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Women’s Herstory looks at environmental inspirations
The Advocate
A panel comprised of nine women from MHCC’s IALS and CASS programs led the Women’s Herstory event “Women taking the lead . . . to Save Our Planet”
Thursday, discussing those who inspired them to get involved in the environment.
“Inspiring women talking about their inspiration” is how CASS Cultural Education Specialist Nikki Gillis described the event. This is also the national theme for the Women’s Herstory program.
CASS and IALS stand for Cooperative Association of States for Scholarship and IALS-Afro-Latino Scholarship, two programs that allow people from other countries to come to MHCC and study natural resources. After the students complete their program, they go back to their native countries to help the environment.
Blandina Bartolon from Cuba kicked off the discussion by talking about her community that has a climate she described as very similar to Oregon with a “huge amount of vegetation.” However, her community has an issue with garbage. A “wonderful woman” in Bartolon’s community works on maintaining a recycling system and getting people to “conserve” their natural resources. This woman inspired Bartolon to get involved in the environment and is someone Bartolon hopes to work with in the future.
“Together we can benefit the community,” Bartolon said.
Lucrecia Garcia was next to speak, explaining that her community in Mexico has no rivers and obtains water from rain and springs. However, the community is dealing with deforestation, because, according to Garcia, “every December people cut a lot of trees to use as Christmas trees.”
“We have had this problem for a long time,” Garcia said. Garcia was inspired by a teacher and community leader who works to preserve the national resources and promote development. According to Garcia, “when she (the teacher) worked in this organization, she learned a lot about the environment and how to preserve it.”
Garcia hopes to become a teacher as well, educating children about the environment.
Panelist Lida Martinez of Honduras was also inspired by a teacher who “still has time to help the environment.” Martinez added that this work is important because “the environment needs protecting.”
The issue of deforestation was also brought up by Haitian Fabi Bresca. Bresca was inspired by a woman whose main goal was to “keep people from cutting down trees.” This woman also went house to house to teach people in the community about the environment.
“She is very dedicated. She takes a lot of time,” Bresca said.
Pollution was another issue discussed by the panel.
Luisa Rojas comes from a community in Peru that grows a lot of potato crops.
However, “We use a lot of chemical fertilizer. That is a big problem in my community.” The woman who inspired Rojas organized an activity where everyone in the community collected the plastic bottles from the fertilizer to dispose of them.
“Now my community has this activity two times a year.” Rojas said.
Conserving the environment was a goal for Isabel Puerto as well. Puerto, like her inspiration, a teacher in her community, believes teaching children about the environment is important because “if we educate our children they will help the environment in the future.” Puerto added that her community in Honduras had “a lot of natural resources” as well as a national park.
The need to protect natural resources like these was also felt by panelist Estela Noteno, whose Ecuadorian community was running into problems with oil company Texaco.
“They don’t care about polluting water in my community,” Noteno said. There is also an issue with recycling and disposing of garbage. Noteno’s inspiration is her grandmother, who found a different way to recycle.
“When she works in my community she will pick up plastic bottles and decorate her house. It is a type of recycling. She is protecting the environment,” Noteno said.
Yariela Marte’s role model also picked up trash in her Dominican Republic community. This woman also plants trees, according to Marte, as well as working with “people who don’t have enough resources to survive.” Marte hopes to continue this work and to “educate children.”
“We have to begin with children, they have to know what we have to do to protect our environment,” Marte said.
Hermelinda Juarez talked about how a woman from her community “leads different groups (in her native Mexico) to talk about different issues we are facing around the globe, such as global warming.”
After the panel wrapped up their discussions, Nikki Gillis welcomed Olga Gaviria to perform an Inca tradition honoring “Mother Earth” after the harvest ends.
“It’s a time to give back and say ‘hank you,’ ” Gillis said. Gillis added that the panel showed that “anything that people do to be aware of the environment is taking the lead. Even small things that people.”