Hello! My name is Bonnie, I’m a rising junior and environmental science major from Alma, Michigan. Last year, I was on campus during the summer for a research project – you may have seen me standing in the Kalamazoo River from time to time.
This summer, I’m an AmeriCorps member serving as a summer sustainability intern with CSE.
I am one of five students and one graduated supervisor (and internship alumna) starting this program in its third year. Food access is an environmental injustice issue in Albion. The goal of this program is to serve the community of Albion by working at the Student Farm and at the Albion Community Gardens to grow fresh food that will be given to the community.
We started off our first week with training to join Albion College AmeriCorps, and ended with attending the second annual 2024 MI Healthy Climate Conference, a meeting organized by EGLE between key players in the state to discuss Michigan’s needs and opportunities in mitigating the impacts of climate change.
After waking up bright and early Thursday morning to attend the conference, we piled into a 15-person van and set off for Lansing around 7:30 am. The drive was beautiful, sunny, and scenic, even if it was early.
We arrived at the conference, and took our seats in the main event space before getting breakfast in the adjoining room. I milled around the various tables, talking to professionals from the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan, Transportation Riders United, and the Superior Watershed Partnership, collecting several business cards – and stickers – along the way.
Following this, we heard from the director of EGLE, Phillip Roos, who spoke on the urgency of climate action in Michigan. He talked about the recent tornadoes and other extreme weather events in Southwest Michigan, as well as the poor air quality in Michigan as a result of wildfires in Canada for the second year in a row. He asserted that EGLE is committed to an “all of the above approach to climate action.”
After this, we heard from Climate Activist Peter Sinclair on the effects of climate change on the state. He noted that temperatures in Michigan and other states in the Midwest are rising faster than anywhere else in the country, algal blooms are now reaching Lake Superior, and insurance burdens are increasing throughout the state. Though it is a common myth, Michigan is not the “climate haven” it has been rumored to be.
We also heard from Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian on the vast and diverse health impacts of climate change. One example she gave was the increasing presence of deer ticks earlier in the year,which can carry Lyme disease.
Next, Dr. Lara Skinner spoke on economic challenges and opportunities for the state, focusing on unions and social support, aspects she said were necessary for supporting the shift to a sustainable economy. We all took diligent notes, of course.
Then, perhaps the most interesting panel of the conference: Michigan Welfare Rights Organizer Sylvia Orduño, President and CEO of the Eastside Community Network Donna Davidson, and Board Co-Chair of the Community Collaboration on Climate Change Kareem Scales spoke on “grounding climate action in justice.”
They spoke on the history of environmental injustices inflicted in their communities, specifically in Detroit. As recently as 2022, a green space and declared flood zone was demolished to build a trucking facility, introducing pollutants that would contribute to “terrible air quality” in the area. They also spoke on water affordability, transit, and the fatigue communities are feeling in advocating for themselves.
“We’re all being poisoned,” Davidson said. “We put the burden of proof on the people who are dying.”
Each also expressed support for the work of young people advocating for change, and gave the audience a call to action:
“In the state of Michigan, we have to create the human right to water. We need to be a national example for what is necessary, and if we can’t do it here, then that’s a serious problem,” Orduño said.
“Together we can, we’re stronger together, we need statewide action. Figure out what your part of this movement is,” Davidson said. “Let’s work together.”
“Collaboration, Cohort, Coalition,” Scales said. “I think that it is extremely important that we identify who are those folks who are already doing the work, and provide them with the resources. And if we don’t address and empower new entrepreneurs, if we don’t address the wealth gap, then we won’t address the issue of environmental justice.”
The panel ended with raucous applause, and was followed by Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist, who announced$12 million in additional funds for environmental justiceefforts in the state.
After this, we took a break for lunch served by the conference, which was popular with everyone in our group. It’s easy to say our expectations were low, but the salad, pasta, bread sticks, and cookies were a hit.
With the time we had left before the second half of the day, we took a walk along the Lansing River Trail, where we met a few ducks and their ducklings.
The second half of the conference went by in a flash, and after hearing from several state officials in a panel on governmental action, we attended breakout sessions on EV infrastructure, environmental justice grants, and the work of the MI Healthy Climate Corps.
Feeling tired, sweaty, and with many pages of notes, we decided to head home early.
Overall, this conference was an excellent experience, and I certainly left knowing more than when I arrived. But I was left thinking about the actual action being taken by the state on issues of climate. Why is there so much discussion still centered around bureaucracy, and not on the work that needs to be done to reach the goals being set? Saying the work needs to be done is one thing – when will we talk about doing it?
Several of us would be back in Lansing the next day at Fenner Nature Center, to serve in a Russ Mawby Signature Service project. We spent the day paving the way, literally, through a marsh. The trail there had deteriorated, and our job was to fill in a mulch path across the way in time for a group to use the trail the next day. We also spent time pulling invasive dame’s rocket from the area, and helping out with some organizational work inside the visitor’s center.
Working with my hands a bit helped the feeling of inaction, and I’m excited to get in the garden, get outside, and use what we’ve learned to stay engaged with the state’s efforts to mitigate climate change.
If you can’t tell, I’m still adjusting to a blog-post style of writing – so if this feels a little journalistic, it’s because of my work with the Albion Pleiad.If you’re interested, check out my other workhere!
Thanks for reading,
Bonnie :)
