“All children should be exposed to the arts, celebrating humans’ greatest creative achievements,” says Sarah duPont, founder of CIAMO, one of Africa’s first tuition-free schools to offer art and music classes. The project was inspired by Sarah’s work in the U.S. developing curriculum for the humanities and environmental education, areas that are known to impact creative thinking. Bringing her idea for CIAMO to fruition, however, required six years of dedicated planning before the first students walked through the school’s door.
How do we encourage governments, companies, and an economy obsessed with measuring and growing GNP to shift to maximizing total well-being? For example, a divorcing cancer patient who gets in a car wreck has added to the GNP through payments for services from lawyers, doctors, pharmaceutical companies, tow trucks, and repair shops. Is she any better off? Clearly not. On the other hand, if you stay home to care for your children, volunteer at a home for wounded warriors, care for troubled youth after school, or clean up streams on the weekend, you add nothing to the GNP, but have contributed significantly to a healthier society.
I recently left my job as a naturalist and environmental educator in order to teach environmental education in underserved neighborhoods in Milwaukee. I did this because I know that soon, the next generation of children will be making the personal and public policy decisions that will profoundly affect the planet. This generation of children has had the least exposure to nature of any generation in human history. Many inner-city neighborhoods lack safe, attractive outdoor spaces for wandering, experimenting, building, observing, and exploring. Without a positive personal relationship to the land as children, they will not be compelled to preserve it as adults.
After identifying a similar disparity on environmental boards, which led to the founding of Rachel’s Network, Winsome McIntosh recognizes an urgent need for more women in Congress. Unequal representation carries repercussions not only for women, but all sectors of society. “Having learned about the beneficial impact women have on decision-making at all levels, I’ve become convinced that our future progress as a country depends on bringing gender parity to our political leadership,” Winsome says. “We owe it to ourselves and to the women of America to move towards making this a reality!”
Kimery Wiltshire, CEO and President of Carpe Diem West, spoke with Rachel’s Network members by teleconference on water issues and sustainability in the American West. We recently caught up with Kimery and she shared more about her work, as well as what inspires her.
