5.8 Northwest Climate Gathering tour by song

This is the script brought to the mic - but not perfectly followed. In fact, I ran out of time to script and just pulled up the schedule for the Northwest Climate Gathering 2023 and winged the second half of this, popping the referenced songs in only as I edited. This is very off the cuff.

And the moment I thought afterwards I should have mentioned was in the final wrap hour, when we asked people to review all the hopes for action that had been shared on our Hope's Progress sheets and give us the top themes, someone pointed out that nowhere had anyone written their Hope that we stop burning Fossil Fuels. And we all paused and thought about that. I pointed out that burning fossil fuels is key but not the sole contributor to the crisis, and stopping burning them without a clear and growing alternative is not a sufficient plan for action. Someone else pointed out that that was such a given no one thought it needed to be written down. But that was a heart-slapper moment, for sure.

Here's the script I started with:

Today I’ll take you on a tour of the Gathering, with a spotlight on the moments that struck my heart hardest.

Starting the day before, 

at the tech check at the Baggage Building 

for which I kept Ben out of school, and Ken donated his lunch hour. Ken is old enough to retire as he tells me his wife is encouraging him to do, he just likes his job enough to not be rushing there just yet. And Ben of course is 15 and although interested in and raised within tech to a level that humbles me, he’s not got experience really in any of the things I voluntold him to do: support the online attendees so they get included in in person discussions, give them support if they encounter tech troubles, oh and help with sound amplification of the presenters into the room, and of their visuals onto both the in person and virtual screens. I think Ben only agreed because it meant missing a day of school. But he slouched down at our first tech team meeting and told me he could not do these things I expected of him. Until the tech came out and he leaned forward to tell us all about it. Then the first tech hiccup happened and he taught Ken what was going on and took the lead in solving the problem. With Ken warmly giving him full credit, and Ben’s spine visibly pulling him tall and proud as I rarely see my worried teen dare to be.

That moment, right there, that made it all worth while.

And there is a lot to justify. A lot of time and thinking and donation of resources and fronting of expenses and pulling in of friends and family and more time invested by me to make this Gathering happen.

And in the hours afterwards, as the glow faded and the fatigue settled in, I had to remind myself what my goal was here.

It wasn’t to pull off a perfect something, because I know perfect is not on the pick list.

Right

It wasn’t to save the world in a single weekend. Would be nice! But again, not on the pick list

It was to do something. To gather people together. To spark both hope and action.

And in the final hour before we sat down together for our third meal shared, our feast.

In the hour before we ate I stuck a piece of paper to the window that said:

What, Who, When?

And people put up their hands with suggestions of what to do next, and put their names down, and gave it a start date

So many people, so many hands, I had to get a second great big piece of paper

So that is hope and action sparked.

But as I said in the opening orientation and welcome that Saturday morning, worries find us like heat-seeking missiles to our souls.

Joy, peace & hope - those good things - we have to seek out.

And they won’t be found with bluster and bustle.

The good things, the ones that make life sweet and worth living.

Joy, peace & hope require us to make space for them

To practice noticing and cherishing what is good. What is wondrous. 

It is a practice, not a talent nor a gift but a practice.

And a humble one. Quiet, mostly.

To raise our eyes and hearts and get out of our own way.

Which is why we started the Gathering with a thank you and a blessing by Elder Sheila DeCorte,

Drawing our hearts and gratitude to the key features of this place

The waters, the mountains, the very wind and light. 

Our hearts and ears, our words and every sense

The blessing and wealth of those precious things

That do not seek us out but are always at hand, rewarding the practice of connecting, appreciating, noticing, giving our time & attention to their goodness.

And she was joined by the Sisters of Turtle Island drum group, who let us start in a good way with their songs.

And then after some housekeeping Madison Dyck, whose idea the Gathering was, and I, oriented people to our hopes and expectations for the two days.

And I pointed out four words I had up on the wall beside us:

Hope & Action in bright, lively colours

And Eyores & Nay-Saying both crossed out.

And I asked that people make space for Hope and Action

And that means managing our worries while at the Gathering.

Even though they will join us, they will poke and prod and draw attention to themselves

There is such good reason to worry, they will be here.

But worries mess with our sense of time and make us say never 

when really we mean, it will take years, maybe even longer than my lifetime. 

Which is not never. 

Fears make us think impossible when what we really mean is, 

you can’t predict how exactly it could come to be, it would be hard. 

Which is not impossible. 

My Mom has a word for those fear & fatigue-triggered thoughts. 

She calls them Eyores and Nay-Saying. 

And she bans them from all problem-solving activities. 

So this weekend, when the thing you find you want to say is an Eyore or a Nay-saying, 

turn that thought around and consider instead What Good Looks Like. 

And I explained that after each topic everyone would be given a post-it and a pen

And be asked to write down an action they hope for

And stick that hope down on one of the problem-solving diagrams we had up on the wall

A diagram that starts with naming your problem

Then moves to naming the obstacles you’ll have to overcome to solve that problem

And the resources you can draw on to solve that problem

Then the steps you’ll have to take in chronological order from this side of those obstacles and resources, all the way past them to the ultimate, hoped for solution

It’s a tool to help unwind our mind’s habit of getting caught in worried circles that obscure the path from needs fixing, to fixed.

And it served us well at this inaugural Gathering, leading us to that final hour and those two pages full of actions with names and dates and so much hope.

That was how we opened the Gathering.

Then Keira Essex and I introduced the first topic of the nine we delved into over those two days.

The first topic was Talking about talking and Actions that Speak.

And if you haven’t yet listened to my conversation with Keira Essex of a couple of weeks ago I hope you do. She is so thoughtful and generous and such good company.

Here is the song I wrote for that episode inspired by my conversation with her:

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A song for Keira Essex, who led a whole group of people into conversation

And contemplation of practicing connection, building relationship with the land and water and air

And our moment in time

And shared her photographs of Lake Superior, projected onto the wall

But not everyone was with Keira.

Her’s was one of three break-out sessions.

Four were planned, but Kevin Brooks was unable to join us until Sunday afternoon because the basketball team he coaches made it to the finals, which were in Guelph that weekend.

But that left me chatting about trying to follow Katherine HayHo’s advice and change up conversations that have gotten stuck in adversarial patterns

So the topic of the climate crisis and welcoming changes to get through it and solve it

Is a hard one to manage with some people

Sometimes people we love, and might see over the holidays

Or people we respect and work with or interact with everyday

Katherine Hayho says facts don’t convert people, but shared concerns do

She says nothing is more impactful than talking about climate change

But a conversation is a respectful exchange, not a battle or a debate

And so try to listen and get to know people until you can have a conversation about shared concerns or goals, and know how to avoid the triggers that might derail that positive exchange and drop you into the debate or dispute hole that leads nowhere.

We were I think all glad to talk openly about how hard this is to actually do

I don’t think we magically made it easy, but maybe a little easier

Meanwhile the third group was hybrid - it included those in person and those joining us online

And they sure sounded like they were having a good time

Matt Roy put up a picture of a troll and promised to help people understand the psychology of changing people’s minds, and how to engage with climate deniers

When I came back up into that space to wrap the topic as a whole

Groups of 3-5 people were intently gathered around boards, heads together, completely engaged

All ages. I think our youngest attendee was 4 or 5, and many were silver haired. There were high school students and university students, some new to Thunder Bay, some born & raised here.

It was the mingling between groups that most lifted my heart

And the conversations between people new to one another, finding common grounds and delighting in it.

We had one other person who had intended to stand up and introduce himself and his organization within this Topic of Talking about Talking and Actions that Speak

Dave Spies.

But he got sick, and could not make it.

He is the Thunder Bay chapter lead of the group Protect Our Winters.

Here is the song I wrote inspired by my conversation with him earlier this season:

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Song

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That’s from earlier this season, my conversation with Dave Spies who was not able to make it to the Gathering after all, but I know was with us in spirit.

Certainly in our first topic: talking about talking and actions that speak.

The second topic was Engaging Successfully with Government and Corporations part one.

And it too was missing one of the expected leaders

Warren Bernauer had planned to travel from Winnipeg to be with us, but then he and his family all got sick. So he could not come. 

But hopefully we can host him another time, that would be great.

The two leaders who shared this hour were Summer Stevenson and Madison Dyck

Summer is the sustainability coordinator for the City of Thunder Bay.

In their introduction, she noted that citizens more often find ways to raise their concerns with council or city staff, than they voice their support of proposals and decisions. And that contributes to plans that have been adopted not actually happening, or being long deferred. So she had brought details on the city’s Net Zero strategy, and the Sustainability Plan, and said voices of support for these projects could make all the difference. Check them out, and consider sharing your opinion of them with your City Councillors directly, or make a deputation.

And once the topic was introduced, she led a workshop on how to make a deputation to council.

Madison Dyck is one of a group of young people from across Ontario who are suing the provincial government led by Doug Ford for violating their charter rights. 

Chairs were pulled together and tables linked end to end as Madison shared this five year journey from coming together to today.

A story I hope to share with you when I get Madison on a future episode of the show.

She’s a busy woman, and we have much to talk about.

It might not be this season - but it will happen.

Stay tuned. 

Now here’s another song for you that kept on popping into my head all weekend

As I saw Judi Vinni here, there and everywhere

Judi is the Coordinator and one of the founders of Willow Springs Creative Centre

That does so many impactful, inspiring things, so well.

They catered the Gathering, using fresh organic vegetables grown and donated by Sleepy G Farm

And their brick oven

And the staff of their innovative, individualized mentorship and training programs who made the salads and soups, bread and pasta we enjoyed at the Gathering

I interviewed Judi at Willow Springs last season, and wrote her this song

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Song

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Judi Vinni and Willow Springs catered the main dishes at the Gathering

But we did invite pot luck as well

There was a pot of beans that got a lot of love that I will talk about in just a moment

And I have to give a huge shout out to Swell Bakery that donated two huge boxes of simply delicious cookies

I have seen the line up outside that bakery before it opens

And never gotten in before it sold out

So I was super excited to finally taste something from Swell Bakery

And I have to say - those cookies were fabulous.

We rented plates and mugs and cutlery on the Saturday

Because the Baggage Building were we Gathered that day has no kitchen.

But people pitched in to help clear and manage those dishes

And pretty much the only waste generated by the Gathering was paper and compostables

And Willow Springs took that box of organic compostables and did compost them.

Which is great.

And served locally roasted coffee, and herbal teas from local growers all day long too.

Then we Gathered again to introduce the next topic: 

Actions speaking rather than words

So it was a brief introduction, just letting people know what was going on and inviting them to get out there and connect with one another.

Outside the building some gathered around the Science North tent

With hands on Climate-Science activities

Others gathered around the Biking Vikings to talk about year-round active transport in this Wintry City, trade tips from routes to gear and build support to overcome the barriers to bicycling in this City

Spear-heading that gathering was Ken Sheilds

Who I mentioned at the beginning of this episode as our Tech Crew Chief for the weekend

He is a ray of sunshine and an engine for change

That I will be featuring in a future episode. Maybe even next week.

So much to talk to Ken about, I can’t wait for that conversation, and to share it with you.

Three more break-out sessions gathered people inside like moths to flames

Lisa Prosyk led a workshop to develop a guide to climate action from daily decisions to political actions

Nancy Saunders talked about Thunder Bay’s Repair Cafe

While Lucie Lavoie and Ken Deacon got people very excited about growing heritage beans in their urban gardens. It was Ken’s baked beans that were a huge hit at lunch - I promised I’d tell you more about them.

But you would already have the inside scoop on Ken & Lucie and their dedication to growing and keeping food if you’ve heard my conversation with Lucie in last week’s episode.

Which inspired this song

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Song

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Composed for my episode with Lucie Lavoie, that was Lucie’s vision

The energy and joy was palpable during the hour we titled Actions Speaking Rather than Words.

Then we all gathered in together again in one space for Engaging Successfully with Corporations and Government Part 2.

The two leaders of this topic were each a coup for me to bring to the Gathering.

Kevin Brooks suggested we approach Bekeme Olowola

She moved to Thunder Bay two years ago, mid pandemic, and that Saturday was the first time I met her in person. 

She works with Corporations - particularly oil & gas & other extractive industries, as well as with Governments, to help them become more sustainable, more respectfully engaged with the communities in which they do business, and more transparent. 

She is from Nigeria and has lived and worked in many places around the world. 

Her reputation and impact is international. 

Someday I hope to have her as a guest on this podcast as well.

But first I was so glad she agreed to come and lead this Topic with Richard Wong

And Richard Wong’s reputation and impact is also huge.

He is a Project Development lawyer who has helped Corporations and Government figure out how to do things for the first time, that we need in order to get through and solve this Climate Crisis.

He’s been a leader in our first big Solar farms, and wind farms, in energy storage and big, innovative projects all over this country, including ones that require international agreements and coordination.

He’s got decades of experience in making big, innovative projects happen.

And he and I have been friends for almost forty years now.

So he chose to come to the Gathering. Not just for the two hours he led, but he came straight from the airport and stayed until the clean up was done on Sunday, talking to people, sharing his research, building community.

And i will feature Richard in an episode soon. I want to hear his impressions of our community, and his thoughts about our future in this Energy and Economic Transition.

And I look forward to sharing that conversation with you - soon.

Bekeme and Richard had not met before.

I introduced them, they met and planned out a presentation

And decided to focus on not process or opportunity, but attitude and precedent.