Kate and I want to thank the Garden Club of Denver for sponsoring us to attend the GCA National Affairs and Legislation Conference March 23-26, 2025.
ACTION NOW FOR PLANET EARTH
The following information was provided to make our visit as effective as possible:
- Advocacy Training Workshop March 20, 2025 on Zoom
- Legislative Priorities for Congress 2025
- GCA Position Papers on a variety of topics including water, land conservation, and agriculture
- Zone meeting to discuss legislative priorities
VISITS TO LEGISLATORS
Kate and I visited with a staff member from Senator Bennet’s office and Senator Hickenlooper’s office on Wednesday morning discussing:
- Importance of the Conservation Title in the Farm Bill
- Great Outdoors Act
- PFAS Action Act
- Recovering America’s Wildlife Act
- Fix our Forest Act
- Thanks for funding Land, Water and Conservation Act
- Native Plant month designation in April
Kate visited with staff members from Congressman Neguse and Congresswoman DeGette on Wednesday afternoon with the same agenda as listed above.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM SPEAKERS
- Multiple speakers spoke about the importance of native plant months and we were thrilled to see the map and have Colorado listed as a state with a permanent designation as April for native plant month.
- Jeff Merkley, US Senator, Oregon discussed having pollinator safe plants along the highways, specifically milkweed, to aid the Monarch Butterfly migration. He also mentioned that nurseries need to sell pollinator-safe plants.
- GCA has a native plant initiative and we can all initiate activities to promote native plant month,, e.g. native plant poster contest at local schools, distribute flyers, engage with other community partners, land trusts, local nurseries, native plant societies, etc.
- C-Change gave an excellent presentation on its work across the country giving the C-Change Primer (we would like them to present at a general mtg.)
- Kirstie Pecci from Just zero kpecci@just-zero.org gave a broad reaching presentation on recycling – its successes and challenges.
- Chellie Pingree, Congresswoman, Maine is a member of the Clothes Caucus and she encouraged us to wear natural fiber clothing – cotton, linen and wool as recycling clothing made from polyester is not successful. She also spoke about Maine being a leader in identifying PFAS being used in sewage sludge on agricultural lands. She said the 38% of food is wasted in this country annually and that represents $1,000 per consumer. She advocated for composting as wasted food that is put into the garbage ends up in landfills and doesn’t compost, but becomes methane gas.
- Congressman McGovern MA asked that we lobby for the Farm Bill to be passed this year. He also takes about the importance of small and medium sized farms.
We end with his quotes:
“Think globally, act locally”
“You don’t have to agree on everything to agree on something”
-Story and Photo by Paula S.
