Women Tilling Fertile Soil for Environmental, Agricultural and Social Justice.

"Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children".                                - Native American proverb Our intimate connection with the earth and our responsibility as its protectors and nurturers, are central themes in my work as an artist.  I express this through images of women who personify these protectors and nurturers and mother earth herself, as well as symbolism from the natural world.

Kathleen Rogers, President of  Earth Day Network, stresses the need for women to be leaders in the green economy.  She points out that women are a driving force for economic growth in their communities, make up the majority of consumers and reinvest a larger percentage of their earnings into the economy.  The organization’s Women and the Green Economy (WAGE®) campaign promotes women’s leadership in designing and advancing the green economy.

“The facts are clear: Bringing more women into the design and development of the green economy will result in a better, more sustainable, more just economy.  Let’s make sure that happens”.                                                                         -Kathleen Rogers

 A global women’s advocacy organization, the Women's Economic and Development Organization (WEDO), works to "ensure that women are empowered as decision-makers and leaders, especially in environmental and sustainable development arenas". Sustainable development has long been central to WEDO's overall vision and it works to strengthen alliances between the women’s, environmental and development movements. Program Director Cate Owren believes that everyone must come to the table in fighting climate change, which is the most comprehensive issue that the world has ever faced.

The Women’s Environmental Institute (WEI), is an environmental research, renewal and retreat center whose mission “brings together agricultural, food and environmental justice, one community at a time; one farm at a time and one person at a time and all of us together".  Led by Executive Director Karen J. Clark, WEI conducts research, collaborates with other groups on calls for policy reform, supports community-based advocacy efforts and raises public awareness of environmental and agricultural justice issues.  WEI recently received the Dream Maker Award for Organization Support & Leadership from the Ann Bancroft Foundation.

Women Tilling Fertile Soil for Environmental, Agricultural and Social Justice.