A Call to Action: Citizen Naturalists | Citizen Sportsmen | Citizens out of doors

Originally Posted on November 24, 2016

The Point:

If we love the natural world; if we want it to be there, intact, for us, our children, our grandchildren, for 7 generations ahead - we need to act, togther, now.

#OurAmazingWorld

It does not matter who you voted for in our recent election - it does not matter who you would vote for if you could do it again - it only matters that we come togehter over this, that we work together to roll back the threats to the natural world.

Back story:

Recently I attended an evening meeting sponsored by the Sierra Club of Pennsylvania; featuring Chrsitine Knapp, Director of the Office of Sustainabilty of the City of Philadelphia; featuring Aurora Winslade, the Sustainabilty Director at Swarthmore College; hosted by the Center for Business & Industry at that great institution, the Community College of Philadelphia.

Great panel, I arrived excited, wondering how many would be in the room, 50? more?

Closer to 20, it turned out.

The presentations, as I expected, were deeply informative, on point, inspiring.  A real peek behind the scenes at the important work being done, the critical work ahead.

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This Monday, I signed into a lunchtime webinar; hosted by the Pennsylvania League of Conservation Voters; featuring Josh McNeill from the PA LCV; featuring Matthew Stepp,  Director of Policy for PennFuture; featuring Joanne Kilgour, President of the Sierra Club, Pennsylvania.

Again great panel, again I arived excited - turnout this time was 17.

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So it was a Wednesday night, a workday - but somehow I felt there was a disconnect. Where were we?

The Action Challenge | The Opportunity

If you:

Are a member fo the NJ Audobon Society - bird watch in Cape May

Hike the Appalachian Trail

Are a Susquehanna River Keeper

Belong to Ducks Unlimited

An NRA Member and hunt

Attend talks, join walks, tend trails with the Friends of the Wissahickon

Surf the Jersey Shore

Volunteer for the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary 

Make it a point to get out and see Venus when she's the bright Morning Star

If you just love our great outdoors - we need to band together to protect the land, the waters, the life we love.

We must make the demand - together.

We can walk in the path of giants:

• Aldo Leopold
• John Muir
• Rachel Carson
• Teddy Roosevelt
• Sylvia Earle

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All of that, important, points in the right direction I feel sure.

Now, how to do it? 

Some thoughts:

This requires a single, broad partnership: 

All of us who love #OurAmazingWorld, that love reinforced everytime we go out into it

Those of us who dedicate their work, their professions to protecting, improving the quality of our natural world

Those of us who dedicate a protion of their time, of their life to public service - who run for and hold office - who influence the tenor and the content of our laws

Earth Intitiative will strive to:

Provide a platform and a space where we can share our stories, our experiences

Provide an Exchange where Action Challenges can be made, and Actions taken

Develop ways to track and measure these actions, and their impact

Provide a platform where the professionals and lobbyists can appeal to us to take the most timely and impactful actions - as a community

Develop ways to ensure that this does not become a constant drumbeat to take every action - help fund every good cause. To find a way, as a community, to arrive at priorities, and work to accomplish them

We have begun this work and we spend a lot of time thinking, together, about what needs to be done, and how best to do it.

But we do not have all the how-to answers. We will need your help with that, too

Thoughts?

In Partnership,

The Earth Initiative Founding Team

#Climate #OurAmazingWorld #TheEarthInitiative