FFC General Meeting Re-Cap
Meeting amidst the fantastical climate justice installment by Making Earth Cool at the Parallax Art Center
Thank you so much to all of the folks who came out to our first in-person general meeting since February 2020. It is so heartening to be able to see people face-to-face again. And we had the added bonus to gather in such a beautiful, vibrant space at the Parallax Art Center among the collaborative, fantastical, climate justice art installation by our friends at Making Earth Cool. We know a lot of you wanted to join in person, but couldn’t swing it, so here’s a short recap of what went on.
First, we kicked off with an icebreaker where we shared what animal we’d like to be and in what habitat we’d like to live. Some of us wanted to be dragons living inside mountains full of treasures or horses in meadows as well as ladybugs in a fairy kingdom to a river otter in a space next to a meadow. For those who couldn’t make it, what would be your answer to that question?
Rooting ourselves in that joyful moment, we split off from the little kids (although as always, kids were freely coming and going from all spaces) and got into the agenda for the day.
FFC Updates
FFC has evolved quite a bit over the past few years and will continue to evolve, so it’s always helpful to remind ourselves what the organization is all about. There is so much amazing climate justice work already happening in Oregon, but it can be so hard for parents and families to get involved. FFC wanted to create a space that honored and acknowledged the lives of families while also leaning into the specific emotions and the mental health toll the climate crisis can take on kids and families alike.
“It’s been a rough couple of years for parents and for the climate,” Board President, Leonard Barrett, said at the meeting. “I see ourselves as a platform for parents who want to know what to do about climate.”
As such, FFC is a way to lean into our role as caregivers and focus on direct advocacy. Leonard specifically mentioned that the goal is to hopefully provide some direct action opportunities for folks at these meetings. Alas, with the Republican walkout in the legislature, the hope to move forward any of the climate justice legislation is stalled for the time being. It’s infuriating, of course, that a few lawmakers have such power to stall such essential change. Yet we persist with hope and action.
With that, board members, Leonard, Amber Votel Roth, and Maia Hixon shared what they have loved and gained so much over the last few years of working with FFC. Those include the following:
We can do this work with kids. They are our motivation and can have agency over their future.
Climate anxiety is heightened in both children and adults. The work we’re doing is acknowledging those feelings, providing space to process them which makes it much easier and fulfilling to take action.
Climate justice work can be joyful and fun. FFC’s bike rides, nature walks, and celebrations are a way to revel in the beauty of nature and collective action.
Caregivers and kids have great potential to create policy change. Political and legislative advocacy has become a core focus of FFC’s work and we’re actively working in coalition with other climate justice organizations to get progressive climate legislation passed. We are frustrated by the Republican walkout-stalled climate legislation, but we are motivated and will continue this work together. We have been told by lobbyists that the voices of families and children have immense power, and we aim to focus on where and when that power can be most effectively harnessed.
We want to be a hub for policy and advocacy projects you are working on. We want to serve as an umbrella organization for those of you who have viable, climate justice projects. We’re excited to serve in this capacity as a fiscal sponsor for Electrify PDX that was founded to create a grassroots advocacy campaign to encourage home electrification. They are doing amazing work helping raise awareness among homeowners and support home electrification.
After our official updates, we circled up in smaller groups and talked about our climate change worries as well as what thoughts/ideas folks had for FFC to support them in their work.
If you weren’t at the meeting or you were there but have more to share, we would love to hear your ideas! Email us at info@familiesforclimate.org with your thoughts/ideas or fill out the form below.
Stay tuned for announcements of the many summer events we are in the process of planning at our EVENTS page and subscribe to the newsletter if you’re not already on it!
Attendees at the general meeting discuss their worries around climate change and how they’d like FFC to help them in climate action.
Shoutout to FFC Partners
In addition to the FFC programming, we had the pleasure to hear from some of our wonderful partners and we want you all to check out what they’re doing.
Making Earth Cool
There’s a symbiotic relationship between Making Earth Cool and FFC because of their approach to celebrating the beauty and joy of planet Earth through collaborative art projects. It was only natural that we met surrounded by their incredible installation which will be at the Parallax Art Center until June 3rd. Making Earth Cool was formed by a group of folks who want to bring people together and support the work of organizations like Families for Climate through multi-media events and videos. Their residency at the Parallax Art Center is their first longer-term installation and it will not be their last.
While MEC will be leaving that space soon, they will be moving over The Braided River Campaign’s space at The Lloyd Center. Stay tuned for more details. In the meantime, check out their installation at Parallax now and join MEC for their closing party, The Earth Ball on Saturday, June 3rd. It’s going to be a blast!
Braided River Campaign
The Braided River Campaign is a volunteer group of Willamette River residents, activists, artists and organizations working to help make the lower Willamette River (Portland Harbor) a safe and healthy place. Their climate justice focus is found in their acknowledging and understanding the history of the river and the peoples who lived along and stewarded the natural spaces for time immemorial through art exhibits, walking tours, and collecting archival photos. Their work not only acknowledges the more distant past, but also the recent history and current circumstances where the patterns of industrialization along the river disproportionately impact historically marginalized residents.
Their current campaigns include working with other coalitions to resist the Zenith Energy fossil fuel export terminal as well as bringing attention to the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub where 630 fuel storage tanks sit creating an enormous potential for large-scale disaster during an earthquake. Learn more about the campaign and download a map to learn more about Zenith and the CEI Hub here. Additionally, in partnership with the Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group, Braided River is hosting a River School forum throughout the summer. On Thursdays between June 8th and July 22nd (5:30-7:30pm) at Green Anchors in St. Johns (8940 N Bradford), a series of experts on geology, history, and wildlife will dive into the past and current harm and the hope for the future for the people and nature along the river. The River School is intended for adults, but children are welcome to come and play. FFC hopes to collaborate with this campaign over the summer to offer opportunities for kids to participate and learn! For more info and to RSVP email sarahsojourner@mac.com.
Climate Cafés
FFC had the pleasure of working with mental health professionals and active FFC parents, Lilly Hankins and Celeste Baskett, on two April Climate Cafés. This format has become an incredible opportunity for folks to process climate grief by modeling the format on “Death Cafés.” They’re spaces to talk about climate emotions and feelings. Oftentimes processing these emotions is essential before being able to take effective action. And Lilly emphasized that even just talking about climate change is an action in and of itself and it can be easier to have those conversations with others when you’re also processing the emotions.
Lilly and Celeste are planning to hold more cafes in the future, so stay tuned. Additionally, they welcome anyone who wants to bring Climate Cafes to their company, organization, or faith community. You can reach out to Celeste at celestebaskett@gmail.com to discuss.
