As a member of the Sierra Club, I regularly receive a hardcopy version of its quarterly magazine, Sierra. If you click this link, you should be able to access the Fall 2026 edition of the magazine in its digital format. I particularly liked an article that begins on page 35, entitled "The Support Group." The article is by Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, who begins the article with this personal recollection:
If we avoid that "most odious pronoun" that I have written about, and stop thinking only in individualistic terms, we will recognize that we have much to do in this country, and not enough people to do what needs to be done. Not in terms of those who are paid full time wages, anyway. Environmental restoration work is one category of work that the article brings to mind. There are lots of others, too. Childcare. Senior Care. Education. Various municipal services.
What if we organized ourselves to make it possible for "volunteers," to do much of what needs to be done? Elizabeth Kwak-Heffernan's article made me think that this could work. I hope anyone reading this blog posting will go on to read her article, to see if they might agree.
That "volunteers" could actually accomplish many things that we need to do, and that we're not doing now, is really a hopeful thought, and Jesse Jackson's admonition rings true to me. Let's "Keep Hope Alive."
We face an incredible number of daunting challenges - and we have so many incredibly positive opportunities, too. Let's think about how we can create and sustain the kind of "Support Groups" that are helping to protect and preserve our public lands, and expand our idea about what we can, collectively, achieve.
Image Credit:
https://digital.sierramagazine.org/publication/?i=869095&p=1&view=issueViewer
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