Festival Will Highlight Climate Change Solutions
Drawdown East End will be holding its first Drawdown Festival, a day filled with films, forums and fun for families, on Saturday, Jan. 11 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Southampton Arts Center, 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton.
The event is free and open to all ages. A full schedule is online here.
Project Drawdown is a comprehensive plan developed by Paul Hawken with 80 science-based solutions to slow down and reverse climate change and its damaging effects.
Utilizing the Drawdown principles showcased in the film “2040,” Drawdown East End, a recently formed grassroots group of East End citizens, says they’re committed to implementing local solutions to help improve our planet’s climate condition as quickly and safely as possible.
Through education and outreach, the mission of Drawdown East End is to inspire and support our community to become actively engaged in solutions to achieve Drawdown —the point at which greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere start to decline.
The festival will include three separate screenings of the film “2040”, along with breakout discussions specific to: reducing food waste (Solution #3 ), moving toward a plant-based diet (Solution #4), and regenerative practices on land and sea (15 separate Solutions).
There will interactive exhibits to highlight Project Drawdown’s research on best practices and technologies and participants will be encouraged to join “eco-challenges” to motivate youth and adults alike to take actions that are designed to bring our common home, earth, into balance and provide cascading health and economic benefits to all.
A celebration is planned with treats and entertainment to build community and energize the cause.
“We are focusing on reducing food waste, plant rich diet and regenerative practices on land and sea because of their huge impact on carbon emissions,” said Cynthia Spoor of Southampton, a lead organizer and member of the steering committee of Drawdown East End. “Our festival will highlight ways we can all participate — with our families, in our communities, and with policy — to scale up these best practices to achieve drawdown. And we will all learn about the cascading economic, health and security benefits.”
The festival will also mark the launch of 100 Women4Women, a partner organization. “
100 Women4Women will tap into the innate gifts of women and girls to identify and implement green practices in the home, workplace and community and how we can affect change by using our power at the polls and in the marketplace,” said Dorothy Reilly, Southampton, co-founder of Drawdown East End. “Our goal is to foster right relationships with ourselves, one another and the planet.”
“Regenerative Practices on Land and Sea will be highlighted so people can learn about the natural resources we have, at-hand now, that are carbon sinks, drawing down carbon from the atmosphere and sequestering it safely — like kelp farming, whales, trees, and composting, which enriches soils with carbon.” said Mary Morgan, Orient, co-founder of Drawdown East End. “ We just need to scale up, and protect these resources.”
This is a critical time in the history of our planet, and the science is clear, say the organizers. Through the lens of Drawdown, their vision is to nurture the earth back to health and cultivate a thriving planet for generations to come.
