The Garden Club of America’s National Affairs and Legislation (NAL) is an annual conference to educate the delegates about GCA’s legislative priorities, which are supported by the GCA Position Papers. The Garden Club of Denver sends two representatives to every NAL conference.
The first full day of speakers helped educate NAL participants on the science behind the position papers and the supporting legislation. Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist from Texas Tech, gave an engaging talk about climate change. Click here to hear snippets from this on her TED talk
On the second day, we heard the great news that the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was passed in the House of Representatives, having first passed in the Senate several weeks before. There was a feeling of bipartisan optimism swirling around that really made for an exciting day on the Hill. We listened to an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, which gave a great balance to the discussions. That evening at the gala, we had Dr. James Porter present to us the effects of climate change on our oceans. He is the chief scientific advisor on the documentary film, Chasing Coral .
On the third day, Cindy Scott and I marched out to meet with our Colorado Senators and Representatives armed with three bills to discuss: the Botany Bill, Scenic Byways, and the Aging and Deteriorating National Park Legislation. We met with their aides and discussed the importance of supporting this legislation. We will to continue to press these issues by email and by making local appointments.
What can Garden Club of Denver do?
1. Invite C-Change to come and speak to our club about climate change.
2. Take The Great Healthy Yard Pledge at tghyp.com or go to the public landing page on the GCA Website .
3. Pledge to call on our local representatives or to make telephone calls when there is a call for action from the GCD Conservation Committee.
4. Plant native plants in our gardens.
5. Talk about climate change amongst ourselves. Listen to Katharine Hayhoe’s TED talk and watch Chasing Coral if you didn’t see it at the GCD Conservation Committee’s movie night .
6. Educate ourselves on what is happening around us.
To quote Derek Kilmer, who is a representative from the state of Washington, “We are the first generation to see the impact of climate change and the last generation who can do anything about it.”
