Stewards of Nature 2024
Joel Houser
Joel invites us to learn about and support the organizations and people who are helping bridge gaps in the conservation spaces, particularly in the Appalachian Mountain range. He reminds us of the importance of this work because at the end of the day, the benefits of conservation should reach everyone, not just select groups.
Shawanna Kendrick
Shawanna shares her perspective on getting more black women outside in nature and invites us to build relationships outside of our norm in an effort to build community and help create a more sustainable and fair future. Nature could make the world of a difference in uniting and connecting us.
Gail Loveland Barille
Gail reminds us of the importance of falling back in love or falling in love with nature. She pinpoints the importance of the language we use to describe our activities in nature to ensure we are being as inclusive as possible, for nature is truly for everyone.
Daniela Paz-Peterson
Daniela invites us to join her at an imaginary dinner party where we are to bring a salad in a salad bowl. Through this creative analogy, she tells us we've been focusing so much on the salad bowl, and not on the actual salad. When we think about parks we think about what we can see - the physical infrastructure. But we don't talk about another important factor: who's going to be using the parks - the vibrancy, the people, the "salad in the salad bowl."
