EarthAction Report on Featured Projects—2015
2020 Action
EarthAction continues to sponsor 2020 Action and the 2020 Action Education Fund, projects that educate and mobilize thousands of US citizens and encourages them to communicate with policymakers about important peace and environmental issues. In 2015, 2020 produced twelve monthly Action postcards on US military policy and environment issues that each month reached thousands of Americans. Please see the 2015 2020 Action Report at 2020Action.org.
The Elders Project
Throughout 2015, The Elders Project (TEP) continued with it’s mission to work with and provide assistance and support to the traditional authorities (Mamos) of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta (SNSM) in Colombia for projects aimed at strengthening their spiritual and traditional practices. Rick Harlow, the Project Director, made several trips to Colombia and spent time with the traditional authorities to assist them and provide support for their work. In August 2015, The Elders Project brought three representatives from the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta region in Colombia to the Blue Deer Retreat Center in New York to contribute to and participate in ‘Ancient Wisdom Rising’, a gathering of spiritual and traditional leaders from around the world. Rick Harlow, Laurie Rabut, and Lois Barber also attended this event as representatives of The Elders Project. Click here to learn more about The Elders Project.
Save Our Spirits
In 2014 and 2015, with funds provided by the Save Our Spirits (SOS) Fund, EarthAction awarded grants of over $22,000 to organizations that are working directly with indigenous peoples to help them preserve, strengthen, and pass on the spiritual practices of their elders. Grants were awarded to groups in the Philippines and other South East Asian countries, Ghana, and Nepal. This project will continue into 2016 when a new round of grants will be awarded.
International NGO Network for the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty 2015 Review Conference
Lois Barber, EarthAction’s Co-founder and Executive Director, was invited to serve on the Coordinating Committee to organize global events leading up to the April 2015 NPT Review conference that was held at the UN in New York City. Barber chaired the sub-committee that produced, “89 Facts about Nuclear Weapons.” These hard-hitting facts were released and posted one each day in the 89 days leading up to the April NPT conference. The conference, march, and rally brought many thousands of participants to NYC—over 1,000 from Japan alone. Open, a design studio in NYC, donated their time and expertise to this effort.
Building Understanding and Consensus on
U.S. Immigration Policies
In 2015, EarthAction served as the fiscal sponsor for a project on U.S. immigration reform that was initiated and directed by Rick Swartz. Swartz’ team worked to build non-partisan support in Congress and among immigration advocates for sound and reasoned policies that would yield benefits to millions while avoiding the acrimony that poisoned past efforts, This timely effort moved toward its goal of promoting an affirmative immigration strategy and gained significant traction since its launch early in the year. Through the mainstream and social media—notably a Wall Street Journal Editorial and a Roll Call Op-Ed—millions of individuals were exposed to the strategy's principles and goals. This project was supported with a generous grant of $150,000 from the Gilder Foundation.
Citizens’ 2015 Campaign for a Global Climate Agreement
EarthAction joined with The Global Citizens’ Initiative in a ten-month campaign in the lead up to the UN sponsored climate meeting (COP21) held in Paris in December 2015. Our campaign informed and engaged citizens, NGOs, policymakers, thought leaders, and the media about national pledges to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions and related climate policy issues. We built a global network of over 25 partner NGOs, research institutions, media groups and foundations and sent Action Kits and monthly national pledge updates and analysis that reached thousands around the globe. In addition, we wrote directly to over 160 Heads of State and Ministers of the Environment on behalf of the Campaign Partners & participants urging leaders to strengthen their emission reduction pledges. Our unique materials presented a lot of complicated information and data about the pledges of over 165 countries in an easy-to-read and easy-to-use format. They were very well received. We are grateful for the support of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund for this campaign. Read more here.
The Prey Lang Forest & Community Network
EarthAction was delighted when the Prey Lang Community Network in Cambodia was awarded the 2015 Equator Prize by the United Nations Development Program. EarthAction has worked for many years bringing global attention and support to the Prey Lang Community Network and their efforts to protect and preserve the Prey Lang forest that is their home, their source of livelihood, and the center of their spiritual practice. We congratulate our friends and colleagues in the Prey Lang Community Network for winning this award that came with a $10,000 grant from UNDP. Read more.
Thank You—Thank You—Thank You
EarthAction thanks all our Partner Organizations, individual members, staff, and donors for their ongoing participation and support. Special thanks to the Thomas D. Hormel Trust, the Stewart R. Mott Foundation, the Gilder Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Louise Hoffman, and Hal Litoff.
EarthAction, PO Box 63 Amherst, MA 01002 USA
Tel: 1 413 427-8827 E: [email protected] www.earthaction.org
