Brower Awards Honor Young Environmental Activists
The “power of one” is a theme that sums up the 2001 Annual Brower Youth Awards. Each of the six young people honored this year by Earth Island Institute demonstrated in truly remarkable ways just how much one person is capable of making a difference for the environment.
The “power of one” is a theme that sums up the 2001 Annual Brower Youth Awards. Each of the six young people honored this year by Earth Island Institute demonstrated in truly remarkable ways just how much one person is capable of making a difference for the environment.
“One person is a lot, actually,” said Angela Coryell, 19, of Baring, Wash. “One person could produce a film if they wanted to and that’s enough to get people to understand what you’re fighting for.”
And producing a film is precisely what Coryell did. “An Oily Sky” brought public attention to a long-neglected environmental crisis in her hometown.
“There was actually 160,000 gallons of oil that was seeping from a big oil tank under our school into our river,” says Coryell of the oil spill created by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. The students sent their documentary to local media and government officials who in turn have ordered the corporation to clean up the mess.
Coryell notes that a major barrier to solving environmental problems is lack of public awareness. “So in showing them -- they can see it, they can hear it, the only thing they can’t do is smell it,” she said.
The Brower Youth Awards are part of the legacy of legendary environmental leader David Brower. Each year Earth Island Institute, one of the many organizations founded by the late Brower, recognizes the innovative environmental leadership efforts of six young people, ages 13 to 22.
Each individual receives a $3000 cash prize and a trip to the San Francisco Bay Area. The 2001 recipients were honored on October 13 at a ceremony in Brower’s hometown of Berkeley, Calif.
Julia Butterfly Hill emceed the stirring event that was highlighted by the rhythmic artistry of Loco Bloco, a colorful drumming and dance troupe from San Francisco’s Mission District, and Eli Marienthal and Antonio Elmo Mims, the dynamic slam poetry duo known as Full Cycle.
“The telling of the stories is what gets more stories to happen,” explained John Knox, executive director at Earth Island Institute. “If we share not just the doom and gloom about the challenges that we face, but the really inspiring stories of the people who get fired up we can continue to make a difference.”
Urban Oasis
And every one of these stories is inspiring. Consider Deland Chan, a 16-year old who led a group of teens in the creation of an urban oasis in the midst of the concrete jungle that is New York City.
In September of 2000, Chan started an environmental group at the 92nd Street YMCA. Together the members are restoring a neglected garden, including surveying the soil to determine what plants are already there, researching which types of plants are native to Manhattan and which are invasive, and organizing a series of cleanup efforts.
“There is no such thing as passive apathy -- every single move counts,” said Chan. “If you feel personally that you don’t have the energy or the type of commitment to go ahead and lead an entire project -- that’s fine. But, be supportive of those that are and at least read a newspaper and see what is going on and educate yourself, and that will be doing your part,” she said.
'Keep Your Word'
Rob Fish of Bar Harbor, ME is the eldest recipient. Now at the ripe, old age of 23, Fish is being recognized for his efforts to save one of the last remaining and largest contiguous temperate rainforests in the world.
According to Fish, about two years ago a company called Wickes Lumber agreed to phase out the sale of wood from old-growth forests. But last December, he says, “Wickes tried to back out of their agreement by refusing to drop a contract with International Forest Products (InterFor) -- a company that’s been clear-cutting the heck out of the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia.”
Fish led a group of activists in holding Wickes to its pledge. Early one morning, the group chained themselves to 20-foot tall metal tripods outside of Wickes’ retail center effectively closing the business down for several hours and drawing media attention throughout the northeast, Alaska, and in Canada.
“In the end,” said Fish, “Wickes put enough pressure on International Forest Products that our action had the unintended effects of forcing InterFor back into negotiations and the arrival at an agreement announced in April that sets aside over one million acres of the Great Bear Rainforest permanently.”
Fish also helped to pass a procurement policy that mandates that his school, the College of the Atlantic, may only purchase Forest Stewardship Certified (FSC) wood and must phase in 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper.
Purchase with Pride
Another of this year’s recipients understands the power of market-based campaigns when it comes to educating the public and protecting the natural environment. Heide Iravani, of Charlotte, N.C., began her environmental activism efforts at 16 as a canvasser for the Sierra Club. Now 18, Iravani was recognized by Earth Island for her extensive work in market-based campaigns being used for forest protection.
Iravani led the youth of her community in the Staples campaign, which is currently urging Staples Office Supply Store to stop selling paper that comes from clear-cut southern forests. She explained that the campaign wants Staples to stock post-consumer recycled and tree-free paper so that customers have the option to be socially responsible in their purchasing decisions.
“I think there are two areas of accomplishment for me,” said Iravani. “First, we’ve gotten some acknowledgement from Staples, which is currently conducting a study to determine how they can integrate policies that will be sustainable and give their customers options for being socially-responsible when they’re purchasing products,” she said.
But more importantly, Iravani is proud of the effect she’s had on her community. “It’s showing young people, and people period, that they have the ability to make a large impact on an entire marketplace,” she said. “Everything seems to be defined economically and the individual consumer can have a huge impact. I think the Staples campaign is a great example of that,” said Iravani.
The One That Didn't Get Away
This Year’s youngest Brower Youth Award recipient is Grayson Schleppergrell, 13, from Charleston, S.C.
As a fifth-grader, Schleppergrell led a group of his classmates in a project that landed the young activists before Congress.
“Mass fishing off the South Carolina coast called long-lining was trolling up and killing millions of pounds of swordfish everyday that were being thrown back dead because it wouldn’t count towards the quota,” said Schleppergrell. “Fishermen couldn’t keep it, but they also had it dead on the lines so they had to throw it back, which led to a serious decline in the swordfish population, especially off important breeding grounds,” he explained.
The students’ proposals to abolish swordfish quotas and introduce commercial long-lining buyouts gained the favor of their congressional representatives and as a result long-lining was banned off the South Carolina coast, thus thwarting the projected commercial extinction of swordfish within the coming decade.
Schleppergrell said he didn’t let his age get in the way of speaking up for the swordfish before a room full of distinguished adults.
“When you get up to speak, and you speak what you believe, and you know about what you believe -- then you can accomplish just about anything,” he emphasized.
Developing Action
Jared Duval, an 18 year-old from Lebanon, N.H. has been in Schleppergrell’s shoes. “At first it’s very intimidating going up against these big developers who have a lot of money and prestige, but then you realize that your voice basically counts as much as theirs does,” he said.
Duval led an effort to prevent a 56,000 square-foot supermarket from being built on wetlands near his high school. While many community members were upset about the development plans, none seemed to have any ideas of how to stop it.
“I wrote a petition and had the majority of the school sign it. We presented it to the school board, the zoning board, and just started attending all the zoning and planning board meetings,” explained Duval.
Duval and his peers effectively argued at the meetings and through the media that the supermarket would negatively impact the local quality of life. Ultimately the planning board voted 4 to 3 to deny the developers access to the land.
The environmental leaders of the future have arrived, and they’re not going anywhere. Through their heroic efforts these six young people have demonstrated that every single one of us counts. All we need to do is speak up.
Duval, like most of us, has been touched by the recent tragic events taking place in the world. The patriotic spirit sweeping the nation has Duval seriously thinking about what he finds amazing in America.
“One of the main things that makes us great, I think, is our natural beauty. The character of the wilderness really defines us -- wild and free,” said Duval. He continued, “I think we need to respect that and incorporate it into our everyday lives by protecting our environment and speaking up when things are amiss."
------------------------
By Stacey L. Fowler, Environmental News Network. Copyright 2001 ENN, a GreenBiz News Affiliate.
“One person is a lot, actually,” said Angela Coryell, 19, of Baring, Wash. “One person could produce a film if they wanted to and that’s enough to get people to understand what you’re fighting for.”
And producing a film is precisely what Coryell did. “An Oily Sky” brought public attention to a long-neglected environmental crisis in her hometown.
“There was actually 160,000 gallons of oil that was seeping from a big oil tank under our school into our river,” says Coryell of the oil spill created by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. The students sent their documentary to local media and government officials who in turn have ordered the corporation to clean up the mess.
Coryell notes that a major barrier to solving environmental problems is lack of public awareness. “So in showing them -- they can see it, they can hear it, the only thing they can’t do is smell it,” she said.
The Brower Youth Awards are part of the legacy of legendary environmental leader David Brower. Each year Earth Island Institute, one of the many organizations founded by the late Brower, recognizes the innovative environmental leadership efforts of six young people, ages 13 to 22.
Each individual receives a $3000 cash prize and a trip to the San Francisco Bay Area. The 2001 recipients were honored on October 13 at a ceremony in Brower’s hometown of Berkeley, Calif.
Julia Butterfly Hill emceed the stirring event that was highlighted by the rhythmic artistry of Loco Bloco, a colorful drumming and dance troupe from San Francisco’s Mission District, and Eli Marienthal and Antonio Elmo Mims, the dynamic slam poetry duo known as Full Cycle.
“The telling of the stories is what gets more stories to happen,” explained John Knox, executive director at Earth Island Institute. “If we share not just the doom and gloom about the challenges that we face, but the really inspiring stories of the people who get fired up we can continue to make a difference.”
Urban Oasis
And every one of these stories is inspiring. Consider Deland Chan, a 16-year old who led a group of teens in the creation of an urban oasis in the midst of the concrete jungle that is New York City.
In September of 2000, Chan started an environmental group at the 92nd Street YMCA. Together the members are restoring a neglected garden, including surveying the soil to determine what plants are already there, researching which types of plants are native to Manhattan and which are invasive, and organizing a series of cleanup efforts.
“There is no such thing as passive apathy -- every single move counts,” said Chan. “If you feel personally that you don’t have the energy or the type of commitment to go ahead and lead an entire project -- that’s fine. But, be supportive of those that are and at least read a newspaper and see what is going on and educate yourself, and that will be doing your part,” she said.
'Keep Your Word'
Rob Fish of Bar Harbor, ME is the eldest recipient. Now at the ripe, old age of 23, Fish is being recognized for his efforts to save one of the last remaining and largest contiguous temperate rainforests in the world.
According to Fish, about two years ago a company called Wickes Lumber agreed to phase out the sale of wood from old-growth forests. But last December, he says, “Wickes tried to back out of their agreement by refusing to drop a contract with International Forest Products (InterFor) -- a company that’s been clear-cutting the heck out of the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia.”
Fish led a group of activists in holding Wickes to its pledge. Early one morning, the group chained themselves to 20-foot tall metal tripods outside of Wickes’ retail center effectively closing the business down for several hours and drawing media attention throughout the northeast, Alaska, and in Canada.
“In the end,” said Fish, “Wickes put enough pressure on International Forest Products that our action had the unintended effects of forcing InterFor back into negotiations and the arrival at an agreement announced in April that sets aside over one million acres of the Great Bear Rainforest permanently.”
Fish also helped to pass a procurement policy that mandates that his school, the College of the Atlantic, may only purchase Forest Stewardship Certified (FSC) wood and must phase in 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper.
Purchase with Pride
Another of this year’s recipients understands the power of market-based campaigns when it comes to educating the public and protecting the natural environment. Heide Iravani, of Charlotte, N.C., began her environmental activism efforts at 16 as a canvasser for the Sierra Club. Now 18, Iravani was recognized by Earth Island for her extensive work in market-based campaigns being used for forest protection.
Iravani led the youth of her community in the Staples campaign, which is currently urging Staples Office Supply Store to stop selling paper that comes from clear-cut southern forests. She explained that the campaign wants Staples to stock post-consumer recycled and tree-free paper so that customers have the option to be socially responsible in their purchasing decisions.
“I think there are two areas of accomplishment for me,” said Iravani. “First, we’ve gotten some acknowledgement from Staples, which is currently conducting a study to determine how they can integrate policies that will be sustainable and give their customers options for being socially-responsible when they’re purchasing products,” she said.
But more importantly, Iravani is proud of the effect she’s had on her community. “It’s showing young people, and people period, that they have the ability to make a large impact on an entire marketplace,” she said. “Everything seems to be defined economically and the individual consumer can have a huge impact. I think the Staples campaign is a great example of that,” said Iravani.
The One That Didn't Get Away
This Year’s youngest Brower Youth Award recipient is Grayson Schleppergrell, 13, from Charleston, S.C.
As a fifth-grader, Schleppergrell led a group of his classmates in a project that landed the young activists before Congress.
“Mass fishing off the South Carolina coast called long-lining was trolling up and killing millions of pounds of swordfish everyday that were being thrown back dead because it wouldn’t count towards the quota,” said Schleppergrell. “Fishermen couldn’t keep it, but they also had it dead on the lines so they had to throw it back, which led to a serious decline in the swordfish population, especially off important breeding grounds,” he explained.
The students’ proposals to abolish swordfish quotas and introduce commercial long-lining buyouts gained the favor of their congressional representatives and as a result long-lining was banned off the South Carolina coast, thus thwarting the projected commercial extinction of swordfish within the coming decade.
Schleppergrell said he didn’t let his age get in the way of speaking up for the swordfish before a room full of distinguished adults.
“When you get up to speak, and you speak what you believe, and you know about what you believe -- then you can accomplish just about anything,” he emphasized.
Developing Action
Jared Duval, an 18 year-old from Lebanon, N.H. has been in Schleppergrell’s shoes. “At first it’s very intimidating going up against these big developers who have a lot of money and prestige, but then you realize that your voice basically counts as much as theirs does,” he said.
Duval led an effort to prevent a 56,000 square-foot supermarket from being built on wetlands near his high school. While many community members were upset about the development plans, none seemed to have any ideas of how to stop it.
“I wrote a petition and had the majority of the school sign it. We presented it to the school board, the zoning board, and just started attending all the zoning and planning board meetings,” explained Duval.
Duval and his peers effectively argued at the meetings and through the media that the supermarket would negatively impact the local quality of life. Ultimately the planning board voted 4 to 3 to deny the developers access to the land.
The environmental leaders of the future have arrived, and they’re not going anywhere. Through their heroic efforts these six young people have demonstrated that every single one of us counts. All we need to do is speak up.
Duval, like most of us, has been touched by the recent tragic events taking place in the world. The patriotic spirit sweeping the nation has Duval seriously thinking about what he finds amazing in America.
“One of the main things that makes us great, I think, is our natural beauty. The character of the wilderness really defines us -- wild and free,” said Duval. He continued, “I think we need to respect that and incorporate it into our everyday lives by protecting our environment and speaking up when things are amiss."
------------------------
By Stacey L. Fowler, Environmental News Network. Copyright 2001 ENN, a GreenBiz News Affiliate.
