The following post was written by Pachamama Alliance Outreach Director, Jon Symes. Photo: Toni Granato and Jon Symes at the meeting outside Philadelphia; photo credit: Lynne Iser
The Delaware River is historically significant, environmentally important, nourishing 5% of the US population, and now under threat from the current fossil fuel boom, it is an appropriate place for the citizens of that area to say “it’s Up to Us”. And the Pachamama Alliance was there to stand with them.
The Up to Us pathway offers a series of events designed to awaken, educate, and link people together as a mobilizable force of citizens. When successfully implemented across the USA, it will be an important contributor to the growth of this citizens’ voice: the citizens’ voice is the key ingredient in the transformation of society in this country: social transformation is a precursor to the environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, socially just future we want. So recent developments in the Delaware River valley have implications for all of us.
Earlier this month a group of volunteers met together outside Philadelphia to design and commit to their next steps. What emerged is a plan that includes these key elements;
- to continue to nourish this core team of volunteers so that their endeavors are personally rewarding, impactful, sustainable and fun
- to drive participation in Up to Us events, either locally (Symposiums) or virtual (the Game Changer Intensive)
- to gather together a community, these will be active members, learning, linking and in action together
The vision of what this makes possible is truly inspiring. Imagine this community of citizens, united by their commitment to staying awake, getting more educated about issues and solutions, each person willing to be mobilized into action locally, nationally even globally. Truly a force to change our world, to hold governments and elected representatives to account and to shape decisions that affect their own local area. In the Delaware River valley a great example of this is already visible: the local Pachamama Alliance community sent members to the climate march in New York in September and are now mobilizing to protest plans to develop.
Now, working in tandem with the Pachamama Alliance staff team in San Francisco, the local core team have a vision and a plan, and best of all, a committed team of 13 newly-trained as leaders—they are in action!
To learn more about this or to bring a core team training to your town or city, contact me (Jon Symes) at the San Francisco office: jon.symes@pachamama.org
