About Green-ish
Consulting with a purpose
Green-ish was created with the goal of providing a space for accessible environmental education and resources in Panama and around the world through our online classes. We take complex environmental issues and teach them in a way that makes sense to the everyday person.
We want to empower our community to make better, more sustainable decisions in all aspects of their lives.
Hi, I'm Ilana Perry, the founder of Green-ish. I was born and raised in Ottawa, Canada where I grew up as the youngest of 4 siblings, and my childhood consisted of school, friends, soccer practice, musical theatre, and summer weekends at the cottage. I was a city girl with a fear of spiders, so this story doesn't start out with many outdoor adventures or a deep love of nature.
After high school, I studied International Business at Ottawa University where corporate social responsibility (CSR) quickly became my favourite subject- my mind was blown. I also really started enjoying spending time outdoors, especially going hiking and running in the mountains. I loved the concept of CSR, I now (finally) loved nature but I was far from an environmentalist. Until I moved to Panama City in 2015.
Fast forward to my first few weeks in Panama and I experienced culture shock in a way I never expected. Unlike at home in Canada, I no longer had public recycling or composting services. Instead of being neatly separated and taken away, all my trash now only had one place to go and I couldn't believe the amount I was creating. I realized that the responsibility had now shifted onto me, and that's when I started researching ways to reduce my trash and came across the concept of a zero waste lifestyle. Again, mind blown. Everything made so much sense.
Since then I've been living a zero waste lifestyle, scored my first job in CSR, have taken numerous courses about CSR and environmental sustainability, became a certified Climate Reality Leader and, of course, founded Green-ish. Environmental sustainability is my passion and it's an honour to be able share it with you.
