Time has been elusive lately... Much is changing, on our planet, within our systems, and in our hearts, and we need each other now more than ever.
These mere teenage days of 2017 have been much more than many of us ever imagined. And I believe the Resistance, the Revolution, is here. And it is beautiful.
Our Mother Earth is awake, alive, and no longer content to sit quietly, my friends. She's speaking up, and I have a sneaking suspicion she's about to get loud. My greatest hope for the coming days...? That enough of us continue wake up with her, and listen.
Come see us at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival!
WHERE THERE ONCE WAS WATER: A California Story
California Water: where are we, where are we headed, and how can we craft an equitable water future for all life? Join the conversation with local photographer and filmmaker Brittany App, as she shares a 15-minute *sneak-preview* of this feature-length film, currently in production.
Special Event in the Octagon Barn : March 15, 2017 : 7pm
Click HERE to purchase tickets. Only 100 seats available. Tix will sell out!
You may already know that I traveled to Standing Rock in November of last year, to share the stories of the Water Protectors. Today I share Meadow's story. For some beautiful truth about Standing Rock, and the power of this movement, please take some time to listen.
Upon returning home from Standing Rock, Erin Inglish coordinated an evening of stories & conversation, "Standing SLO : The Movement Comes Home". It was standing-room only at the Guild Hall in SLO, and we were honored by a visit from Myron Dewey and the Digital Smoke Signals family. I encourage you to follow his informed Indigenous media coverage, live from Standing Rock, as the story there continues to unfold.
In January I attended and documented the Women's March in SLO, and my heart burst wide open with love and admiration for this place I call home, and the beautiful souls within it, ready and willing to stand up together, for our rights as women.
You can see a full gallery of my images from the day HERE.
In February I interviewed our mighty new SLO Mayor, Heidi Harmon, a brave climate activist, and a well-spoken & fully inspiring creative woman with a heart of gold. Heidi and I had a heart-to-heart about tangible hopes & fears around a rapidly changing climate, and how we can all participate in the conversation to create a future we can be proud of.
I attended the California Irrigation Institute Conference in Sacramento, learned a TON, and got to hear Dr. Jay Famiglietti, a climate scientist from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, speak about the serious nature of our groundwater deficiency here in California.
I interviewed the one-and-only Water Maven herself, Chris Austin, the woman behind the go-to California Water news source Maven's Notebook, and she is an absolute joy.
I visited Folsom Lake and San Luis Reservoir, and saw a dramatic change from my previous visits. Drought followed by floods has been a blessing & a curse - the record-setting rainfall has filled both our northern reservoirs, and caused major destruction.
We must continue to think globally and act locally. I encourage you to find out about water issues in your own home town. Where does your water come from? What threats loom in your community that could affect your health, your home and your way of life?
Here in San Luis Obispo County we are battling big oil with a couple of efforts - the proposed Chumash Marine Sanctuary, and Protect Price Canyon. I interviewed one of our local connected leaders, Roberto Monge, and his daughter Liliana, about the importance of rallying together as a community to protect our home.
It is true that we have moved from severe drought to floods. But the drought, or more appropriately, the California water crisis, is far from over. Our groundwater aquifers remain severely depleted. Our infrastructure is crumbling (see the stories about Oroville Dam?), and we have a gaggle of climate change deniers in the White House who seem intent upon destroying both our democracy and our planet, all for the sake of profits.
"Only when the last tree has died, and the last river been poisoned, and the last fish been caught, will we realize we cannot eat money." - Native American Proverb
