Alex Carr ’12 Shares How She Designed Her Future at Foxcroft

But why eco-friendly riding arena footing? Well, it all began when she made biodiesel at Foxcroft.

“When I was a senior, I had gone through all of my science credits, and Foxcroft offered the independent study," Carr shared with students. "So I decided to take used cooking oil from the Dining Hall and turn it into biodiesel." 

“The reason this is the beginning of footing," she continued, "is that a byproduct of biodiesel is glycerin, and glycerin is a natural dust suppressant. When I first created it, I told my dad, who is in the arena building business, and when we first tried it, we put it into an indoor arena — but we didn't get refined glycerin. We got used cooking oil glycerin, and the entire arena smelled like french fries and burgers. We've learned a lot since then, but the foundation of this is what we built on.”

Even so, her path to creating eco-friendly arena footing was not linear. “I went through a lot of different phases; I did not know that I was going to start a business at all. I knew I loved the environment, and I knew I loved innovating and creating new products.” 

After graduating from Rhodes University, where she studied environmental and international studies, Carr spent time in Thailand working in elephant conservation and tourism. That work reinforced her passion for sustainability and environmental preservation and prompted her to consider environmental law as a career, ultimately working at two law firms. 

While exploring environmental law, she was also working closely with her dad to create plastic-free arena coatings, eventually realizing that was what she wanted to do — create sustainable and eco-friendly products with her dad. "So this is my baby," Carr shared as she showed a photo of her product to students. “Noviun Fiber is an additive that you add to sand that creates more structure underfoot and allows for impact absorption, but it is completely plant-based.” She then explained a bit of the science behind her product.

Carr finished her presentation by sharing that the company is already thinking about how its products can be used in sports industries beyond riding arena footing. “Our goal for ArenaMend is to displace all plastic in all sports fields and pitches, and we're working on that now.”

In addition to her Morning Meeting presentation, Carr spoke with photography and AP Biology classes.

Thank you, Alex Carr ’12, for sharing your time and journey with the Foxcroft community!