By De Anna Hoyle | Southwest Organization for Sustainability
With the theme of “Invest in Our Planet,” the Pagosa Springs community is invited to gather along the Riverwalk near the Geothermal Greenhouse Partnership (GGP) domes on April 23 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Participation includes a variety of ways to honor our commitment to the planet we call home.
Other events throughout the week, like the GGP-sponsored Environmental Film Festival April 16, will also take place in recognition of Earth Day.
Each year for the past 50-plus years, April 22 has marked the anniversary of the first Earth Day and has been celebrated in a multitude of ways. This week, here in the northern hemisphere, we welcomed spring. Our minds and bodies begin to awaken from the winter’s resting time whether we are aware of it or not.
Personally, I am not a fan of the cold, but I’ve learned to appreciate the forced resting time of winter. I celebrate this time by honoring the gift of quiet reflection of the season and I have made it a practice to recognize the seasonal shifts and feel more aligned with those changing energies.
With this in mind and heart, I share the following excerpt from the “On Being” podcast entitled “Placed Here, In This Calling,” airing March 3. Host Krista Tippett interviews Colette Pichon Battle, founder and co-executive director of the Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy:
“If you don’t cry deep, hard tears for the state of this planet and all of the people on it, you don’t yet understand the problem. And so once you get to that place, the only thing that can bring you out of that kind of darkness is belief in something greater than yourself. And for me, it is that spiritual connection. For me, it is understanding a greater purpose. And then your job becomes less about passing a piece of legislation and more about making a better world.”
In addition to the booths, children’s activities and celebratory spirit of this year’s local event, we will be offering a time to honor the earth for its gifts. We are extending an invitation to the indigenous community, local clergy and lay leaders to lead short opening and closing ceremonies.
We hope you will consider joining us. We plan to gather at 9:45 a.m., prior to the official start, and close shortly after 1 p.m. at the amphitheater space. All are welcome to this interfaith gathering to remind us we are all connected, spending a few moments together in gratitude. For more information or to get involved, reach out by email to pagosa100percent@gmail.com.
