✏️ April 27, 2021: “A Drop In The Bucket”

The rain forecast for last weekend was enough to give some weeds a boost and make some frogs happy, but not enough to fill our desperately low reservoirs. Last week the Round Up was “in the bag,” as we say about things that are complete at KWMR, when the verdict was announced in the murder of George Floyd. The conviction of officer Derek Chauvin was a start, and hopefully not like our mini rainstorm of this past weekend. Not enough.

Nicasio reservoir. Heavy clouds, no rain….     photo: Robin LivingstonConserving water is something we are comfortable talking about. Our tips and tricks for taking super short showers, capturing water in buckets for watering our plants, and single sourced grey water systems are all possible solutions. Easy steps that anyone can take to help conserve the water that we so desperately need for life.In the first three months of 2021 already 213 civilians have been shot by police in the USA. The rate of Black Americans was much higher than for any other ethnicity. The information gleaned at statista.com. Being disproportionally at risk of dying due to one’s race alone, is not acceptable. Police shootings are just one example. Systemic inequality and racism is entrenched in every aspect of society for more than 400 years.

We are learning how to talk about these issues with one another. Tools are starting to be developed for White people to better understand our role in the system that is inherently pitched against people of color. Organizations like SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice), Black Lives Matter, and the work of Of By For All for organizations to better include all members of their community.

I have learned that being “open minded”, and “not seeing race” is a complete cop out. It was a pretty big aha moment.

I just completed a 9 day training over three months led by Impact Launch called Leadership for Equity and Opportunity (LEO). The program was specifically for people in Marin and the training was funded by the Marin Community Foundation. LEO is about leading all of the work that you do with your values at the core. It’s about intentionally choosing to carry out our every day work with purpose. I enjoyed the program, though it took me a few sessions to warm up to it and really listen to alternative ways of doing things.

There are a lot of great books about racism, white privilege, and how to begin to do the personal work, even if the first step is just to admit that there is a problem. In West Marin, 47 nonprofit organizations signed on to a Joint Equity Statement last year, and a subcommittee called TEG (Together Equity Group) is looking for ways to support the work of each of the signers. These 47 organizations are all engaged in their own work on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

I was having a discussion with a friend about water conservation and realize that there are some pretty big systematic issues in place, too. I mean, really, why do we put water that we have treated for drinking, into toilets? And the talk of the fragility of our country’s power grid is a big topic of discussion. I understand that these are physical systems and may be easier to dismantle and rebuild than systemic racism. Still not enough.

While we can live without power for a period of time, we cannot live without water. 60% of our being is water. Our hearts alone are 73% water. All of our hearts, no matter the color of our skin.

Let’s become really good at dismantling broken systems. And let’s start now.

The KWMR Board of Directors has established a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee to look at ways that they can work together with the staff and volunteers to be sure that the steps that we take going forward are thoughtful and inclusive.

Amanda Eichstaedt
KWMR Station Manager and Executive Directorp.s. Still looking for a COVID shot and you are over 16? Come get em!