See Jane Do went wild last weekend as we participated in SYRCL's Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival based right in our home town of Nevada City, CA. Not only does the festival feature hundreds of informative and inspiring films but the event is the largest environmental film festival in the United States.
We discovered that female film makers are making their mark in the field when it comes to environmental related films and over 60% of the participants at the festival are women, according to former SYRCL director and festival coordinator Janet Cohen.
We were fortunate enough to meet two incredible everyday extraordinary women who participated in the festival events and were acknowledged for taking a stand and doing their part for the planet.
Activist Rachel Barge, director of Campus In Power convinced us that there is a new generation of women who are equally concerned with the condition of our planet. Rachel was awarded the Brower Youth Awards for her achievements in co-creating the Green Initiative Fund, which successfully secured $2 million for sustainability projects on campus. She is now consulting with other universities around the United States to establish sustainable practices on campus. Did we mention she is 23 years old?
Several of the films at the festival focused on mining. This is a subject near and dear to our hearts since our community is considering re-opening the Idaho-Maryland Mine in Grass Valley, CA. We were determined to find women who are taking a stance against the destruction of mining and we found her...Lydia Olympic. Lydia was featured in the moving and sobering film, Red Gold. As a tribal activist she is taking the lead to fight the development of a proposed mine in her community. Her town just happens to be located on Bristol Bay home to the most populated Salmon Runs in the world. Her primary motivation was inspired by her mother who at 84 years old still fishes, hunts and gathers berries to sustain her family.
See Jane Do will feature these everyday extraordinary women in our upcoming episodes. Be sure to tune in to "Jane Takes a Stand" on KVMR. What will you take a stand for this year? Tell us your story at [email protected].
Hi Elisa-
Monica showed me the article about you guys going to the inauguration. That's SO great! I checked out your site and blog and am very impressed. What a great topic!
Anyway, I thought you might be interested in this piece from the Placer Sentinel about the useless (and harmful, really) nature of Western Placer Waste Management Authority's blue bag recycling program. Here's a link:
http://www.placersentinel.com/archives.html
It's the "Are Blue Bags Green?" article.
I thought the author, Maureen Murphy, might be a good person for you guys to interview.
Have a great trip back east!
Take care,
Renee (Marlene's sister)
Posted by: Renee | January 17, 2009 at 01:54 PM