NextGen Green stitch Program Honoring Our Oceans: Reflections from the 2025 Climate Fest by Larkin Sylvester, Greenstitch Intern On Saturday, April 26th we held our fourth annual Climate Fest. The courtyard was alive with the music of Eloise O’Bryan followed by sounds of high school band Jinx rocking out with a driving beat and electrifying vocals. Aerialists danced their way up and down the apparatus, showing emotion and meaning with every movement. Kids joyously lapped their ice cream while others got information from people at the climate information booths.
background as a high school biology teacher and her unwavering care for both the planet and our students, Heather has been a vital part of Greenstitch for the last year and a half. We wish her all the best as she begins an exciting new chapter in her life in Burlington, Vermont. We send her off with so much gratitude and we will miss her tremendously.
If you are interested in finding out more about the Land Stewards or Judith Selby Lang and Richard Lang’s work here are websites or emails: Coast Miwok Tribal Council of Marin: https://www.coastmiwokofmarin.org/ Theresa Harlan https://www.alliance4felixcove.org/ Carlos Porata www.carlosporrata.com Henry Frank www.redtailart.com Marilú González Rivera https://www.indigenouslovedesign.com/
Alicia Retes aliciaretes@gmail.com Teya Valentina teyavalentina.com
Dana Hawke ladyhawke7171@gmail.com Judith and Richard www.onebeachplastic.com
In the galleries hung photographic masterpieces of The Stewards of the Land by Sasha Gulish, featuring Indigenous and Latinx people who love the land with all their hearts. If you took a stroll into the next gallery, you would see One Beach Plastic art hanging on the walls—images of litter gathered at Kehoe Beach, strik- ing in their conflicting beauty, reminding you of how much waste ends up in our beautiful oceans. Jason Deschler of the Coast Miwok Council offered powerful songs for our community and the victims of the tragic car accident a week earlier. Morgan Olsen, a Greenstitch Intern, wrote and read the poem below about the ocean at the opening of the Climate Fest: Sapphire Soul Hold me in your arms Cradle me in the womb Kiss my cheek a salty blue Teach me to forgive the ones who hurt you A gown of seaweed A crown of coral Teared apart by plastic knife’s Your creatures are truly divine But I see you drain Your life polluted Your fight is strong against our minds walls The ones we use to forget Can you forgive us for the islands of fake color Can we fix this Can we teach each other our words Shatter the mirage with truth pushed down I’ll wipe your tears And surrender to your tide Reflections from the Climate Fest and the Greenstitch Internship by Emily Goodwin,and Ella Signor Greenstich interns Seeing the community come together over climate issues close to our hearts is empowering in our journey to create a society focused on the preservation of our planet. Being able to gather a multi generational group of climate activiste gives us hope that we have the ability to move forward during these tough times. Living in a community surrounded by nature, we are constantly reminded of the biodiver- sity and life that we are working to save.
Lagunitas School One Beach Plastic Activity by Madison Lescohier Richard Lang and Judith Selby Lang’s ongoing art project, One Beach Plastic, has spanned nearly 30 years and operates on multiple levels. At first glance, their pho- tographs—featuring carefully arranged plastic pieces collected during hundreds of visits to Kehoe Beach—are striking compositions of found material. But beneath the surface their work reveals something deeper: the powerful impact that just two individuals can have on the environment by consistently returning to the same stretch of beach and removing plastic waste by hand. To make even more of an impact, the two artists have turned their personal project into a hands-on activity that the elementary students from Lagunitas School had the opportunity to take part in this past April.
And a few more important things . . . by Cory van Gelder, Greenstitch Mentor
Each class of kids filtered in throughout the morning to look at the Lang’s artwork on the walls before sitting down to learn about the work and what they would be participating in. Then the fun began as they were released to tables to make plastic arrangements on different colored pieces of construction paper. Watching the T/K through 4th graders create their own works of plastic art was incredibly uplifting. Their immediate enthusiasm as they grabbed for oddly shaped pieces and made their own colorful arrangements reflected the imagination and creativity that is so ingrained in the experience of navigating the world as a child.Some kids rushed through composition after composition while others took their time or collaborat- ed across the whole table. Looking back on the experience reminded me that the world is full of chances to play, if you take the time to notice and prioritize curios- ity. And through play, we can share meaningful messages, like the importance of protecting our environment, and the impact one person can make by picking up one piece of plastic at a time. I spoke with Richard following the experience and his parting words captured the hope and simplicity that defined the day: “We always ask, ‘Are you going to buy less plastic?’ and the kids shout, ‘Yes!’ And then we ask, ‘What will you do if you see plastic on the beach?’ and they say, ‘Pick it up and make art!’”
Starting off the day, we had a land acknowledgement reminding us that we live on the land that Coast Miwok or Huukuiko (their name for themselves) tended and raised their families on for 5,000 years. Jason Deschler of the Coast Miwok Council offered beautiful songs for our community and the victims of the tragic car accident that happened just a week before. He then gave a presentation about the importance of fire in our ecosystem. The Greenstitch Interns, Ella Signor, Nika Arye, Poppy Henderson, Larkin Silvester, Morgan Olsen and Emily Goodwin all worked hard producing this event including inviting organizations for information booths, booking musicians, scooping ice cream donated by Strauss Creamery, making announcements and selling plastic-free body care products they had learned about from Marnie Jackson of Black Mountain Beauty. Greenstitch is grateful to have the hands-on support of the Community Center for this event that brings our community together around care for our future and the planet. We also want to extend our deepest thanks to our extraordinary volunteer assis- tant, Heather Arnold. Heather has brought enthusiasm, an incredible sense of organization, awesome sewing skills, tech help and all around support. With her
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