In this second entry in my series on Paying Rent to Mother Nature, I want to acknowledge an incredible women’s organization who is truly paying their rent.

Great Old Broads For Wilderness (www.greatoldbroads.org) boasts twenty years of ageless advocacy. Based in Durango, Colorado, Great Old Broads for Wilderness is a non-profit public lands organization that uses the voices and activism of elders to preserve and protect wilderness and wild lands.

On Monday, March 8, I was asked to guide a “Broadwalk” for the Florida chapter who was hosting the organization’s president, Veronica Egan and her daughter.

We chose the incredible three mile nature trail on Caladesi Island with an extra side mile to the homestead of Myrtle Scharrer Betz and her father Henry.  We chose March 8 to honor International Women’s Day which commemorates the women’s march in NYC for suffrage and against child labor in 1908.  In this turbulent el Niño season, seventeen of us – including two men or “bros” as the group calls its male supporters – had a most incredible day.

“Time and trouble will tame an advanced young woman but an advanced old woman is uncontrollable by any earthly force. Dorothy L. Sayers

Great Old Broads was founded in 1989 in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. Today ranks have grown to include men and younger women (Broads-in-training), though the majority of their membership continues to be older women committed to protecting wilderness areas. As explained by their president, roads were being planned in many wilderness areas so that “grandma” could drive her car in and enjoy it.  Broads was formed to show that older women can trek on their own and would not be the excuse for more and more roads into wilderness.

Great Old Broads, with lifetimes of adventures and experiences to draw from, bring a broader perspective and valuable insights to wilderness discussions than other environmental organizations with more youthful memberships. Great Old Broads are uniquely qualified to speak up for the lands and to protect what they have learned is valuable and important. There website states –

“We are prepared to alleviate the destruction to wilderness, and we are optimistic that we will make a difference. Our forte is raising public awareness for the importance of wilderness, and using press coverage to alert the public to inappropriate development and management decisions affecting wilderness.

There are particular advantages to being old and gray (besides the senior citizen discount). We’re an anomaly in the environmental activist area and the press and others are curious as to what we have to say. Our approach in this endeavor is the use of a sense of humor and our well-aged grace. Our message on behalf of wilderness may be similar to that of other organizations, but Great Old Broads has the ability to attract the public’s interest and attention in ways that other groups cannot. Correspondingly, because we are both older and (presumably) wiser, people give greater deference to our message than to younger environmentalists.”

Issues that Broads feel require special vigilance:

Off – Road Vehicles – ORV’s have become the most destructive force on our public lands.  These vehicles cause serious damage to soils, air quality, plants, wildlife, water courses and cultural resources, not to mention the disruption of the experiences of others who us the land.

Oil, Gas, and Mineral Development – Oil and gas drilling has exploded over the past several years.  Broads know that conserving scarce petroleum resources while developing alternative energy sources is preferable to drilling in our fragile and dwindling wild places.

Mineral mining seriously threatens wild public lands on many levels – from poisoning waterways to disrupting migration routes.  Broads are vigilant in monitoring of these industries and advocate for the land that they abuse.

Public Lands Grazing - Improperly managed livestock grazing practices lead to erosion, lost wildlife habitat, degraded water quality and a compromised wilderness experience.  Broads hold land management agencies accountable for the health of our public lands.

The Broads Healthy Lands Project (BHLP) is an innovative program that documents ever increasing wild lands abuse.  By training individuals to use a simple, standardized, photographic and GPS-based system, BHLP allows ordinary citizens to record damage caused by irresponsible land use.  The resulting database is accessible through the internet and can be used by land managers, the media and partner organizations to view photos and descriptions of land conditions via online topographic maps.  The BHLP shows what is really happening on the ground.

To contact the organizer of Florida’s Broadband – as chapters are called –

Dr. JoAnne M. Valenti at valentijm@yahoo.com

I recently came across an article in my favorite website http://www.treehugger.com that began with a quotation from one of the bookmarkers that I sell in the activist area of my It’s Our Nature® mobile store ….by E.B. White

“If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between the desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”

Perhaps a quote by, Alice Walker will help us “plan the day”:

“Activism is my rent for living on this planet.”

So I have decided to get back to my blogging by suggesting each week how we can “pay our rent”.

In the How to Build a Community poster by the Syracuse Cultural Workers – one line speaks so loudly to me “Know that No One is Silent Though Many are Not Heard”

As The Lorax proclaimed: “I speak for the trees.”  But Why?

1. Trees Provide Oxygen (and Reduce Climate Change)
The equation is fundamental: During photosynthesis, a tree “inhales” CO2 from the air and then separates the carbon from the oxygen molecules. The carbon is absorbed by the tree, which then “exhales” pure oxygen back into the air for us to breathe. In the process just described, trees also serve as carbon sinks. Such carbon sinks offset carbon dioxide emissions and reduce climate change.

2. Trees Provide Food
Trees offer food like nuts and fruits for humans and other creatures. The folks at SavaTree add: “Many animals, including elephants, koalas, and giraffes eat leaves for nourishment. Flowers are eaten by monkeys, and nectar is a favorite of birds, bats, and many insects. Animals also eat much of the same fruit that we enjoy. This process helps disperse seeds over great distances.”

3. Trees Provide Homes
From nearly microscopic insects to camouflaged reptiles to feathered friends to wily primates and beyond, each tree is a vast, thriving eco-system in and of itself. The destruction of even a single small tree not only disrupts natural cycles, it also sentences countless creatures to death.

4. Trees Provide Medicine
For 5.1 billion people–85% of the world’s population. Even in a modern society like the U.S, plants are the original herbs and the primary source materials for as many as 40% of the pharmaceuticals in use.

5. Trees Provide Shade and Protection
Due to ozone depletion, we now have to endure increased amounts of potentially dangerous ultraviolet radiation. Thanks to our tree friends, we get some shade and protection.

6. Trees Provide Energy Savings
“All the farmhouses are surrounded by trees,” writes Josh Peterson. “You see, the farmers know that planting trees in the right places is good for their houses and it’s good for the land. The trees act as windbreaks and keep the snow from drifting up against the house. It also keeps that valuable topsoil in place. And in the summer time, there is no better place to beat that ridiculous Midwestern heat than in the shade of a tree. You can use the same principals to make your house more energy efficient with proper tree placement.”

7. Trees Provide Pollution Reduction
Trees absorb pollutants like sulfur dioxide, ozone, and nitrogen oxides through the stomates in the surface of their leaves. Up to a 60% reduction in street level particulates has been found on tree-lined streets and roadways. Trees also muffle urban noise pollution.

8. Trees Provide Erosion and Flood Prevention
Deforestation negatively impacts the amount of water in the soil and groundwater and the moisture in the atmosphere. Without tree roots to hold soil in place and fight erosion, we are seeing more runoff and less sediment deposit after storms. This result in higher levels of chemicals in our water and far more flooding. On a related note, mangrove trees protect coastal areas from ocean waves and work in smooth symbiosis with coral reefs.

9. Trees Provide Soil Enrichment
Fallen leaves make excellent compost that enriches soil. Here’s how the USDA Forest Service explains it: “Needles and leaves that fall are not wasted. They decompose and restock the soil with nutrients and make up part of the spongy humus layer of the forest floor that absorbs and holds rainfall. Fallen leaves also become food for numerous soil organisms vital to the forest ecosystem.”

10. Trees Provide Beauty and Natural Wealth
Some people look at trees and see only lumber and profits.  Sane people look at trees and see kindred spirits, fellow travelers, and eons of wisdom from which we have so much more to learn.

How to “Hug” Trees and pay your rent this week …

• Planting trees
• Simple lifestyle changes like using tree-free paper
• Switching to a diet that doesn’t require deforestation and livestock grazing
• Tree-sitting and other forms of direct action