Hey John,
We still want to hear your story! How have you been connecting with nature over the past few months? Submit your story here: [link removed]
OLCV member Stacey from Ontario, Oregon sent us this story about spending more time outside:
I am fortunate to have nature in my own yard. This year I have a garden planted with vegetables. There are cottontail rabbits living in the yard along with quail and other birds. There are apple trees, walnut trees, and others. For those in urban areas I encourage them to look closely at their surroundings. There are interesting bits of nature nearby. Pets are part of the natural world and by observing them we are experiencing a different way of living.
What about you? Have you been spending more time exploring your neighborhood? Or maybe you’ve been reflecting on environmental justice, and how not everyone has a clean and healthy place to live? Or noticing the effects of climate change in this strange early-summer heat? We want to hear your thoughts: [link removed]
Your story doesn’t have to be long: it can be just a quick sentence or two. We’re excited to start sharing these on Facebook and Instagram, and on the Nature Stories page on our website! We hope you'll submit yours!
Thank you,
Francesca Varela
Digital Coordinator, OLCV
---- FWD: Original Message ----
Dear John,
We’re living through a time of great change. Across the country--and the world--people are coming together to demand a restructuring of society; one that values the Black community and ends the systematic police violence against Black people. The Black Lives Matter movement is happening at the same time as a global pandemic and the ongoing climate crisis. A lot of work needs to be done.
For many, the natural world is a source of strength during this time. Whether out on the trails or in your own backyard, nature helps many of us recharge and find the strength needed to face difficult truths and keep fighting for change. For others, the outdoors has never been a safe or accessible space. Many people don’t have access to parks. Many don’t have the money to drive to scenic areas. Many don’t feel safe or represented in the world of outdoor recreation.
We want to know: how have you been connecting with nature during this time? Has it been a positive or negative experience for you? Have you noticed things you hadn’t noticed before? We invite you to submit your story as part of our new storytelling project! We’ll be sharing these stories on our social media page and on our website. We hope these stories will help us reflect, share, and come together. You can share your story here: [link removed]
For me, walking in Forest Park has helped me connect to the natural world. The other day, I was walking along, and I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see a Great Blue Heron land in the middle of the trail. He was enormous. I’d seen Great Blue Herons before, but never that close. He walked down to the creek--his head bobbing, dinosaur-like--and I followed him, inching closer and closer, until I could see into his yellow eye. He gazed back, as docile as the water beneath him. After a while he snapped his beak, shook his head, and began to wade upstream. I watched until I couldn’t see him anymore--until he disappeared from view, down amongst the nettle and the touch-me-nots that lined the stream.
I felt lucky to have been visited by this magnificent bird. But I also remembered that not everyone could have moments like this. I thought of Christian Cooper, the Black man who was out bird watching in Central Park, and had the police called on him by a white woman. She lied and said he was threatening her when he had only asked her to keep her dog on its leash. This is not an uncommon experience for Black people. Racism against Black people is woven into every part of our society, and outdoor recreation is no exception.
And it's not uncommon for other communities of color to feel like they don’t fit into the world of outdoor recreation. In my own half-El Salvadorian family, my relatives aren’t particularly comfortable in the outdoors. My abuela has said she will never go camping, even if you paid her a million dollars, and my tíos don’t really see the appeal of hiking. They didn’t grow up with it. In El Salvador, nature was a place where you lived and worked, not a place where you hiked or camped for fun. And, here in the U.S., second generation Latinos like me don’t see many people from their own culture out on the trail. That’s starting to change, but there’s still a long way to go.
There’s so much to think about when it comes to the ways we connect with nature and how we can make the outdoors more accessible for everyone. That’s my story. What’s yours? We hope you’ll share your story with us! Your story can be anywhere from one sentence to a few paragraphs long. It can be about how you’ve found solace in nature over the past few months, or how you’ve been recognizing your privilege in the outdoors, or how nature has shaped who you are, or maybe how your perspective on your place in nature has changed. Whatever your story is, we look forward to reading it, and sharing these stories as we all continue to grow, learn, and improve, and recharge for all the work that is still to be done.
Thank you,
Francesca Varela
Digital Coordinator, OLCV
P.S. - Want to learn more about how we can make the outdoors more inclusive? This article is a good place to start: [link removed]
--------------------------------------------------------------
| Paid For By The Oregon League of Conservation Voters |
--------------------------------------------------------------
Oregon League of Conservation Voters
321 SW 4th Avenue Suite 600
Suite 600
Portland OR 97204 United States
Staying in touch via the Oregon League of Conservation Voters’ email list is the best way we have of keeping in regular contact with supporters like you and letting you know about the ways you can take action to protect the environment. You can [link removed] from our supporter list, but if you leave, it will be harder for you to stay involved with OLCV and continue the work that you’ve been such a critical part of. OLCV wins environmental policy fights and elections because of dedicated activists like you, and we’d hate to see you go.
