Dear Watershed Management Group Community,
I’m reaching out to share our solidarity with the black community and all people of color who experience oppression in both social and economic ways. We support the movement to dismantle systematic racism and oppression towards black people, as well as the peaceful protests happening across the country.
As an organization working towards the long-term prosperity of people and the environment, social and environmental issues are equally important to WMG. These issues are not isolated, but intertwined. We are working towards healing both our physical and mental environment.
Whatever our politics, race, ethnicity, religion, or socio-economic status, we are all part of one watershed and water unites all life. This is the framework for our We Are One Watershed effort that WMG started back in January 2017. Since then, as an organization, we have focused on self-reflection, internal diversity education, and strategies for greater inclusion and shared learning at our events. We can do more, and we ask you to find ways to do more.
With the ongoing violence towards black people and communities of color in America, we are pausing and we are listening. Please email me if you would like to share ideas on how we can be more responsive and better provide services to communities experiencing social and economic oppression.
Above all, we express hope because we are optimistic about people’s ability to make positive change. What each of us does matters, and we firmly believe that our collective everyday actions will change the world, bringing healing both to people and nature.
In turning to nature for wisdom, I’d like to close with this quote from Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. “The trees act not as individuals, but somehow as a collective. Exactly how they do this, we don’t yet know. But what we see is the power of unity. What happens to one happens to us all. We can starve together or feast together.”
Sincerely,
Lisa Shipek
Executive Director
