In the most recent email I sent out I included a list of questions designed to get us thinking about how we could engage with each other in feel-good, action orientated, non-video chat ways!
I encourage everyone to respond to the questions in the comments below so we can begin a discussion on what our Fall 2020 meetings might look like.
Take 73+ seconds and brainstorm some ideas of activities that we could do this fall as a group. I encourage you to think back to our group mission statement: To promote individual and group action toward a resilient, equitable and sustainable community through modelling behavioural change, conversation and education. So now the actual question isā¦ what did your brainstorm session come up with? Toss out all ideas, those that are and arenāt fully flushed out, I want 'em!
What does a Fall 2020 feel-good moment feel like to you? What are some descriptive words that define how you would envision yourself feeling after a successful & positive WCMNCN meeting? What are some feel-good words that define how you have felt in the past after WCMNCN meetings?
What are some ways of engaging that you think people are not taking advantage of during our COVID times? What are ways to connect that donāt involve video calls & emails? What creative ideas do you have to engage with your fellow climate networkers?
What is one way you have been engaging with sustaining yourself ? How have you kept your wellness in the front of your mind & actions? How are you taking care of you?
Visit & chat about the We Are Water exhibit, social distance holler (where we all sit far apart and one person at a time hollers about something)- remember i did say not fully flushed out, contact the highway department and see if we can adopt a highway and pick up some GARBAGE, movie night - pick a climate movie & watch it & chat about it & eat popcorn in our respective homes
Pen Pals & letter writing (long live the USPS), treasure hunts, chalk messages, surprise presents, online multiplayer video games
I have been taking my doggo on more consistent walks & watching dog training videos. This means that I spend more time with her in engaged and mindful ways which is great for both of us! Hooray!
Contact FWS and see if we can still harvest prairie seeds for them, research/read about legislation and environmental programs we may want to expand, create, or change in Morris
Having a ātaskā that is completed or setting goals and steps to achieve that task, identifying a problem and coming up with solutions to address it, learning a new perspective
Connecting outdoors? Iām not really sure I have actually gotten pretty used to Zoom and feel almost equally as comfortable on Zoom as I do in person
Taking a lot of walks, finding time to exercise everyday, and setting aside time to not work
A group/coordinated visit/s to the Water exhibit would be encouraging. Plus it supports other peopleās efforts/work on the environment. I like the āmaking signs to encourage people to vote for the climateā idea and have bought signs so we can do this. (I have 20 signs we can use.)
Iāve found the BLM signs very encouraging and evidence that we live in a community where more people than I expected care about justice. Seeing āsignsā that one is not alone in supporting work on climate change would be uplifting. Hope is being kindled, connection to others fostered and perhaps we have a chance to mitigate the awfulness my imagination conjures.
Iāve been writing postcards to friends just to say hi and let them know Iām thinking of them in this weird time. I donāt mind the Zoom meetings as itās enabled me to see friends and keep in touch while not spreading covid which seems like a win. I would like to write more letters to let people know Iāve seen what they are doing and appreciate their work. Although itās not always obvious who the person to contact is.
Noelle, good to know that you are comfortable on Zoom!
(1) Harvesting prairie seeds is a great idea! I love that!
(3) Are there any particular things you have learned that make zoom more fun/comfortable? I am not on it all the time so I have not had to be as creative with the system. What do professors/orgs do that make zoom meetings more unique and fun for you?
Susan our hero!
(1) getting signs, amazing! Thank you!
(2) Do we have a specific thing we want to put on all of the signs so folks know they are connected? Could we ask folks to make sure that āWest Central MN Climate Networkā is on all the signs? I like the idea of letting everyone create their own sign with a message that is important to them regarding the climate, but want to make sure that the signs are still connected to each other.
(3) I have also been writing lots of letters (mostly to my elementary school friends) and am looking for more people to write them to. I relate heavily to thisā¦
I think practice makes perfect, and the more you get comfortable with speaking over zoom instead of sitting there muted not participating makes it much easier
We should talk signs at the meeting. I donāt think we need the same message as any sign encouraging thought about the climate when voting will make network members happy!