The news can be hard to take right now. I hear many of you say that you can take it only in small doses; that you control the timing and duration of your intake of it and social media.
For me, I know it works best if I check the news only once during the day. In the evening at my house, we avoid the news and even the comedy skits about the news. We shifted our routine to watching BBC Planet Earth with its unbelievably spectacular cinematography, and plenty of drama. The other night we learned that desert Harris’ hawks hunt in packs on the ground. They adapted to this strategy because it’s difficult to have success from above, and alone, as their prey hides in prickly cacti. To survive they developed a new tactical advantage, working together.
The Harris’ hawks got me thinking about us doing the necessary groundwork in conservation. Conservation wins have always been incredibly difficult to garner. But, in the current context, especially in the U.S., we find ourselves really swimming upstream. Clear victories, even clear stops, are seemingly out of reach right now. So, we must adapt.
This is the right time for us to build new strategies and skills. Working from the ground up, we can develop new initiatives that build and deepen our relationships with our local communities and build and deepen our communities’ connection to the land. Working with our communities, we can look for new ways to take care of the land, water, and wildlife. This community care and connection to the land can be parlayed into public support for its protection. By growing and deepening our relationships in the community, we will be building a stronger, more diverse, and more effective conservation movement for the long haul.
These tough, prickly times are calling on us to adapt and re-invent ourselves. This may not be the best time for solitary air strikes. Let’s take the long view, and following the lead of the desert Harris’ hawk, let’s get into the ground game, and let’s work together.
Thanks for all you do, and, remember, look to nature for inspiration.
Megan Seibel
TREC Executive Director