As I reflect on earthday365’s previous year, it’s tempting to dwell on the difficulties – two cancelled Festivals, revenue down by one-third, endless Zoom meetings. But I prefer to focus on the sparks of creativity, resilience, and new relationships that arose during this challenging time. With many restaurants in dire straits, we founded the GDA Relief Fund to be sure that recertification fees wouldn’t stand in the way of staying focused on sustainability. As part of our new Membership Program, we kicked off the Eco-Media Club with a viewing and discussion of “Kiss the Earth.”  We hosted a successful Green Curbside Hop to celebrate Maplewood’s green restaurants in a safe and fun way.

And we have much more planned for 2021. We are launching our Environmental Justice Days of Action for learning, and targeted volunteer projects in partnership with affected communities. We will be offering residential Food Waste Drop-Off and education at Ferguson and Tower Grove Farmer’s Markets. We are partnering with HOSCO foods in the Vandeventer neighborhood to launch a reusable to-go container program.

We are committed to deepening relationships and partnerships in the coming year, and working to strengthen the regional environmental movement by expanding the conversation and opening ourselves up to new perspectives. We are so excited to have you along for the ride. Thanks to everyone who helped us successfully kick off our Annual Giving campaign on Giving Tuesday! If you like these new directions for earthday365, you still have time to concretely support this important work by making a year-end contribution now.

Here’s to new directions in 2021!

Yours in resilience,

Dr. Jess Watson