On Wednesday during Climate Action Week dozens of people attended a talk on Eco-Anxiety, aimed at helping people grapple emotionally with the looming crisis of climate change.
Psychiatrist Dr. Lise Van Susteren and therapist Leslie Davenport offered tips and reassurance to those feeling anxious and offered that feelings of dread and worry are normal.
“The anger, the frustration . . . I would say, frankly, if you aren’t feeling some of that — you aren’t listening,” Dr. Susteren said.
Climate Action Week, with its nearly 40 free events culminating in a finale Saturday at the Grange Hall in West Tisbury, has confirmed that people on the Vineyard are listening — and are ready to act.
Liz Durkee, climate change planner for the Martha’s Vineyard Commission and one of the lead organizers of the week, said mid-week that the events been well attended.
“People have been appreciated of what they are hearing, and it seems they are ready to start grappling with the issue instead of just feeling like there is a cloud over their heads,” she added. “One person said that after the Coast Guard tour it took her nearly an hour to come down from the excitement.”
Each day has featured numerous events, including tours, talks, film and food.
Ms. Durkee said there have been a few hiccups, like when the speaker for an eel grass presentation got stuck in traffic on the mainland.
“He ended doing his presentation from a Panera parking lot in Raynham,” she said. “But it was still a great talk.”
On Tuesday evening about 20 Islanders gathered at the left fork of South Beach to check out a newly restored dune.
“Before this project was done, everything here, for lack of a better word, was flatter than a pancake,” said Jane Varkonda, the Edgartown conservation agent. Ms. Varkonda led a guided tour of the area with Russ Hopping, an ecologist from the Trustees, of Reservations.
The 400 feet of new coastal dune is meant to protect against ocean overwash, Ms. Varkonda told the group. In 2018 severe storms accelerated the erosion process and since then ocean water has repeatedly toppled the dune leaving abutting infrastructure vulnerable.
The town used its dredge to bring sand from Katama Bay to restore the dune, Ms. Varkonda said, a fact that won the endorsement of the group.
“It doesn’t get more local than that,” one participant said.
On Wednesday, participants could check in on subjects as wide-ranging as a native plant talk presented by BiodiversityWorks, herbs and hurricanes discussed by the Native Earth Teaching Farm, and the challenge of building for a zero carbon life with the South Mountain Company.
Or they could eat oysters at the Edgartown Library.
Nic Turner of Honeysuckle Oysters guided people through the process of shucking oysters and cherrystone clams, while giving a brief lesson on oyster farming. Mr. Turner also detailed oyster farming’s benefits to the environment, noting the shellfish can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day.
“The water’s just getting healthier and cleaner with them,” he said.
Participants then took a turn shucking oysters and clams in the library’s program room as Mr. Turner and library assistant Chris Look offered tips and tricks.
“There’s no pretty quahaugging,” Mr. Look said, demonstrating with a shell that had broken. “They’re always butchered.”
That evening at the Film Society in Vineyard Haven, moviegoers watched Inhabitants: Indigenous Perspectives on Restoring Our World. Speaker Carole Vandal lost her voice and so instead played the flute before the film, another example of going with the flow this week, Ms. Durkee said.
The events continue on Friday and Saturday. The finale at the Grange Hall Saturday will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring activities, talks and a film.
“There will be children’s activities, an electric vehicle fleet, action plan tables, food trucks, music, and the Vineyard Conservation Society will announce the winner of their environmental art contest,” Ms. Durkee said.
She added that the week has been a dream come true for her.
“I’ve been thinking about this a long time and now we have all of these people pledging to take action,” she said. “And we want people to commit to taking action beyond this week.”
Zach Harris and Aidan Pollard contributed reporting.
Comments
Comment policy »