Upcoming Lectures and Events:
The Devastating Effects of Climate Change On Your Life And What You Can Do About It
Cherry Robinson, Psy. D., The Climate Reality Project San Diego, Coalitions Chair
In Person & Online: Saturday, September 21, 9:30 AM – 12 PM
Lecture followed by light lunch and conversation with other attendees.
Register for Sept. 21
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About the Topic
We have come to a time where the effects of human-made global warming pollution on our home and climate cannot be denied. The science is clear and the effects devastating. If we would like to continue to live on this planet, we must change our behavior. Come along and learn where we are, where we could be, and how to get there.
About the Speaker
Dr. Robinson is a consultant, coach, and trainer who has spent her professional life guiding educators, parents, and youth into creating better lives for themselves and those around them, instilling care for the Earth into everything she’s been doing for the last 30 years. This has meant living kinder and healthier lives starting with us, and by helping people to understand how their behavior affects the world around them.
She understands what people can and cannot hear, and how that affects what they will and will not do. She brings to the Climate Reality Project the ability to teach to the heart of folks so that changing their behavior is a work of love for themselves and the planet around them. Her focus is on creating communities that care and educating those communities in ways that will improve the quality of life on our planet.
Nature As Neighbor: Expanding Our Sense of Sacred Community
Professor Peter Bolland
In Person & Online: Saturday, October 26, 9:30 AM – 12 PM
Lecture followed by light lunch and conversation with other attendees.
Register for Oct. 26
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About the Topic
If the core Christian message is radical care for all who suffer, and not merely personal salvation, then what happens when we expand the meaning of “neighbor” to include all creation – the plants and animals, and biosphere that supports them? In the face of our current climate crisis, we are challenged more urgently than ever – do our religious ideologies draw our attention to the hereafter, or to the here and now? How might Christianity contribute to the crucial work of natural restoration? What good is caring for others if we do not also care for the world that sustains all of our lives?
About the Speaker
Professor Peter Boland is the Philosophy and Humanities Department Chair at Southwestern College where he teaches world religions, Asian philosophy, world mythology, and ethics. A columnist for Unity Magazine and author of The Seven Stone Path: An Everyday Journey to Wisdom, Professor Boland is a frequent speaker and workshop facilitator at a wide variety of churches (including FUMCSD), spiritual centers, and learning centers like San Diego Oasis, The Osher Institute of Life Long Learning at SDSU, the Chopra Center, the San Diego Vedanta Monastery, and more. For more, visit peterbolland.com.
The Power to Act: Earth Justice in San Diego
Moderator: Yusef Miller, Co-Chair of The Interfaith Coalition for Earth Justice
Panelists: Philip Petrie, The Interfaith Coalition for Earth Justice; Bee Mittermiller, SanDiego350; Naeem Miller, CleanEarth4Kids; Taarika K. Sethee, SanDiego350 / Youth v. Oil
In Person & Online: Saturday, February 1, 9:30 AM – 12 PM
Panel discussion followed by light lunch and conversation with other attendees.
Register for Feb. 1
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About the Topic
How can you get involved in earth justice issues right here in San Diego? Why should persons of faith care? And how are youth stepping up to create a better future for all of us?
In this panel presentation, leaders with SanDiego350 and Youth v. Oil Campaign; the Interfaith Coalition for Earth Justice; and CleanEarth4Kids will explore four key issues:
- Fossil fuel divestment
- Toxic pesticides
- Transportation justice
- Banning oil extraction in California
We’ll hear personal stories, what inspires these eco-activists to keep going, and concrete steps each of us can take to make a difference.
“There are no passengers on the Spaceship Earth. We are all crew.” Marshall McLuhan
About the SpeakerS
Yusef Miller is the Panel Moderator of this presentation. He is Co-Chair of The Interfaith Coalition for Earth Justice. His dedication to Earth Justice is rooted in his Muslim religious tradition, finding responsibility and meaning in clean air, soil, and water as a creation steward. As an Equity Advisor/Board Member of CleanEarth4Kids.org, Yusef is honored to mentor and support the youth as they create legislative changes, in both local and statewide matters.
Phil Petrie is an artist and long-time environmental activist. He has been especially active in fighting climate change as a founding member of SanDiego350 and of the Interfaith Coalition for Earth Justice. He sees the climate crisis as a key opportunity to put our civilization on a truly sustainable footing – to place it not on top of but within nature. His environmental beliefs are also deeply grounded in his Christianity. At St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral where he worships, he co-founded Simpler Living, a creation care ministry dedicated to “seeking a Christian response to the environmental crisis and our excessive consumerism by living more simply and sustainably in home, church, community, and the world.”
Naeem Miller is a member of Team 5 (Stop Toxic Chemicals and Pesticides) of CleanEarth4Kids, educating city councils and mayors on the hazards of toxic pesticides to all living creatures and how toxins commute due to rain runoff. At 16 years old, he was selected as one of San Diego's 25 Most Remarkable Teens 2022 and honored for his contributions to the community. Naeem was awarded for the Category of Environmental Activist. He is also currently the Vice President of the Youth Council for the North San Diego County, NAACP.
Taarika K. Sethee is part of Youth v. Oil, a youth branch under SanDiego350 that fights to end oil extraction in California. As a Volunteer Outreach Coordinator, she focuses on recruiting and welcoming new youth volunteers. She is currently a freshman at Canyon Crest Academy. From her early youth, she has been passionate about nature and animals, and, along with her achievements in public speaking and love for teaching students, she has embraced environmental activism. She believes it is vital for children from diverse backgrounds to be involved in climate justice, since it is the youth who will roam this world in the future.
Bee Mittermiller has been a volunteer at SanDiego350 since 2017. Her focus is on transportation as a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and also, on the problem of inequity in San Diego's transportation system.
San Diego’s Water Supply: Conservation Techniques, Pure Water Technology, and Regional Challenges
Pure Water San Diego
City of San Diego, Public Utilities Department
In Person & Online: Saturday, March 8, 9:30 AM – 12 PM
Lecture followed by light lunch and conversation with other attendees.
Register for Mar. 8
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About the Topic
Please join several team members of the City of San Diego as they share information about the City’s Pure Water program, which will provide nearly half of San Diego's water supply locally by the end of 2035. The Pure Water San Diego Program will use proven water purification technology to clean recycled water to produce safe, high-quality drinking water. This lecture is open to anyone interested in learning more about San Diego’s water supply and the water challenges currently faced by our region. In addition to explaining the need for a multi-faceted approach to mitigating these challenges, City team members will provide an update on the construction projects underway to make this program a reality.
About the Speakers
The Pure Water Team handles the operations, maintenance, engineering program management, and finances for the new Pure Water assets. Team member experience ranges from 25+ years to new team members who are just starting to learn about the City of San Diego’s newest assets. The team brings together a broad range of individual experience from other City Departments, local governmental agencies, and the private sector to create a cohesive team with a wide variety of knowledge and skills. The team is united by a collective interest in providing a safe, reliable drinking water supply to San Diego residents through this first-of-its-kind treatment system in California.
Field Trip – The Conservation, Importance, Research, and Restoration of Southern California’s Largest Coastal Wetland: The Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve
Tijuana Estuary Visitor Center
3rd Street & Caspian Way
Imperial Beach, CA
Saturday, April 26, 1:30 – 3 PM (Arrive by 1 PM to ensure we begin on time!)
Register for Apr. 26
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About the Topic
The Tijuana River NERR was established in 1982. Since then, it has been a role model of salt marsh restoration and multi-agency collaboration. This nature walk includes the conservation history of the Tijuana Estuary, its important environmental functions, as well as its research and restoration. Join State Park Interpreter Jessie Looney as she leads you through the trails around the Tijuana Estuary Visitor Center.
About the Visitor Center
The Tijuana Estuary Visitor Center is located at 3rd Street and Caspian Way in Imperial Beach, the most southwestern city in the United States. There is no entrance fee. The Visitor Center has information and displays that pique the interest of adults and children alike. Find out how plants in the estuary get rid of the salt they take in and which birds are threatened and endangered.
Important:
- Please arrive by 1 PM to begin on time.
- Bring layers and a hat as Spring weather on the coast is changeable. Wear closed-toed shoes. The approximately one-mile walk will be on flat, accessible trails.
Directions to the Visitor Center (from I-5 South / North):
- Take exit 4 – Coronado Avenue (not Coronado Bridge).
- Head West on Coronado Avenue for approximately 2.5 miles (around 13th street, Coronado Avenue will turn into Imperial Beach Blvd; continue straight).
- Turn left on 3rd Street at the stop sign.
- Turn left on Caspian Way, which leads into parking lot (parking is free).