Tell me what you think
Connecting with people about climate change the easy way

PictureMarina Chicurel (rt) listens to a passerby
by Nancy Faulstich

Watsonville, CA - On the last weekend in August, I organized a listening project focusing on climate change. I incorporated  what I know about listening and caring about people into this project. I believe we made an impact on hundreds, if not thousands, of people and began connections with many that we will be able to continue in the future.

For a location I chose a local Strawberry Festival—a big family oriented event featuring music, carnival rides, food, and information booths. Strawberries are an enormous crop in this area and most strawberry pickers are migrant Mexican farm workers.

Planning

I recruited five friends to staff an information booth with me, along with my husband and two volunteers from our farm.

My 5-yr-old daughter colored in most of the big signs and in the process showed me how much she has learned about climate change.

I liked the idea of having a presence at a large, mainstream event. This was not an Earth Day or otherwise environmentally-themed event, and I expected it would have a different crowd— much more representative of the whole population of the town and surrounding areas than typically attends “environmental” events.

Because I planned to run the booth like a listening project, I talked with each friend about listening to people more than talking at them. I trusted that listening and staying connected would help each person who talked to us put their attention on climate change at least a little.

The big day

One of my friends was a little skeptical. And, as she watched me talk with people she became more and more intrigued by what I was doing.

It seemed to work best to approach people with a general question—in English or Spanish—such as : “What is your favorite place in nature?” Or, “What do you want the world to be like for your children or grandchildren?”

One friend had made a beautiful collage of images from nature. This drew a lot of attention and was also a great conversation starter.

After engaging passers-by in a little conversation around those questions I spoke about the reason for our booth, asking them if they had heard much about climate change.

The event was a great success!

I had expected more people to ignore us, and thought some might be very negative. Instead, we engaged in thoughtful conversations with hundreds of people over the two days. A police officer said there could be 20,000-30,000 people attending the festival. I hadn’t realized it was such a huge event.

74  people pledged to take an action that week to help stop climate change. These actions, which could include talking to others about what they know, were entered into a raffle.
Some people signed up to be on our mailing list.

Meaningful connections

Many people thanked us profusely for being there. We connected with some who were already involved, some who knew a little bit, and those who didn’t know much at all. 
Here are some conversations which stood out.

An elder from Guanajuato, Mexico who knew a great deal about the changing weather patterns  shared his knowledge passionately. I encouraged him to talk to his family and friends about these issues.

A Chicano environmental law student told us about protecting people’s rights and needs.
A teenager who is exploring shifting to a vegan diet expressed her frustration about environmental concern being called a “hippie” thing by her friends.

An elder said she had decided to stop worrying about ‘all of these kinds of things.’ I listened to her and agreed that just worrying wouldn’t help anything and concentrated on having a good, enjoyable interaction with her.

A 30-something-year-old Chicano said he is starting to grow some of his food, plans to build a wind turbine and develop solar power for his house. He is also considering getting chickens, right in downtown Watsonville.

Several people, who stayed engaged in conversation despite disagreement, ended up leaving with a slightly changed attitude.

Children told me about their favorite animals or colored on paper while I talked with their folks.

I’m grateful to my friends who left inspired, with ideas for new actions. I believe we offered people hope as we helped them look at serious issues.
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Posted Dec 2013

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