Love Letters to Water and Those Who Fight For It, Part Two

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Today’s post is a follow up to Part One on submissions from the week of World Water Day. There were so many worthy contributions to highlight, we didn’t think one post would be enough. So below are more love letters to water and its advocates, including stories that communicate a respect and passion for the water space in photos, poems and personal writings.

Vacation memories come flooding back

Midnight Harvest posted this video from a vacation in Maine in honor of World Water Day.

Reposting this oldie but goodie in honor of #worldwaterday this was from our vacation to gorgeous Maine! #water is all around you. It is in the ground you walk on, the #plants you #love, the #trees you walk through. It can be in the air or pour from the #clouds it has no end and no beginning because it is part of a greater cycle than you and I. Our bones contain water. It is the first thing to look for as a sign on #life on other planets. Without it – there can be no life. Take care of it for it will take care of you. . . . #maine #puremichigan #michigan #traversecity #tcmi #spring #mattdamon #scientist #nature #natural #motherearth #naturephotography #natgeo #nationalgeographic #photography #waterfalls #waterfall

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Finding love (for water) later in life

Scott Mitchell wrote to us about how a career change for him turned into environmental advocacy. Here’s his story in his own words:

At this stage of my life (58) I never dreamed that I would be starting another career. With retirement just a few years away, an industrial injury created a new opportunity which turned a near death experience into a feeling that I can help make a positive impact on my local environment. I was never a polluter, I recycled and didn’t liter. My jobs since I was 16 always involved mechanics and heavy equipment, and I thought I worked and lived my life without hurting this planet. But now as a certified Stormwater Compliance & Enforcement Inspector for a beautiful waterfront community in the desert region of Arizona I see how much damage each and every human can cause to lakes, rivers, streams and local watersheds. Protecting the waters of the U.S. has now become a passion. I love to educate others about the importance of protecting one of our most precious and valuable resources.

 

Love of water, respect for life
A love for water can extend beyond its aesthetic or status. A love for water can also mean  passion and respect for communities that desperately need it or access to it. Here, Global Brigades highlights the story of two men who are working together to improve a Nicaraguan community with a water system.

Water EMPLOYS. Jairo Cortez (left) and Don Luis Olivas stand together discussing Global Brigades' most recent water project's construction for five communities of San Rafael del Norte in Jinotega, Nicaragua. Jairo has been working with Global Brigades over the course of two years as a Brigade Coordinator. In his role, he has brought hundreds of students to Global Brigades water sites. His job is to support and facilitate students while they learn and work alongside Global Brigades's partner communities. Don Luis Olivas (right) will also benefit from being employed because of the water system. Once this water system is complete by mid-April, the system will need a plumber. Don Luis has served on the system's Water Council since the project was initiated in November 2016. Prior to being on the Water Council he was the President of the Sanitation Council when Global Brigades worked with his community of San Gabriel to install showers, latrines, and concrete floors. All of this experience makes Don Luis well-qualified to be elected in the the position of the new water system's plumber. In this paid position he has been trained by the municipal government on how to fix pipes if there are any breaks, as well as routinely add chlorine to the water to maintain it's potability. Share this post and help us celebrate World Water Day! #GlobalBrigades #GB365 #WaterBrigades #WaterIsLife #Nicaragua #WWD2017 #MyWaterStory

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A relationship with water

Dede Cummings submitted a poem to the website following a trip to Cuba with the Green Writers Press. Dede tells us the story behind her work:

I am a writer and a publisher, climate activist, in Vermont. I grew up in southern Rhode Island, right on the water. My piece is about me, and my relationship to water and how water is life. The women of Standing Rock have inspired me to take action, and I recently traveled to Cuba to guide our first annual Green Writers Press Environmental Writing Trip to Cuba. We visited other writers and artists in Cuba, organic farmers, and park rangers and biologists, in order to raise awareness of the threatened ecosystem of the Cienaga de Zapata (Zapata Swamp), the largest conserved mangrove swamp in the Caribbean where the coral is also remarkably well-preserved and unique in the world. This area is sacred to the Cubans and is also the location for the Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961. What I found there was the realization that the area is threatened and we must act now to protect the migrating birds, the bats, the turtles, and the fauna, there, and around the world. This is why I am submitting my story.

Read Dede’s poem.