Honoring Environmental Heroes
Last night I was invited by an organization I am involved with (Bay Area Wilderness Training) to attend the Goldman Environmental Prize Ceremony. I've attended this ceremony 5+ times and leave each ceremony equally awed by the degree of change made by the award recipients.
As described on their website: "In 1990 San Francisco civic leaders and philanthropists Richard N.
Goldman and his late wife, Rhoda H. Goldman (1924-1996) created the
Goldman Environmental Prize. The Goldman Prize continues today with its
original mission to annually honor grassroots environmental heroes from
the six inhabited continental regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands
and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. The
Prize recognizes individuals for sustained and significant efforts to
protect and enhance the natural environment, often at great personal
risk. Each winner receives an award of $150,000, the largest award in
the world for grassroots environmentalists. The Goldman Prize views
“grassroots” leaders as those involved in local efforts, where positive
change is created through community or citizen participation in the
issues that affect them. Through recognizing these individual leaders,
the Prize seeks to inspire other ordinary people to take extraordinary
actions to protect the natural world."
One reoccurring theme echoed through participant acceptance speeches was the role that changing our personal habits can have on our planet. Although this theme seems cliche, I was inspired by how it was weaved into multiple facets of the ceremony. Award recipient Ignace Schops of Belguim summed up this theme at the end of his speech by adding, what I think is a fantastic iteration to a common environmental phrase, "Think global, act local". Schops encouraged the jam packed San Francisco Opera House to "Think globally, act locally and change personally". To me, "change personally" is a welcome iteration that emphasizes personal responsibility.
To learn more about the amazing work of this years recipients click here.
