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A Note to Our Readers
from our executive director

Yesterday marked a new day — a more hopeful day — for the fate of the Earth and all life on it. On his first day in office, President Joe Biden blocked the Keystone XL pipeline and started the process of rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement. These are promising indicators of the new administration’s commitment to science and to tackling the climate crisis, building healthy communities, and protecting our environment. It was only two weeks ago that right-wing insurrectionists stormed the United States Capitol in a horrifying display of violence that threatened our democracy. The attack was further proof that anti-government extremism and systemic racism have been allowed to fester for too long in this country. We stand in solidarity with all those urging action to confront White supremacy.

During yesterday’s memorable inaugural event, I was struck by the powerful and inspiring words of National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman. “Somehow, we’ve weathered and witnessed / A nation that isn’t broken but simply unfinished,” Gorman said. We have indeed weathered and witnessed a lot during the past four years and not all of that damage and pain will be easily ameliorated. But my hope as we move forward is that we strive together to address the “unfinished” work that Gorman referred to. At Earth Island, we will keep the lessons of the past four years in mind as we go about our mission of creating a more just, caring, and compassionate world.

David Phillips

Two New Projects Join Earth Island

Earth Island is pleased to announce that Mapping for Environmental Justice and Herbicide Free Campus will become part of our network of more than 75 fiscally sponsored projects. Mapping for Environmental Justice, based in Berkeley, California, creates maps that display the intersecting environmental, public health, and socioeconomic disparities experienced by low-income communities of color. Herbicide Free Campus, also based in Berkeley, works to eliminate synthetic-herbicide use on school campuses. “Both the fight for environmental justice and the efforts to protect the health and well-being of our communities are central to our mission, and we look forward to supporting these projects as they grow their programs,” said Earth Island Operations Director Susan Kamprath.

Seed Funding Supports Solar Initiative

Earth Island’s Covenant Solar Initiative recently received a $200,000 grant from Pazala, the family foundation of Zep Solar cofounders Christina and Jack West, to launch the initiative’s first-of-its-kind programming on the Northern Cheyenne and Standing Rock Sioux Indian reservations. The Wests are supporting Covenant Solar Initiative at a time when investment in the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy is critical to solving some of the most pressing issues faced by Native Americans. “The success of this initiative means the regenerative results of solar energy deployment will ignite a systems-level change in the economic and social conditions in our Native communities, leading to a restoration of our self-reliance,” said Otto Braided Hair, executive director of Covenant Solar Initiative.

From Seed to ... Hair

As part of its effort to provide children with the opportunity to grow and eat healthy food, and to connect with nature routinely, Earth Island’s West County DIGS continues to adapt to the pandemic with remote-learning experiences that enrich and delight young audiences. Its latest project had kids smiling their way through a lesson on planting wheatgrass and exploring the lifecycle of a plant, from seed to … hair. The wheatheads, as they’re called, made their debut a few days after the seeds were planted, turning this science experiment into a fun time had by all. The final process encouraged kids to give the wheatheads a haircut and use the nutritional wheatgrass in smoothies and salads. Can you dig it?

Covid-19 Outdoor Learning Program

Earth Island’s Green Schoolyards America continues its National Covid-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative to support schools and districts around the country in their efforts to reopen safely and equitably using outdoor spaces as a strategic, cost-effective tool. Buoyed by the success of last year’s progress, this collaborative initiative, created with many partners, is about to publish a collection of support materials and has kicked off its 2021 series of working-group sessions that will take place every other Tuesday through March. Register here. The sessions provide a forum for schools, school districts, and education departments to share information on outdoor-learning plans. While the program currently focuses on addressing the pandemic, it also recognizes the long-term value of outdoor learning to enrich education and improve the well-being of children for years to come. Photo courtesy of Golestan Education.

Pizza for a Cause

Basketball star Jeremy Lin (of Linsanity fame) and San Francisco’s Square Pie Guys recently named Earth Island’s Food Shift as one of their fundraising beneficiaries. Lin collaborated with the restaurant to design his dream pizza, and designated Food Shift as the charity of choice. In addition, Lin will match all donations. Food Shift is thankful for the support, which will fund its Covid-19 relief initiative, Operation Together, supplying food to organizations serving food-insecure people, including unhoused, low-income, elderly, and immunocompromised people, who are disproportionately burdened by Covid. Two other local organizations are the beneficiaries of this dream team: Community Youth Center of San Francisco and Oakland’s Harbor House Ministries. Read more about Lin’s pizza creation and his philanthropic efforts with the Square Pie Guys in Eater SF.

The Crisis of Plastic Pollution

There are 300 million pounds of plastic produced each year, of which 91 percent is not recycled. The United States produces the most plastic waste per capita of any country. Plastic pollution has proven negative impacts on human and environmental health. Yet the fossil fuel industry plans to increase plastic production by 40 percent over the next decade. President Biden can, and must, act on plastic pollution. Join Earth Island’s Plastic Pollution Coalition and more than 550 other groups in asking President Biden to stop the plastic-pollution crisis by taking eight executive actions, including holding corporate polluters accountable, advancing environmental justice in petrochemical corridors, and mitigating the impact of plastic fishing gear that entangles and kills marine life. Sign the petition here.

Take Action

Coexisting with Coyotes

Earth Island’s Project Coyote is currently fielding many inquiries about human-coyote interactions. Potential factors responsible for this increase are pandemic-induced lifestyle changes, such as people spending more time outdoors in exurban or rural areas. Another possible factor is an increase in humans feeding wildlife, thereby training wildlife to see human habitations as a food source. Read more in this recent article in which Project Coyote’s National Carnivore Conservation Manager Michelle Lute is interviewed. Project Coyote encourages the public to use (and share) tools and methods from its Coyote Friendly Communities program, to learn how to coexist in harmony with our wild neighbors.