and back to my neighborhood.
From the Wild:
What would your animal companion be if you were a cartoon character?
A black cat to match my current cats.
What’s your current beverage of choice?
A matcha latte with coconut milk or a coke zero.
Hobby you keep thinking about but haven’t picked up yet?
Pickleball (it’s everywhere, so I can only assume it’s a fun sport), and maybe a dance class for a dance style I don’t know much about, like ballet.
Interested in writing for Uproot’s Field Notes blog? Send us an email at info@uprootproject.org!