“The injustices in our society and the environmental degradation have the same roots,” says Nancy Faulstich, the executive director of Regeneración.
She worked with other Watsonville community members to form the climate justice organization in 2016. Now, Regeneración and California State University, Monterey Bay are inviting the community to participate in their third Climate of Hope forum.
This year, the organizers chose women, girls and climate justice as their focus.
“Women’s leadership is really needed in a sustainable future—in particular, the leadership of Indigenous women and women of color,” says Faulstich.
The virtual event, scheduled for March 3 from 3-5 pm, will feature keynote speakers from a variety of backgrounds and a women-led art show in partnership with the Pajaro Valley Arts Gallery. Topics include sustainable energy, landscape design and regenerative community-based farming.
The forum will take place mostly in English, but the organizers offer interpretation in Spanish and Mixteco on Zoom, and through live phone conference lines.
The organizers hope the discussion will inspire people to take action in their daily lives.
“I think a lot of the times people just feel so overwhelmed, like ‘I can’t solve climate change, I’m just one person,’” says Natalie Olivas, community organizer at Regeneración. “So we really want to show examples of how people are doing that on every different level.”
They also want to focus on uplifting oppressed voices. “If we don’t prioritize that, then people will continue this legacy of exploitation,” says Olivas. “There’s no climate justice separate from social justice.”
Register at bit.ly/women_girls_climate or catch the livestream on the organization’s Facebook page. The event is free, but donations are encouraged.
