As She Rises

Far out in the waters of the South Pacific are the Samoan Islands. They make up an island paradise, a contested territory, an ecological haven. They might also hold a key in the fight to protect endangered coral reefs.

“steady us mother/ your eye lights the way

your heart moves our blood

your hand steers our boat.”

Welcome to season 2 of As She Rises. In this episode, we visit the islands of Samoa. Poet Caroline Sinavaiana Gabbard reads her poem “Sā Nafanuā” and discusses how language and ancestral stories can guide us in the present. Motusaga Vaeoso, who studies corals with the Coral Reef Advisory Group of American Samoa, tells us about resilient coral species and the important role communities play in sustaining conservation efforts. She reminds us that there is a lot left to fight for.

Take Action:

• Read Caroline’s poetry collection, Alchemies of Distance and her other book mohawk/samoa: transmigrations
• You can follow Motu’s work through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website. Keep up with the state of Samoa’s coral reefs at americansamoa.noaa.gov.

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Straddling the border between the US and Canada, the Skagit Watershed is a haven for sea creatures. The “Magic Skagit” is in peril: the ways of life it has sustained for the communities along its shores are faltering under years of settler disruption, and upstream, its headwaters originate in a pool of unprotected land threatened by extractive industries. Still, there’s hope in numbers: a cross-border coalition of federal, Tribal, and political leadership on all levels, dedicated to saving the Skagit River. 

“You must have cleaned a lot of fish.” I say. // “I think we cleaned out all of Puget Sound…”

Won’t be long before all the fish are gone, then the cannery will go, and all we’ll have is hunger and sorrow.”

This season, we’re excited to collaborate with The Slowdown, hosted by Ada Limón. From American Public Media – and in partnership with The Poetry Foundation – The Slowdown delivers a different way to see the world: through poetry. Listen here. 

Take Action:

• Follow Rena’s work, and get her new collection of poetry, at RenaPriest.com
• Learn more about Amy’s work with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community at Swinomish-nsn.gov
• Stay up to date with Washington Wild’s conservation efforts at WAWild.org

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As She Rises is back for a second season to celebrate both Earth and Poetry Month. Throughout April, we’re telling the stories of climate progress that give us the hope we need to keep going. 

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“The worst crime I know men have committed is to turn nature into an oppressor.”

In the city, the heat is suffocating: it reverberates off buildings, seeps through the concrete, and bounces off glass back down onto a city of 8.4 million people. New York City is hotter than ever before-- but it’s felt differently from neighborhood to neighborhood. Today, we’re ending our season in the land currently known as New York, where increasing heat exacerbates the risks already felt by communities bearing the brunt of a changing climate.

Jade Lozada, a college student and climate organizer, recites her poem “The Worst Crime,” commissioned for the Natural Resources Defense Council, and explains the dual role heat plays in bringing her closer to home, and making home uninhabitable. Dr. Melissa Barber, co-founder of South Bronx Unite, studies hyper localized heat islands and protests corporate intervention with community-generated solutions to the climate crisis. 

Take Action:

• Jade’s poem, “The Worst Crime,” was originally published by NRDC.org. You can find her poem, as well as those of three other writers, in this article.
• Jade was one of the finalists for Climate Speaks 2020, a climate arts program that is part of The Climate Museum, which aims to spark dialogue and action on the climate crisis. Support Jade’s work, as well as other climate poets, at ClimateSpeaks.org
• South Bronx Unite brings together neighborhood residents, community organizations, academic institutions and allies to improve and protect the social, environmental, and economic future of Mott Haven and Port Morris. Support Dr. Barber and South Bronx Unite at SouthBronxUnite.org

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In Oklahoma, a fight is playing out that could finally recognize tribal sovereignty, especially over how to manage the environment. This could set a precedent for the rest of the country, and affect our climate. But the powers that be won’t let go easily.

In this episode we visit the plains of eastern Oklahoma. Joy Harjo, the United States poet laureate, reads her poem “Speaking Tree” and shares what happens when we lose touch with traditions that center care for the earth. Casey Camp-Horinek, a matriarch and drum keeper of the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma, is an environmental activist fighting to free her community from the clutches of the oil and gas industry. She reminds us that we are all bound in responsibility to each other to care for this earth, and that Indigenous voices should be at the forefront of climate discussions and policy change.

Take Action:

• Joy Harjo is the author of nine books of poetry, including She Had Some Horses, and a memoir, Crazy Brave. In September 2021, she came out with a new memoir titled Poet Warrior. If you want to check out more of Joy Harjo’s work go to joyharjo.com
• Support Movement Rights at movementrights.org which elevates traditional Indigenous ecological knowledge to align our laws with nature’s needs, and fights for more tribal sovereignty.

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This land has always been on fire. But the destructive power of these flames is new. There was a time before, and there is a time ahead, when fire clears the way for new growth in the foothills. “So many particular precious, irreplaceable lives that despite ourselves, we're inhaling.”

In this episode, we visit the land currently known as Northern California. Molly Fisk, inaugural poet laureate of Nevada County, California, recalls the devastation of the Camp Fire and the trepidation that follows rebuilding in the scorched tracks of a wildfire. Margo Robbins, Yurok Tribal member and executive director of the Cultural Fire Management Council, explains the ecosystem’s intricate connection to fire and the role prescribed burns played in this area’s past, present, and future.

Take Action:

• You can find more of Molly’s writing at mollyfisk.com. California Fire & Water, an anthology project helping kids across California write poems about the climate crisis, is out now.
• Support Margo’s work at the Cultural Fire Management Council at CulturalFire.org.
• Join efforts to put pressure on world leaders, at COP26 and beyond:
  • Support SheChangesClimate, which is trying to get more women in top-level leadership at COP26 and other delegations around the world.
  • Check out Greenpeace’s campaign: you can get involved with a local volunteer group in the UK or sign the Greenpeace petition.

Follow Wonder Media Network:

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The most visited stretch of beach in Hawai’i should be underwater. Instead, it’s kept afloat by over thirty thousand tons  of sand-- sand that drifts out to sea every 5 to 10 years before it's replaced yet again. Before the Ala Wai canal drained the watershed, Waikiki sustained a native population of over a million, and fed and nurtured its diverse wildlife in a self-sustaining system. Today,  king tides are trying to reclaim Waikiki.

“This is not the end of civilization, but a return to one. Only the water insisting on what it should always have, spreading its liniment over infected wounds. Only the water rising above us, reteaching us wealth, and remembering its name.”

In this episode, we visit the man-made beach of Waikiki. Poet Brandy Nālani McDougall reads from her collection “The Salt-Wind, Ka Makani Paʻakai” and tells us of Hawai’i before the Ala Wai. Frankie Koethe, community outreach liaison for the Ko’olau Mountains Watershed Partnership, explains the intricacies of the Waikiki watershed and the dangers it faces in an era of urbanization.

Take Action:

• You can find more of Brandy’s poetry and writing on Bookshop.org
• You can support the Ko’olau Mountains Watershed Partnership and sign up to volunteer at koolauwatershed.org
• Join efforts to put pressure on world leaders, at COP26 and beyond:
  • Support SheChangesClimate, which is trying to get more women in top-level leadership at COP26 and other delegations around the world.
  • Check out Greenpeace’s campaign: you can get involved with a local volunteer group in the UK or sign the Greenpeace petition.

Follow Wonder Media Network:

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In Northern Minnesota, over eleven hundred glassy lakes create a vast inland sea. The water is so clean that canoers can drink straight from the lakes. What will it take to protect this beautiful and life-giving landscape from human threat?

In this episode, we are transported to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of Minnesota. Kim Blaeser, former Wisconsin Poet Laureate, reads her poem “Eloquence of Earth.” And she speaks about how the threat to this water is a threat to Anishinaabe people. Becky Rom, national chair of the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, grew up navigating these waters. Today she’s fighting to protect the landscape she holds dear from sulfide-ore copper mining.

Take Action:

• In April of 2021, Congresswoman Betty McCollum introduced The Boundary Waters Protection and Pollution Prevention Act. Find your local congressperson here, regardless of the state you live in, and urge them to support this legislation. Here’s a script you can take pointers from.
• You can find more of Kim’s poetry and writing on her website
• You can support the grassroots movement and the work Becky is doing at savetheboundarywaters.org.
• Join efforts to put pressure on world leaders, at COP26 and beyond:
  • Support SheChangesClimate, which is trying to get more women in top-level leadership at COP26 and other delegations around the world.
  • Check out Greenpeace’s campaign: you can get involved with a local volunteer group in the UK or sign the Greenpeace petition.

Follow Wonder Media Network:

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“It’s not the same, knowing the theory of climate disaster, and then actually living through it.”

There is a fissure on the island of Puerto Rico-- one widened in the wake of massive storms, earthquakes, COVID, and quickened by the dizzying pace of climate change.

In this episode, bilingual  poet Raquel Salas Rivera finds hope in a poem titled “nota para una amiga que desea suicidarse después del huracán” and tells us about the ripples of trauma Maria left behind. Local activist Amira Odeh recalls  being unable to recognize her own home after the storm and how she’s working to rebuild PR.

Take Action:

• Support Amira’s work at the Caribbean Youth Environment Network Puerto Rico Chapter at CYEN.org
• Find more of Raquel’s work at RaquelSalasRivera.net
• Join efforts to put pressure on world leaders, at COP26 and beyond:
  • Support SheChangesClimate, which is trying to get more women in top-level leadership at COP26 and other delegations around the world.
  • Check out Greenpeace’s campaign: you can get involved with a local volunteer group in the UK or sign the Greenpeace petition

Follow Wonder Media Network:

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In the land we know as Alaska, a poet considers a melting landscape also ablaze. What does it mean to live in a “sepia-toned” world, to be forced to distance your ties to your culture, and to truly understand that what happens to the land also happens to the people? “June really isn’t June anymore / is it?” 

In this episode, we visit the land currently known as Alaska. Joan Naviyuk Kane, Iñupiaq poet and scholar, joins us with the title poem of her collection “Hyperboreal” and her experience watching the landscape she grew up in change drastically because of climate change. Local activist Enei Begaye centers an Indigenized perspective as she works toward a more sustainable and just future for the native communities around her, and Siqiniq Maupin works to strengthen Iñupiaq cultural identity despite the poisonous grip of the oil and gas industry on her homeland. 

Take action:

• Support Enei’s work at NativeMovement.org: volunteer, donate, sign petitions and more.
• SILA, Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, has similar opportunities to support organizing efforts to protect and preserve Alaska’s North Slope. You can join their monthly meetings as a respectful member to learn more about frontline efforts.
• You can find more of Joan’s work and poetry books on her website. Her newest book, “Dark Traffic,” is out now.
• Join efforts to put pressure on world leaders, who should be taking radical action on climate change, at COP26 and beyond:
  • Support SheChangesClimate, which is trying to get more women in top-level leadership at COP26 and other delegations around the world.
  • Check out Greenpeace’s campaign: you can get involved with a local volunteer group in the UK or sign the Greenpeace petition

Follow Wonder Media Network:

• Website
• Instagram
• Twitter

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