Even for those of us who are passionate about solving environmental problems, sometimes it’s hard to figure out how to get involved in a meaningful way. We feel like we don’t know enough or are too nervous to talk to people about the issues we care about. But there are plenty of ways we can overcome these fears and make a difference.
Last Wednesday I took the train from home in western Massachusetts down to Richmond, Virginia, to work with the Back Porch Initiatives. Back Porch was founded one year ago by six recent college graduates, five from William & Mary and one from Connecticut College. Their goal was to travel around the southeast helping out community groups with sustainability-related projects. After eight months of working on projects and traveling throughout the southeast on a truck fueled by waste-vegetable oil, they have set up an office in Richmond, where they continue to work with countless community and environmental initiatives throughout the southeast, while also working on local initiatives in Richmond. I’ve been impressed by the professionalism and focus of these young organizers (whose average age is somewhere between 23 and 24). Just on Monday they helped out at a local community garden, ran a discussion forum in a coffeeshop about corporate sustainability, and put the finishing touches on the three sessions of the Summer Youth Campaign Schools they’re running. Of course, this blog is full of projects organized by young folks, but seeing such an organization in action is really encouraging.
Before buckling down to work on Monday, I went to the Bonnaroo music festival in Tennessee. There I spent most of my time (at least the time not spent at concerts) at Planet Roo, the area of the festival devoted to nonprofits and environmental consciousness. Through my friends, I met the folks at the “I Love Mountains” tent and spent a lot of time hanging out there. I Love Mountains is a coalition of groups in opposition to mountaintop removal, and has a website dedicated to fighting the practice. They were giving “I Love Mountains” temporary tattoos and informing interested passers-by about how awful mountaintop removal is. At first, I just sat there when they were giving their spiel, because I didn’t feel informed enough about mountaintop removal. However, after hearing these awesome folks do their thing for a day or so, and after talking to them about their campaign, I became more confident. At first I just hooked bypassers (“Hey, have you heard about mountaintop removal?”), then even gave people the full lowdown. I was amazed at the growth I felt over the course of the weekend. I’ve always been nervous talking to people in that way, but just by spending time around folks who were more experienced, I became more confident and was able to contribute something valuable to the movement.
It’s great that young folks are doing all these great things, but I know that many college- and high school-aged people are as inexperienced in activism as I’ve been, and are overwhelmed by the scariness of taking an active role in educating and persuading others. But all it takes is spending time with more experienced campaigners, and then anyone who’s interested can make a difference.
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I was wondering why you were hanging around the I(hart)Mtns tent instead of going to shows. I’m stoked glad to hear that you were inspired just by hanging out! We had a really amazing time talking to people about mountaintop removal, it is inspiring for me (and I imagine also for the others helping this past weekend as well) to talk to folks who are taking time out of a music festival to engage us about such a serious issue. Knowledge of the problem is step one, and thats why we were out there; step two is realizing you can do something about it and doing it, and it seems as though your right there Alex. Just let Tom or I know if you need anything as far as materials or help forming ideas on how to help. Take Care!
-Mike McCoy
(As for getting a hold of us, The Back Porch Initiative have our contact info….and also ROCK!)
Thank you for this post. It is encouraging and I know a lot of people feel like you - we don’t have all the answers and it is quite intimidating to stick your neck out there. I learned a lot about this on Mass Power Shift,(http://uli.gaia.com/blog/2008/4/mass_power_shift_-_an_empowering_weekend) where we were trained in lobbying as well as community action and I left with much more confidence that whoever I am talking to is also just a human being and that caring is really what matters most. Sometimes it is easy to hide behind ideological walls and the most important thing I have found is to be able to stay insecure, to listen and respond not from a fixed position of knowing it all, but from really wanting to connect. Sometimes it is easier than others, but it is a great learning to find out, which way of communication works with what kind of people (having different values and priorities).
Thank you for this post, it is a huge inspiration in and of itself, and is exactly the spirit embodied by the movement. We need to continue spreading viraly, just like the contagion of the I Love Mountains Table. Sometimes in our work we forget that the most important thing we can do to create change is to connect. We get focused on our goals, and we get focused on our strategy. Tactics, policy platforms, organizational politics become our focus. In the end, the only reason a movement happens is because it is connected. I’m an organizer in the lovely southern tier of New York State, and I connect with people everyday. Some volunteers I encounter are willing to just pitch in and do what needs to be done, and some are hesitant. The hesitant ones soon become the most effective volunteers because they are the ones I have to connect with the most, and it is that connection that keeps them coming to events, and putting in their time for something they know needs work. Thank you for reminding us of this, and good luck to you all!
When asked, “how do you organize?” Cesar Chavez said, “First you talk to one person, then you talk to another person.”
Congratulations! This fine piece was a featured article in our first ever weekly Bloggers Challenge round-up.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/6/30/81558/0581/65/544024
Thanks for spreading the word!
peace,
JW Randolph
Appalachian Voices