Meet the Composter: Amy's Miscellany

Amy's Miscellany

Amy Seponara makes the miscellany of Amy’s Miscellany including wreaths, herbal remedies, elderberry syrup, elderberry syrup kits, and fire cider. She’s been composting with Back to Earth Compost Crew for the past year and a half.

Like many of us, Amy was always into sustainable living practices, but never realized it. After growing up in Blue Bell, then from Colorado to New York City, she returned to the area to grow roots and become involved in the community of Ambler. The house that her then young family moved into already had water- and energy-efficient appliances, so it was easy for them to adopt a couple additional green habits like using a rain barrel and low water pressure daily.

Amy also explored a few careers in marketing and school counseling before starting her small business in 2018, fueling her creativity and passions for cooking and gardening. What started as a hobby of making wreaths for herself and friends around the holidays, grew into an online business that enables her to raise her children, be a part of the local community, and create sustainably.

“Everything I use in my business is compostable,” she says. “I start with a natural vine wreath (and decorate them with eucalyptus and other plants). I encourage customers to return the vine wreath so I can use it again and to return the glass jars, so I can fill them again with syrup.” She composts all the herbs and plant ingredients that make the syrup and cider, and even dehydrates the unused elderberries.

For Amy, composting with Back to Earth Compost Crew has helped her “compost better.” She sees composting as the first step in helping people do things differently and more sustainably. Amy’s family buys in bulk and is hyper-focused on creating as little waste as possible. 

“Composting is one of those things that’s like an epiphany. Once you do it, it becomes so super easy to do, and second nature,” Amy says.

Beyond her small, sustainable business, Amy has extended her passions and commitment to Ambler, where she’s worked with a few other neighbors for the past year and a half to establish a community garden. The team plans to start building the beds on in April, and host a planting day on May 15 – it’s located at Knight Park on the Church Street side of the park.

It will include vegetables, herbs, and perennials. The harvest will go to the Weaver’s Way Co-op community refrigerator, Mattie Dixon food pantry, and a local senior center for low-income residents.

While there won’t be any plots to rent or adopt, the garden steering committee will rely on community volunteers to help care for the garden. It envisions hosting workshops and events in the garden.

Amy encourages everyone to come out to the community garden on Sunday, April 3 at 2 pm to learn more about volunteering with the community garden. If you’re interested in learning more, you can email amblergarden@gmail.com or join the Ambler community garden Facebook page. Interested in Amy’s wonderful homemade, sustainable products? Check out Amy’s Miscellany on Instragram and Facebook, or email at amymiscellany@gmail.com.

Back to Earth Compost Crew is happy to have Amy in our composting community!