Sunday, February 6, 2011

Saving Land - learning the ropes

When I returned to live in my home town of Salem, CT after my years of education and 2 years in the US Army medical corps, I had already been involved in land conservation at the federal level.

I worked with the Sierra Club while in my OB-Gyn training years in Ann Arbor, MI, in the late 1960's.  The state chapter there was deeply involved in getting Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore designated by Congress as a National Park service site.  My role there was tiny, because I had no money and little time.  But I could do math and offered to serve as treasurer for the chapter, an organization with little money but a lot of talent and enthusiastic activism.

By offering to play that role, I sat in on the deliberations and strategy sessions, and met those who were focused on getting out letters to higher officials, educating the public, bringing people to see their special places so that they would care about protecting them, testifying at hearings.  I learned a lot there about how group activism empowers individuals who could never succeed on their own, and how persistence overcomes what seem to be impossible obstacles by wearing away the opposition over time.

When I completed my medical training, I went to Ft Bragg, NC, in 1971.  The Viet Nam War was on and I had signed up to join when my training was complete.  I went in with the rank of Major, and didn't even know how to salute!  But it was soon after the amazing national awakening at the first Earth Day.  Coming from Ann Arbor, I knew a lot about organizing groups, and I was ready to do my part for Mother Earth.

There was a strong Sierra chapter in North Carolina, and I volunteered to get a group going in the small city of Fayetteville.  Being a military town, one would think that environmental activism would be given a hard time.  But the opposite was the case.

My wife Annie B collected letters to the editor of the local newspaper, written by local people on environmental issues.  She then looked up all the phone numbers  of that group that we could find and invited them to a meeting to discuss how they could get their concerns addressed by the local government or the state. 

We expected 2 or 3 might come, and were amazed to find about 15 people crowded into our little living room, wanting to help in whatever way they could.  There many issues raised, and we talked about the different national organizations that they could join to work on their particular issue.  But all of us had some interest in all of the issues raised.  The one organization that seemed able to help us address all of the various interests of the group was the Sierra Club.  So we formed a group, went through the approval process from the state chapter (it was minimal, and nelped with templates for such things as by-laws), and we went to work.

We picked up litter, we went to major sites of concern in the state, we started a recycling center and got the city to separate newspapers from the rest of the trash.

Getting involved is the first step.  Finding compatible partners is the second, if you want to be successful at the conservation game. There are plenty of people around you who want and need your talents. They will know what to do. You learn by doing.

DBB

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