2nd graders at STRAW's Watershed Education Summit
use a handmade model to demonstrate how
wetlands help filter pollutants from runoffDuring the past couple weeks, I managed to get out from behind my desk to attend two fabulous events. Flanking Earth Day on each side, the events showcased the broad and compelling spectrum of work that is being done to help the environment, all around the globe. One was capped off by chocolate chip cookies at a community center in Novato, the other by organic vegetarian sushi and wine in a breathtaking, illuminated San Francisco City Hall.
First up was our Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed (STRAW) Project’s annual watershed education "summit." Elementary students from 12 schools throughout Marin and Sonoma counties gathered to share the experiences they have had this year restoring local creeks. They also brainstormed other ideas for how kids can pitch in for the planet, and exhibited their classes’ watershed art and science projects. As I wandered among the amazing handmade books, quilts, movies, watershed models, and posters, I was repeatedly corralled by pint-sized environmentalists eager to tell me (in very earnest little voices) all about what watersheds are, how wetlands work, and why it matters. Adorable and inspiring, all in one package.
Goldman Environmental Prize reception
at San Francisco City HallA few days later and at the other end of the event spectrum, I attended the Goldman Environmental Prize ceremony at the San Francisco Opera House-- kind of the "Oscars" of grassroots environmentalism. The award recipients are ordinary people from all over the planet who overcome incredible odds-- jail sentences, death threats, David-and-Goliath battles against multinational corporations-- as they work toward environmental justice and conservation. Among this year’s recipients were a Mongolian herdsman who lead a movement to stop destructive hydraulic mining and bring back the Onggi River; an Irishman who spent 3 months in jail for refusing to let Shell Oil build a pipeline through his farm, which included ecologically sensitive bog land; and a Shipibo indigenous leader in Peru who stood up against logging even in the face of threats on his life, and helped bring suit against the US for illegally importing endangered bigleaf mahogany.
Obviously the two events were very different in scale. But at the core, both were about individuals taking action-- whether it is planting native plants or launching a movement-- to protect and restore the places they call home. And—in the face of environmental crises that can seem overwhelming-- both were reminders of how empowering it is when we gather to share stories, celebrate victories, and remind ourselves that we’re not in this alone.
Rewarding ourselves with cookies never hurt, either.
