I attended an Environmental Justice workshop, facilitated by Ayesha Qazu-Lampert and Ylanda Wilhite of Chicago Environmental Educators at the Academy for Global Citizenship at 4942 W 44th St, Chicago, IL 60638. Lupe Escárcega and Danielle Russell from Openlands is how I learned about the event.

I didn’t grow up with many of the environmental career pathways that seem to be in abundance today yet still not enough to prepare us for climate change. Other organizations that were represented were Lake Forest Open Lands, Light of Loving Kindness, Brushwood Center, The Nature Conservancy, Chicago Environmental Educators, and Cultivate Collective. My favorite part was engaging in community conversations, remembering to absorb adrienne maree brown’s book on holding space titled Holding Change, a brief history of Environmental Justice, and learning about Hazel M. Johnson’s legacy.

In a large group and within smaller groups, I allowed myself to be flexible, open to pondering and to sharing. Being ok with not knowing what I would learn was quite comforting. We had sample questions to get us started, but we also collected our own reflections that would question what we know and don’t know between each other. I really enjoyed the warm sips of Danielle’s tea blend made up of chamomile, rose, orange peel, anise hyssop, oat straw, and mint. This was a really good day and I’m so glad I made it out on a Saturday morning.