Recovery, Resilience, and Environmental Action

Geist explained how her own recovery taught her the importance of grief; that she cannot give away what she does not have. Before recovery, Geist felt a lack of hope, but as she found support in the community, she learned how crucial it was to have a willingness to change. From there Harris shared that recovery has helped her open her heart to nature.

She now sees the world differently and relies on calm peaceful walks in nature to support her journey forward. Manning spoke about what the environmental justice movement can learn from the recovery community: that change is hard and requires committed effort, that recovery is about love and caring about harm to others and that no one can do any of this alone.

Finally, Hildenbrand connected that both recovery and sustainability move from individualistic and short-sighted thinking to long term planning and understanding how to support the needs of the entire community. He also shared that honesty and humility are key in both recovery and environmental justice.

Geist pointed out how important it is that people take this moment to address their negative impacts on others and that as Covid precautions evolve, we do not return to the old way of life.

Harris emphasized how critical it is to teach youth to care for nature, especially in communities of color where access may lacking. Manning offered that nature is healing and can create a positive cycle that includes the creation of more nature.

Hildenbrand tied his answer back in with Geist’s, explaining that people are creatures of pattern, not habit, and that by creating new patterns now we avoid enforcing past harmful patterns.

Geist began by reminding the audience of the importance of inspiring others’ love for the natural world by quoting paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould: “We will not fight to save what we do not love.” She addressed the systematic barriers of environmental racism and pushed organizations to “build more bridges” into that branch of activism.

Manning wholeheartedly agreed that confronting environmental racism is a central focus for young people involved in the environmental justice movement. She challenged environmental organizations to address the disparate impacts BIPOC communities face.

Hildenbrand stressed the importance of meeting people where they are, and not pushing them to do things that they are not prepared for. He continued that we need privileged people to give back to communities who haven’t had the same opportunities they have. Harris agreed that as environmental racism affects BIPOC communities broadly, addressing it should be at the forefront of all environmental activists’ agendas.

Kent Fritz-Smead, retired Minneapolis College faculty and former coordinator of the college’s Zero Waste Initiative, expressed gratitude for the many ways his life experiences have been deepened by what he’s learned from the recovery journeys of friends and family members: That in both recovery and environmental activism, we must encourage taking small steps as we learn and grow, and that practicing accountability while in community gives us the strength to keep going.

Hanson summed up the conversation with this succinct observation: “We have a complex set of issues in front of us, and vibrant ideas about ways that we can learn from one another.”