Do you love trees?  Do you want to learn how to grow trees? Do you want to learn how to identify trees growing in your own yard? Do you have concerns about trees? Would you like to help grow trees for future restoration projects in Wayne?  

If you answered YES to any of these questions, please join Voula Papadopulos, the Vice Chair for the Wayne Environmental Commission, for a tree-filled conversation!

We’re looking for fellow humans who want to get more trees in the ground and help start a community tree nursery!

Voula Papadopoulos is a Wayne native, growing up with her family adjacent to the Van Peenen Dairy Farm and Red Barn Farm–this is where her love for gardening was cultivated. She graduated from Wayne Valley High School in 1999, and earned a Business and Master of Tourism degree from George Washington University in DC. Voula worked at Disney World in Florida and from there her tourism degree brought her to the rainforests of Dominica to perform Sales and Marketing for Jungle Bay Resort and Spa, an “Eco Luxury” resort in the rainforest. 

After the manufactured jungles of Disney, and the real ones of Dominica, Voula worked and lived in the concrete jungles of the NYC/Hoboken area for 10+ years and eventually launched the VP Consulting Group. Serendipitously, the Community Compost Company, was an early client and introduced her to the world of organic recycling “compost.”  She became an active member of the Hoboken Green Team and eventually a part time employee of Hoboken’s Environmental Services team furthering her work in the “green space.”

The pandemic brought Voula “temporarily” back to live once again in Wayne with her family. She volunteered at Laurelwood Arboretum, and joined the Environmental Commission the following year where she is now the Vice Chair.  For someone “temporarily” back in Wayne she has put a lot of roots in the ground, literally, and figuratively. Voula is dedicated to making her hometown, its former soccer fields, its businesses and residents as Green as possible.