Abby Mnookin, Robin Morgan, Aiden Thompson

Earth Day/Earth Week activities can draw us together

The 50th anniversary of Earth Day is Wednesday, April 22! Although we can't be together physically, 350Brattleboro and allies invite you to join throughout Earth Week in reimagining and recreating a livable planet for all!

#PlantInPlace - Celebrate spring and honor the mother of tree planting, Wangari Maathai, who would've turned 80 on April 1. In a collaboration between 350Brattleboro and Extinction Rebellion Southern Vermont (XRSVT), you dig the hole(s), and we'll supply the American hazelnut, black walnut, and Chinese chestnut sapling(s) for free!

Planting fruit and nut trees will benefit our Earth, grow our community ties, and increase our local resilience. Maximum: three per household; pick up in Brattleboro, Putney, or Guilford. Email requests to [email protected]. (Donations are gratefully accepted to support this initiative. Checks can be mailed to 350VT, 179 S. Winooski Ave, Suite 201, Burlington, VT 05401).

#GatherInPlace - Join together via Zoom to connect as a community, set intentions, and share wishes for the Earth at noon on Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22. Then go outside - wherever you are - and connect with the natural world. You're invited to find a special Earth object to bring back and share with the group. Come back together via Zoom at 4 p.m. to share what you found.

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Quipp: A thoughtful, empathetic voice

I enthusiastically support Daniel Quipp for Selectboard. I have worked closely with Daniel for several years on the leadership team of 350 Brattleboro, a local climate-action group. Throughout that time, he has demonstrated a remarkable work ethic, a commitment to equity, inclusion, and justice, and a firm belief in...

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Media outlets must not further shame survivors

I'm writing to thank you for publishing Deborah Lee Luskin's powerful piece. I was aghast to learn that Vermont Public Radio refused Luskin's commentary if it named her grandfather as her abuser, and I am glad that you published a longer version of her piece prominently on the front...

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Crossing guards

It was a wet, spring evening when my 6-year-old and I set out to help salamanders and frogs cross the road a few miles from our Brattleboro home. With temperatures hovering in the upper 30s amidst steady rain, it was perfect, early-spring weather for the annual amphibian migration known as “big night,” when adult salamanders and frogs crawl out of their burrowing winter habitat and return to their watery birthplaces to breed. And because roads often come between their winter...

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Love is not enough

My wife and our two young daughters went to a Pride Family Picnic organized on a recent Saturday by Green Mountain Crossroads, a regional nonprofit creating community for rural LGBTQ people. There, we spent a peaceful, misty morning eating potluck food from rainbow-colored plates and swapping stories with other queer families. We felt safe, nurtured, and proud. The next day, we learned about the Orlando massacre - the most violent hate crime to date against LGBTQ people, most of whom...

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A necessary step

Unprecedented drought in California, widespread flooding in South America, staggering snow in Mexico, the need to ship in snow for Alaska's Iditarod dog sled race, sap running unexpectedly in Vermont in January. Although these are strange weather patterns, they're becoming the new normal in an era of human-caused climate change. It's easy to feel powerless and think that nothing we do makes any difference. But as the mother of a young child, I must believe that we can mitigate the...

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Calls to action

Last month, Pope Francis released an encyclical on climate change, describing it as the moral issue of our time and calling for immediate, global action. The significance of this publication cannot be overstated. The Roman Catholic Church has 1.2 billion followers worldwide; when he talks, lots of people listen. Even so, some scientists fear that changes in our atmosphere may already be too great to prevent catastrophic changes in the Earth's climate. But as a parent of toddler, I can't...

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Lost wallet turns into a story worth celebrating

A couple of weeks ago, I unknowingly dropped my wallet while carrying my young daughter out of Tulip Cafe in Brattleboro. We crossed the street to go into Altiplano, and I didn't realize my wallet was missing for about 10 minutes. We made a hasty exit to run back across the street. Before going back into the café, I was greeted by two onlookers. They'd noticed that my wallet had fallen out of my pocket just outside the door. A...

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