Being from Greenville, South Carolina isn’t the only green thing about Matthew May.
His environmentally conscious journey began during his undergraduate years at Clemson University, where he earned a B.S. in Forest Resource Management. Later, he pursued a master’s in Business Administration from East Carolina University.
While studying at Clemson, May met his future wife, Maria Campolo May, a woman who shares his core values including cheering on the Clemson Tigers and leading a health-focused lifestyle.
“My core values are mind, body, faith. And then another way of putting it is faith, family and business, in that order,” May says. “My dad told me that from a young age: faith, family, business. Don’t ever forget the order.”
Four years ago, May and his wife moved to New Albany so that she could complete her residency and, eventually, take over the medical practice that her family began in the 1980s.
May not only raves about his wife’s delicious meals, but her impact on those she serves in Licking County. As a partner in an outpatient private practice, she helps thousands of people in the area through a personal approach to medicine.
With their interest in health, New Albany has been the perfect community for the May entire family. The May family, including their children Clara Cate and Beau, have found their place in the community. Staying active, eating clean and gardening are just a few of the activities they take part in daily.
Passionate about their faith, the Mays have also found a community within the church they attend.
“Church is really important to us. We go to New Albany Presbyterian. That’s just been a wonderful piece of community for us,” May says. “We participate in community outreach for underserved communities here in Columbus through the church. My wife loves cooking meals for people in need through the church.”
Growing greener
There’s an intersectionality with May’s interests and beliefs. He loves to give back to the community, whether independently with his family, through the church or at work. Having worked in the wood products industry for the last twelve years, May is well-versed in the environmental impacts humans have on the world.
May is a founder and board member of EarthPeak Solutions, a food waste collections and processing company. EarthPeak converts food waste to fertilizer in a 24-hour period, locking in the greenhouse gasses, the carbon in the methane into the fertilizer and creating a nutrient-rich fertilizer with a high carbon content.
“What we’re doing is removing food waste from the landfill and we are producing a fertilizer for regenerative agriculture,” May says.
May connects some of his biggest core values, such as mind, body and business, into his day-to-day operations with EarthPeak. Being one of the company’s strategic advisors, he’s one of a few organizers behind the project that ensures the company continues in its success.
“Our agricultural fields all across America are depleted of nutrients and our fertilizer reintroduces carbon content, micro and macro nutrients back into the soil and creates an environment in the soil for plants to grow in a healthy way without synthetic fertilizers,” May says.
This process, similar to May’s pathways of thinking, is intertwined with the health of those around him. If plants are grown and treated in soils with natural fertilizer, they’re more likely to contain a denser nutrient content. Healthier soils mean healthier plants for consumers.
“Environmental health is just as important as physical health. And that is the focus of our company, EarthPeak Solutions,” May says.
One of Matthew’s ongoing goals is to help his community with the processes offered by EarthPeak. After piquing the interest of some community members including New Albany City Council Member Kacey Kist, May was able to find ways to incorporate EarthPeak’s services into New Albany.
“New Albany is such a fabulous community for walking. We walk almost daily with the kids when the weather is nice and even when it’s not so nice, it is sacred family time for us. My wife is an internal medicine physician and she keeps me on the up and up. She cooks great healthy meals. So health is really important to us,” May says.
“EarthPS provides food waste collections here in New Albany, and EarthPeak Solutions is going to be providing the regenerative agriculture fertilizer, ReNourish, to the community gardens,” May says.
Work aside, spending time with family and friends is integral to May. If he isn’t taking a stroll around the city, he’s most likely going down South to reconnect with his roots.
“We love traveling,” May says. “The beach is one of our favorite places. We go to South Carolina all the time to visit my family that’s still down there.”
And with a little girl on the way in the coming months, May continues to prioritize the importance of family and health. His environmental involvement is ever growing and changing in hopes to create a healthier, cleaner earth for his children.
“I can’t stress enough how environmental health is important for ourselves and for future generations to come,” May says. “What we’re doing is removing food and other organic waste streams from the landfill, reducing greenhouse gases and we are producing a fertilizer for regenerative agriculture and how that helps the environment.”
Mary Nader is a contributing writer at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at mnader@cityscenemediagroup.com.
