Climate March 2017
Blog and Photos
I had the honor of representing KEEN at the People's Climate March in Washington D.C. over the weekend of April 29, 2017. Joining with KEEN Ambassadors Caroline Gleich, Jeremy Collins, Krystle Wright, and James Joiner, we spent the weekend with the Protect Our Winters team and marched for climate justice.
I wrote a post for the KEEN blog and also shared some of my photography from the weekend when I returned to Portland. Blog post is below in full.
The Signs of Climate Change
Three days before the march, an executive order was signed by the President, calling for a review of all 100,000+ acre designations under the Antiquities Act. This executive order directly impacts some of the monuments that we at KEEN have worked hard to protect with our #LiveMonumental campaign. With this news fresh in my mind, I headed to Washington to join a group of KEEN Ambassadors, including Jeremy Collins, Caroline Gleich, James Joiner, and Krystle Wright, as well as staff and supporters of the climate change non-profit Protect Our Winters, and a contingent of Patagonia staff and ambassadors. Our goal was to raise awareness about the climate crisis, show solidarity with marginalized groups that are disproportionately affected by its impacts, and let our government know that action on this issue cannot wait—too much is at risk to delay. We have the solutions at hand to address the crisis, and we must tackle it head on, without hesitation.
Sometimes climate can feel like an impossible issue to take on, but I truly believe that we must speak up loudly about the value of protecting our planet for future generations, so that they will one day know the same beauty that we have today. The Climate March is a large step forward, but I believe the real work must come from inside of our communities and businesses. Moving forward, we must make decisions that align with our values of being good stewards of the land and protecting the places we play.
As a graphic designer, I have always been drawn to visual communication, especially signage and typography. When I arrived in D.C., I headed out to meet up with the Protect Our Winters crew, who were holding a prep party in Patagonia’s retail space to make signs and organize for the march. That night, some great signs were created, however the next day at the march, there was no shortage of creative, funny, serious, and attention-grabbing messages as far as the eye could see.
As we waited for the march to begin, Caroline Gleich and Brody Leven, a Protect Our Winters athlete, displayed a sign made at the event the night before and chanted, “This is a sign! So are melting glaciers!” It is with this pun in mind that I offer a selection of some of the best signage and climate messages I saw throughout the day, and some moments I shared during my weekend attending the march. I hope that you see these signs as I do—as a reminder that we must act on climate, that we have the tools to address the crisis with renewable energy, and that it is more important now than ever before to join together within our communities to create positive change both on a personal level and also in our local, state, and federal governments.
Three days before the march, an executive order was signed by the President, calling for a review of all 100,000+ acre designations under the Antiquities Act. This executive order directly impacts some of the monuments that we at KEEN have worked hard to protect with our #LiveMonumental campaign. With this news fresh in my mind, I headed to Washington to join a group of KEEN Ambassadors, including Jeremy Collins, Caroline Gleich, James Joiner, and Krystle Wright, as well as staff and supporters of the climate change non-profit Protect Our Winters, and a contingent of Patagonia staff and ambassadors. Our goal was to raise awareness about the climate crisis, show solidarity with marginalized groups that are disproportionately affected by its impacts, and let our government know that action on this issue cannot wait—too much is at risk to delay. We have the solutions at hand to address the crisis, and we must tackle it head on, without hesitation.
Sometimes climate can feel like an impossible issue to take on, but I truly believe that we must speak up loudly about the value of protecting our planet for future generations, so that they will one day know the same beauty that we have today. The Climate March is a large step forward, but I believe the real work must come from inside of our communities and businesses. Moving forward, we must make decisions that align with our values of being good stewards of the land and protecting the places we play.
As a graphic designer, I have always been drawn to visual communication, especially signage and typography. When I arrived in D.C., I headed out to meet up with the Protect Our Winters crew, who were holding a prep party in Patagonia’s retail space to make signs and organize for the march. That night, some great signs were created, however the next day at the march, there was no shortage of creative, funny, serious, and attention-grabbing messages as far as the eye could see.
As we waited for the march to begin, Caroline Gleich and Brody Leven, a Protect Our Winters athlete, displayed a sign made at the event the night before and chanted, “This is a sign! So are melting glaciers!” It is with this pun in mind that I offer a selection of some of the best signage and climate messages I saw throughout the day, and some moments I shared during my weekend attending the march. I hope that you see these signs as I do—as a reminder that we must act on climate, that we have the tools to address the crisis with renewable energy, and that it is more important now than ever before to join together within our communities to create positive change both on a personal level and also in our local, state, and federal governments.
