River Network President Nicole Silk, a longtime conservationist, lawyer, water advocate, and river champion has joined the nonprofit funders’ network Rachel’s Network as a Leadership Liaison.
Rachel’s Network has been helping mobilize efforts to fight the US-Mexico border wall, and supporting coalition-building and education through the Sierra Club. Diana Hadley, who chairs our Borderlands Working Group, lives in Tucson and planned a three-day event with grassroots leaders working for fairer outcomes for immigrant populations and safer, healthier environments for border communities.
Rachel’s Network has strong roots in Colorado. Home to over a dozen of our members, beautiful national parks, innovative research institutions, and a culture of environmentalism, it was the perfect place for our Fall Retreat after over a decade’s absence. Here’s a summary of our visit and what we learned.
This summer, Rachel’s Network Member Ashley Stone flew into the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo with Dr. Takeshi Furuichi and Dr. Chie Hashimoto to observe wild bonobos at the Luo Scientific Reserve, the original bonobo research station started in the 1970s by Dr. Takayoshi Kano. She recounts why conservation must address local livelihoods to succeed.
After a year of campaign rallies featuring inflammatory “Build the Wall” rhetoric, President Trump is pushing for massive new walls along the US-Mexico border. In response, Rachel’s Network and the Sierra Club have partnered to draw the public’s attention to the landscapes and communities threatened by border walls, strengthen the coalition fighting these projects, and develop a legal strategy to resist further construction.
