Hikers Advocate Land Conservation
September 24, 2019
The AP Environmental Science (APES) department teamed up with conservation organization Save Mount Diablo on a hike through the Curry Ranch reserve on September 14 as a part of the week-long Global Climate Strike.
APES teachers Tren Kauzer and Jane Kelson organized the outing.
During the event, participants assembled in formations that appeared as “SOS” and “1 LUV” from above while holding up a large American flag. Photographs of the formations were taken by drone.
According to Kelson, the APES department has been collaborating with Save Mount Diablo for several years in an effort to have “students to learn about the wide-ranging ecological and economic benefits of land conservancy.”
Senior Beatriz Dutra e Mello participated in the hike. “I really liked just being in nature and being exposed to a very real and natural environment, free of materialistic stuff and just able to be in the moment,” she said.
Senior Ian McBride also attended. “It seemed like a great chance to be able to speak up and take a stand for something we should all care about, which is our planet,” he said.
Dutra e Mello said, “I think the messages were perfect and I think encompassed the whole reason the hike and the climate strike was organized. I hope that this will spread the word even more about global climate change and also make it more eye-opening and realistic for students.”
“I think the urgency of both of the messages and the scale of how many people participated is sure to spur many people to take action, even if it is something small. Hopefully people begin to realize the urgency of our situation and spread the word to others in our community who may not realize it,” said McBride.
Kelson described the event as an opportunity for students to give “appreciation of nature and of other cultures”, have “awareness of local and global environmental issues” and gain “motivation and empowerment to become part of the solution in terms of solving environmental and social injustice issues.”
“A lot of people are exposed to facts about climate change but don’t really think about it much because they don’t recognize the reality of it,” said Dutra e Mello. “I think that with this hike, it will hopefully make people realize how actually real climate change is.”
