Montana Families Climate Summit Recap
At noon on Friday, June 18, the Montana Wild Education Center in Helena, MT was baking in the sun as members of Families for a Livable Climate, Moms Clean Air Force MT, and Mountain Mamas gathered for the Montana Families Climate Summit. For five hours, the participants discussed, laughed, cried, and connected over our shared concerns about our changing climate and its impacts on Montana and our families. As we dispersed to our homes across the state, we left with a stronger community of parents and citizens who are dedicated to protecting our state and our families, and who support each other in our statewide efforts to do so.
Prior to the gathering in Helena, the participants attended two virtual events. The first (recording available here) was the Climate Action Skills Workshop: Having effective climate conversations across differences, and engaging your community. This event was led by Dr. Cathy Whitlock (Regents Emerita Professor in Earth Sciences at Montana State University and a Fellow of the Montana Institute on Ecosystems), Becky Edwards (Executive Director, Mountain Mamas), Michelle Uberuaga (Montana Field Manager, Moms Clean Air Force Montana), Angie Winter (Chapter Co-Leader, Flathead Valley Citizens Climate Lobby), and Winona Bateman (Director, Families for a Livable Climate). In this event, we discussed the importance of patience and common ground; messaging to engage an audience; and how to write op-eds and letters to the editor. As an attendee, I found this event full of great reminders about how to connect with people across differences to converse about climate. I also found the presentations very actionable; for example, I now thoroughly understand how to engage my community by writing and publishing a successful op-ed.
The second virtual event (recording here) was called MT Climate Issues workshop: Montana’s energy future is being decided today. Led by Anne Hedges (Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs, MEIC), Michelle Uberuaga (Montana Field Manager, Moms Clean Air Force Montana), Aubrey Bertram (Staff Attorney, Wild Montana), and Laurie Anderson (Moms Clean Air Force Colorado), we discussed the shocking consequences of using natural gas to replace coal; Northwestern Energy’s proposal for a new gas plant outside of Laurel, MT; safety and health risks from fracking and policy to prevent them; and oil and gas leasing on public lands for incredibly low rates. Throughout this webinar, I was astonished at the many ways in which citizen’s health and safety, not to mention the natural spaces we live in, are threatened by the continuous expansion of dirty energy companies. For example, NorthWestern Energy plans to build yet another gas plant near Laurel, MT, which has obvious, direct and indirect negative impacts on our climate system. For more information about the dangers of gas, check out this new fact sheet by Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC). However, I was also reassured by the success stories and the knowledge that fantastic, intelligent, and dedicated people—such as those leading these events—are working to protect our land and people.
Finally, we arrived in Helena on Friday, June 18. This Climate Summit was guided by the philosophies of Katharine Hayhoe (credentials), who believes that the single most important thing that any of us can do to fix climate change is to talk about it: to explain why it matters to us, here and now; to share inspiring stories of the solutions available to us today; and to advocate for change at every level, from our families and communities to our institutions and businesses. (See Katharine Hayhoe’s talk in April with Families for a Livable Climate here.) With this goal in mind, we engaged in exercises to build our emotional and spiritual resilience, our communication and listening skills, and our community’s collaboration in the face of this strenuous work. We were led by Penélope Baquero, an experienced teacher and leader who works to design and implement ecologically minded pedagogy, curricula and artistic experiences to support the emerging movement towards ecological, regenerative consciousness.
Winona Bateman and Grace Gibson-Snyder at the Montana Families Climate Summit
We heard about the four levels of listening developed by MIT lecturer Otto Scharmer: downloading, factual listening, empathic listening, and generative listening, and the importance of listening in leadership. Next, we explored our individual inspiration for involvement with the climate movement. We each brought an item to display our inspiration; I brought a rock to symbolize that the Earth (and that particular rock from my backyard) has been around for much, much longer than humans, and will survive much longer than we will too, climate change or no. And, after a snack break where I enjoyed the surprisingly tasty packaged donuts, we sat in pairs and responded one by one, without interruption, to prompts about our fear, anger, and other emotions regarding the climate crisis, corporation, dirty energy, COVID, or whatever else we notice causes those emotions in our daily lives. For me, this was an opportunity to share my true emotions that I find myself guarding against in everyday life, for fear of becoming overwhelmed or depressed. Being able to share my honest feelings with my partner (shout out to Hannah!) was a huge relief. This feeling of letting go and instead embracing the community that surrounds our work was, in my experience, the most crucial and rewarding part of this summit.
Many thanks to the hosts and organizers of this event; Penélope, Winona, Becky, Michelle, and to MEIC for hosting the ice-cream social after the gathering. Thank you to all the attendees for your engagement, passion, vulnerability, and listening. And of course, thank you to baby Mario for being adorable.
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