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Let's Get Active!
2004 has proven to be a busy year for the Global Population and Environment Program! Staff and activists have been out in the field doing presentations, events and trainings. From Wisconsin to New Jersey, Texas to Florida, folks are spreading the word!
It's now time for YOU to make a promise to get more active in your community this summer and start by signing onto "A Mother's Promise the World Must Keep" campaign. Sign the petition or get your local Sierra Club or community group to pass a resolution. Click here for the latest campaign update. Thirty-one elected officials have already signed on!
Please contact the Global Population and Environment Program with details about your events, presentations and other gatherings. Send us photographs and your creative ideas. We encourage new activists to reach out and let us know about the great work that you do. Contact Sarah Fairchild at 202.675.2396 or sarah.fairchild@sierraclub.org to let her know about what is happening in your area or for help in planning an event.
Notes From the Field:
People, Policies and the Planet - Campus Forums at the Claremont Colleges: February 25, 26 & 28, 2004
In the end of February in Los Angeles, we partnered with Advocates for Youth, Planned Parenthood Global Partners, Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles and the Communications Consortium Media Center to organize workshops and a training for students at the Claremont Colleges. Participants gained skills in how to motivate and engage their communities, organizations and decision-makers on issues like population and the environment, comprehensive sexuality education and reproductive rights.
While in Los Angeles, Global Population and Environment Program staff, Annette Souder and Sarah Fairchild, presented to members of the Angeles Chapter. They were one of the first Sierra Club Chapters to sign on to "A Mother's Promise the World Must Keep" campaign!
Steve Mills, Director of Sierra Club's International Program and Annette Souder meet with Los Angeles Activists |
National Population Activist Training: Washington, DC March 19-22nd, 2004
Collaboratively with Population Connection and National Wildlife Federation, the Global Population and Environment Program organized the annual National Population Activist Weekend, which brought a record 180 activists from across the country to Washington, D.C. Sierra Club hosted 27 participants, including national Population Committee members, local population chairs, new activists, and students. Participants worked again this year in small, customized group workshops led by staff members from the hosting organizations to gain a broader understanding of the history and current status of United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Participants also attended sessions on population and water security, grassroots and community building sessions and advanced advocacy training. In addition to gaining individual skills and knowledge, the training allowed activists the opportunity to network with other population activists from around the country, strengthening local networks and the opportunity for enhanced outreach at the community level. As one of our student activists commented, "This has definitely encouraged me to become an aggressive activist - to actually do instead of simply talk. This has offered me a bridge to amazing opportunities."
The National Science Teacher's Association Conference: Atlanta, GA April 1-4th, 2004
from left to right: Todd Daniel, Georgia Chapter Population Committee, Marcia Grady, a member of the GA population coalition and Cristina Mestre, Sierra Club's International Program Assistant |
The National Science Teacher's Association Conference was attended by over 10,000 educators from around the United States, as well as a small number of international educators. The United States Agency for International Development, Sierra Club and National Wildlife Federation cosponsored an exhibitor's station that provided free information on population. Their mission was to persuade teachers to include population-environment issues in their curriculums, and of the dozens of environmentally-focused exhibitors, they were the only booth addressing population as the issue underlying all other environmental problems. Throughout the weekend Sierra Club staff and activists talked with approximately 200 teachers, 62 of which signed up to receive more information and become more involved in the program!
Women's Lives, Children's Futures, the Planet's Hope -The Power and Promise of International Family Planning: May 6, 11 & 13th, 2004
Charles Thube, Kenya Country Representative for Pathfinder International |
Ramona Rex, Albert Kaufman and Greg Jacobs Sierra Club Oregon Chapter |
Milka Dinev, Peru Country Representative for Pathfinder International |
The Global Population and Environment Program, Planned Parenthood Global Partners, Population Connection, Population Action International and Pathfinder International, organized three public forums on how Bush administration policies affect the lives of women, children, families and the environment. Pathfinder International experts from Peru and Kenya presented at the events, sharing their personal stories about how family planning saves lives and advances development. The three forums in New York City, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, were designed to engage activists, community members and students on how to challenge the Bush administration policies that jeopardize the lives of women, families and the environment.
Local Planned Parenthood affiliates from Portland and Washington played an integral role in organizing the forums. In total, the events drew 200 activists from all of the partnering organizations! For more information on local outreach in New York, contact Kathy Schwarz.
In Oregon, contact Ramona Rex and in Washington, contact Chris Kennedy.
While in Washington, Sierra Club, Population Connection, Planned Parenthood Global Partners and Population Action International stopped in at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and presented to students on how to get more involved in population and environment issues, "A Mother's Promise the World Must Keep" campaign and ways to work on getting the Global Gag Rule repealed. This campus event generated great discussion and contributed to the overall success of the West Coast "road show"!
Georgia Population & Sustainability Coalition's (GPSC) 6th Annual Population and Environment Workshop: May 15, 2004
Sierra Club and National Wildlife Federation Staff with Georgia population activists.
The Global Population and Environment Program participated in the annual GPSC workshop in Atlanta, this year held at the Southface Energy Institute. Wendy Balazik of Sierra Club's media team, collaborated with National Wildlife Federation and Population Connection, training activists on grassroots activism and how to talk about population and environment issues in the media. According to staff and volunteers who ran the workshop, the event was a great way to shake up activists in Atlanta, generate new ideas and get inspired for future outreach opportunities. To find out more about the GPSC and the annual workshop, contact Tracy Spriggs.
Activism Coat to Coast:
With International Women's Day on March 8th, Earth Day on April 22nd and the March for Women's Lives on April 25th, Population activists had quite a busy spring. Check out the plethora of exciting events that took place across the country.
Florida
Kathleen "Sulli" Sullivan, Global Population and Environment Program Committee member and
Sierra Club Florida Population Issue Chair, reported three successful events. Sulli was one of the GPEP committee members who traveled to Ecuador last August to visit family planning clinics and natural resource conservation projects in the field. She recently gave an Ecuador trip presentation to the Florida Calusa Group and shared her experiences at a lecture series called "The Many Voices of Women" organized by Planned Parenthood. Sulli was extremely pleased with the turn out at the 3rd annual Calusa Group Earth Day Festival on April 24th. She ran a population table and talked to folks about the Global Population and Environment Program and the 34 Million Friends Campaign. There were about 1,000 people at the event, so Sulli certainly covered a lot of ground! For more Florida population information, contact Sulli.
Georgia
Todd Daniel of the Georgia Chapter Population Committee has been on a roll since the beginning of 2004, giving presentations about his participation on the Ecuador Field Study Tour to the Sierra Club Atlanta Group, the League of Women Voters and to the Georgia Planned Parenthood affiliate on International Women's Day. Todd also helped with exhibiting at the National Science Teachers Association Conference in April. He currently has plans to do more Ecuador trip presentations, including one to the Sierra Club Centennial Group. To find out more about population activism in Georgia, contact Mark Weisman.
Massachusetts
Anita King, Population Chair of the Massachusetts Chapter Population Program, reported in her newsletter of a successful event at Smith College on March 25th. William Ryerson, President of the Population Media Center gave a presentation on empowering women through soap operas. Find out more about the work Population Media Center does here.
Anita was also responsible for recruiting students from Smith College and the University of Massachusetts to attend the National Population Activist Training this year and helped provide Global Population and Environment Program materials to Massachusetts activists who took the bus all the way to Washington, DC for the March for Women's Lives!
Minnesota
Laura Kelnhofer, Global Population and Environment Program Committee member collaborated with Planned Parenthood and presented at Macalester College on International Women's Day. The event drew about 20 students who learned about pop-environment links and saw the Sierra Club population video. Planned Parenthood encouraged participants to get involved with "A Mother's Promise the World Must Keep" campaign. Laura also tabled with the Upper-Midwest Population Coalition (National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, and the Izaak Walton League of America) at the Living Green Expo on May 1-2nd. There were over 15,00 attendees at this event, a great publicity and education opportunity.
On May 3rd, Laura visited Gustavus Adolphus College and spoke in a variety of classes, tabled information and gave a presentation at the student coffee shop. Two of the classes she was a guest in were Environmental Studies and the other was a Peace Studies class. Students were very receptive and Laura was even asked to come back and present at next year's environmental conference for Earth Day. Way to go Laura! For more information about Minnesota population activities, contact Laura.
Missouri
 Former Global Population and Environment Program interns Jenny Swan and Heather Gelhert, participated in and helped plan events for International Women's Day on their Westminster College campus. There was an informational dinner where they both passed out materials regarding the 10th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development and "A Mother's Promise the World Must Keep" campaign. Two professors spoke about women's rights and Jenny talked about her experiences as an Ecuador Field Study Trip participant. Jenny also recently talked with a local Kiwanis Chapter about Ecuador. The Global Population and Environment Program is thrilled to have such fantastic student activists as advocates for population and environment issues.
New Jersey
Bonnie Tillery, Population Issues Coordinator for Sierra Club's New Jersey Chapter, was not messing around this past International Women's Day! She joined up with Planned Parenthood of Southern New Jersey to participate in four college campus panel discussions on March 4th, 8th,11th and 22nd. The discussions addressed first hand accounts of the effects of decreased family planning funding in Albania and how family planning has and continues to help the people of Ecuador. Bonnie was one of the Ecuador Filed Study Tour participants.
After International Women's Day, Bonnie geared up for Earth Day and tabled with Planned Parenthood Southern New Jersey at Moorsetown Friends School near Camden, NJ. They reached about 50 people, passing out information on "A Mother's Promise" campaign and Global Population and Environment Program and Planned Parenthood resources. Bonnie made sure to tell everyone she talked to about the March for Women's Lives, held in DC only three days later! She and her husband marched on April 25th with the Sierra Club delegation. For more information about New Jersey population activities, contact Bonnie.
Oregon
Ramona Rex and Jane Roberts |
Ramona Rex, Population Chair of the Oregon Chapter and corresponding member of the Global Population and Environment Program Committee, had an incredibly busy spring in Portland. On March 2nd, she met with a Latin American History class at Portland State University and showed slides from her Ecuador Field Study Tour experience. Ramona included background information on population issues, UNFPA and USAID.
On May 3rd, she did a "Living Within Limits" presentation for a freshmen biology class at a local high school, as well as two presentations with Alternatives to Growth Oregon for a 6th grade class. On March 6th, Ramona participated in the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference in Eugene Oregon, and spoke on a panel with Jane Roberts, co-founder of the 34 Million Friends Campaign and Les Knight of the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement. The discussion drew about 60 people who heard Ramona's stories from Ecuador.
For more information about population activities in Oregon, please contact Ramona Rex.
Check out the Oregon Chapter's Population web page!
Texas
Gayle Loeffler, corresponding member of the Global Population and Environment Program Committee is famous! All of her hard work in Texas, including multiple presentations on her experiences in Ecuador to Sierra Club members and students and getting letters to the editor placed in her local paper has paid off. On April 3rd, Gayle traveled to Austin to receive the Phyllis Van Kerrebrook Award for her outstanding activism. We couldn't be more proud of Gayle for all of her hard work and dedication to population and environment issues!
Washington, DC
Global Population and Environment Program Staff Annette Souder and Sarah Fairchild and National Population Committee chair, Ned Grossnickle, were invited to give a presentation on our program's Ecuador Field Study Tour to USAID's Population and Reproductive Health Program in March. Because many of the clinics the study tour visited were once funded by USAID, it was a fantastic opportunity for USAID workers to hear about the successes our group saw in the field and for them to see first hand why Sierra Club advocates for increased funding for international family planning, in countries like Ecuador.
Wisconsin
Jane Roberts, co-founder of "34 Million Friends of UNFPA" and Ned Grossnickle, Chair of the Sierra Club's Global Population and Environment Program Committee, were co-keynote speakers at a forum hosted by Lawrence University, Appleton, WI, on April 8, 2004. Ned led a discussion on "A Mother's Promise the World Must Keep" campaign and also discussed the successful integrative approach to population and development issues based on his field observations in Ecuador.
Jane Roberts followed with a slide presentation of the urgent need for United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) programs in developing countries. She explained how the "34 Million Friends of UNFPA" campaign began in July 2002 when President Bush cut all funding passed by the House and Senate for UNFPA. She showed slides and shared inspirational stories of the success of UNFPA programs in Africa, Latin America, and South Asia.
For more information about population activities in Wisconsin, contact Ned Grossnickle.
Wyoming
Left to right: Annette Souder, Kirk Koepsel, and Tracie Weber. |
Global Population and Environment Program Staff Annette Souder worked with National Population Committee Member Barbara Herz and Sierra Club Wyoming staff Kirk Koepsel and Tracie Weber to organize an International Women's Day presentation in Jackson Hole, WY. The event drew Club members, students and some from the community to the hour long presentation. A local TV station interviewed Club staff and was played after the event. Kirk Koepsel also presented in Sheridan for International Women's Day. For more information on Wyoming population activities, contact Kirk Koepsel.
A Call to Action! Recruitments and Reminders:
Hey population activists, if you don't see your state listed above, and you have stories from the field to share, PLEASE remember to send them to the newsletter editor Sarah Fairchild at sarah.fairchild@sierraclub.org. Photographs make the newsletter more colorful and exciting, so please send them in!
Dates to Remember:
July 11- World Population Day
Designated annually by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), World Population Day draws attention to the connections among population, development and the environment. July 11 is not only a day to recognize that population growth affects environmental health, but also a day to take steps toward securing a more sustainable future for families around the world. If you would like to organize an event for World Population Day, please contact Cristina Mestre, and we will send you materials. July 11 is a perfect opportunity to write letters to the editor of your local newspaper supporting family planning and UNFPA or to show the Global Population and Environment Program 8 minute video at your local Club meeting.
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