Part of being an environmentalist is keeping usable things out of landfill and by not contributing to the waste packed into our environment.  So here, at Possums Welcome, we have a several repurposing projects going on!  They are great community builders.  Our projects begin with dismantling items that would otherwise end up in landfill.  Inside of furniture such as couches and chairs, there is cotton and natural fibers which can be composted, wood that can be reused and strong metal springs which still have a long life in them.  After disassembly of these furniture items, only very little goes into landfill.  Ideas for creativity are limitless.  Wind Chimes can be made from the inside springs of couches and chairs.  Wallets can be made out of bike tires.  When the wicker on your wrought iron chair gives out, you can replace it with fire hoses which would otherwise be in the landfill.  By the way, let us know if you would like to buy one of our wind chimes for your yard!   

On Saturday, May 1st 2021, I joined people at the Tule Elk Reserve at Pierce Point who shared my concern for wildlife, compassion for animals and the environment and clean water.  We gathered to learn about how we can help the Tule Elk who are trapped in captivity behind this 8 foot fence without adequate food and water.   To visualize the 8 foot fence which keeps the Tule Elk trapped in captivity, here is an exhibit of where the fence is (below).  I show where the 8 foot fence is in red.

The goal is to either: 1) remove the 8 foot fence so that the Tule Elk have access to adequate food and water or 2) to make the National Park Service provide adequate food and water to the Tule Elk who they have captured behind the fence.  This map (below) shows the land that the Tule Elk need to get through in order to gain access to adequate food and water - to get from captivity to freedom....and a chance and opportunity to have access to adequate food and water.  I like the sound of corridor.  I would like to see no fences....but while we are waiting for that to happen, a corridor would be nice for the Tule Elk to have a chance at life during this drought season ahead of us.

There is so much more to this issue, and I know that my charts simplify things, but for now, ...today, ....this is what I am sharing about the plight of the Tule Elk.  To learn more about this issue, I would like to share a few sites:
Jim Coda's Wildlife Site
Tree Spirit Project
Restore Point Reyes
For Elk
Save Point Reyes National Seashore 

Here was my two (2) minute speech:  

My name is Christine Garcia-Kelly and I am the founder and president of Possums Welcome, a nonprofit whose mission statement includes the preservation of wildlife and open space, and protection and care of vulnerable species.

This proposed amendment before the Commission today - with lease renewals -will have a detrimental impact on wildlife, vulnerable species and water quality as it is written today.

I also have practiced animal law with The Animal Law Office for over 20 years and have drafted and passed legislation when I sat on the SF Animal Welfare Commission.  Decisions were never hard for me to make.  They were quite easy.  My vote was always on the side of animal protection and I had ample legal authority and evidence to support my vote.

Today, so do you.

Each member on this Commission has ample evidence and statutory authority to oppose the proposal from NPS.

On page 5 of your report, I read, “staff did not find evidence of a spillover effect onto coastal resources”…and…”staff believes the …measures proposed .. won't cause effects on coastal resources that conflict with the Coastal Act”

Your staff needs some assistance if they could not find evidence.

If you are seeking data and analysis of the negative impact on water into the coastal streams, you don’t need to go far.  Resource Renewal Institute corres page 5-to 14 of 98 articulates this science .  If you are looking for legal authority, go to the Turtle Island’s Restoration Project correspondence or talk to Jim Coda who has a wealth of information.

Reducing the zone by 2000 acres isn’t good enough.  And nowhere in any law from 1960’s or prior does it say that fences should be erected and elk should be prevented from sources of water on these lands.

Please exercise your duties under Coastal Act Section 30320(a), and do not sign off on a plan which ignores science, data on water quality and the laws regarding the protection of wildlife.

Every once in a while, Justice does prevail.  There are so many nuances to gaining "peace" after a violation of civil liberties or personal rights.  There is personal inner peace (emotional well being and re-centering of yourself) and then there is a peace from the Court system, which means that our public infrastructure supports (or doesn't support) what is right.  I would often tell my clients (after something horrible happened to them or their loved one) to take some time to heal themselves, because often healing emotionally does not coincide with litigation.  Litigation is hard to endure and is a very stressful experience.  It's filled with intrusive discovery and depositions and digging at your personal life.  And at the end, you may or may not win.  You have to hope you have the right Judge and the right Jury, etc.

Practicing animal law taught me that just because I am on the right side and just because I may have all the evidence on my side, it does not mean that justice will prevail.  Having all the right ingredients still does not mean that you will get the verdict that you deserve or are entitled to receive.

So when I heard the jury verdict yesterday, as I sat outside at St. Francis Fountain while eating the best restaurant vegan burger ever in the entire world (The Devil Burger), I was blown away!   Immediately after the verdict was released, I could hear the tap dancers dancing with joy on the sidewalk of the corner of 24th Street and York.  I heard the fire sirens going off in solidarity with the verdict.   I heard fire works.  I know it shouldn't be a treat and something special when something correct happens, but my eyes have seen a lot and when good prevails it is something notable.  This time, Justice prevailed!  It's so wonderful and so amazing when it works!

And the relief!  I was lighter.  I felt safer.  I felt like I was part of a country that shared my views.  I felt like the jury was actually a group of my peers.  And, most importantly, that the world was not as disparate as I had imagined it to be.  

This is a hopeful statement for the future.  Talk about a breath of fresh air.  It is no coincidence that my last post was about George last year.  What a dark period we were in one year ago.  Brighter days ahead!   

Just a side note, thank you to everybody who keeps their phone out and records when they see injustice or violations upon people, animals or the environment.  It's a reminder of just how important that the video evidence was in this case.  We all need to keep our phones charged with enough storage space to capture these moments.  Hopefully, we never have to use that space to film such an event in the future, but I am so grateful for the people who recorded and spoke out for George!

Again, I try not to let litigation impact my own inner-peace, but when something like this happens, it really has a profound impact!  Anyway folks, have an amazing rest of your week!

I’m naturally an optimist.  I search for the positive things in life.  The silver linings.  The lessons and gold nuggets out of any situation.  But sometimes, there is nothing but sorrow to move through.  That’s where I am now.  I am sad.  I am so terribly sad and upset and angry about what happened.  But mostly, it’s an overwhelming feeling of helplessness.  The feeling that there is nothing I can do to change those type of people who killed George Floyd.

I don’t watch too much television, or I haven’t since the past election, (because everything on the news just upsets me).  Racism has been going on for so long and when I saw the video last week, it brought the great injustice and inequity so clearly to the surface.  We all witnessed a murder.  Another officer standing close-by doing nothing.  Two other officers kneeling on the back of him, clearly feeling no resistance, as his body went limp.  People on the side stating precisely what what happening: “he can’t breath,” “you are killing him.”  George pleading with the cops saying, “please, I can’t breath.”  And his light went out.  He was not armed.  He was not harming anybody.  A clear murder.  I am grateful for the people there beside him witnessing this atrocity and speaking up for George by telling the officers:  “How long do you have to hold him down?  He isn’t resisting!  He is not moving.  Get off of him!  What are you doing?  He isn’t even moving.  Get off of his neck.  Are you going to let him kill that guy in front of you?”  I am glad that those advocates were there so that George did not die alone.

And sometimes, sadly that is all we can do.  Speak up.  Video tape.  Bear witness.  It breaks my heart.

I am not a stranger to police misconduct.  Back in the day, during my civil rights practice of animal law, many of my past animal activist clients had been victims of excessive force by the police (and dogs have been the unfortunate innocent murdered subjects of dog shootings by police).  The activists often say that their bad experience with the police was nothing compared to the brutality towards animals in a laboratory, or live animal market, or (____enter animal exploitation activity here__).  They all lived to talk about it.  And also, in my activist cases, it was a voluntary choice to attend a peaceful protest.  They all knew of the possibility of arrest by simply exercising their free speech.  This is a case, where a man was murdered because of the color of his skin.  George did not choose to be born a black man in racist America.  Every body enters this world deserving of kindness.  I wish the world would remember this and live this.  I’m trying to make this world a more compassionate place, starting with more compassionate people - since they seem to be the only ones who aren't understanding how to do it.  

One of my favorite quotes is “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”  This has been a tough week for me since we were already compounded seeing the cruel wet markets which began our current pandemic and factory farms each day, and then this.  There is a continuum of oppression. And as long as you are allowing that oppression to stay alive for certain individuals (animals), it will be alive for others (people too).  I invite you to read Aph and Syl Kho’s book which clearly illustrates how racism is a continuation of speciesism or vice versa. And if you buy with through this link, I think Amazon donates a tiny bit to Possums Welcome, but if it doesn’t pop up you might have to find the book from here.

Today, I am hard pressed to see the silver lining.  I did see a heart warming photo of three black men shielding an officer who was separated from his battalion and I do love this talk by Trevor Noah.  Right now, the only silver lining is that there are others who feel the same as me and want to see the end of oppression and discrimination for all.

There is a tree like this over by the San Marino public library in southern California.  My little one used to play on it all the time.   ~ Climbing over the roots and balancing ~ Jeremy Bishop took a picture of this beautiful tree.  How nice would it be if a tree like this was on our sanctuary near the cows.  A perfect place for the cows to rest under its shade.  Thank you Jeremy for this photo! 

My six year old came across my sketch (below) of the sanctuary vision on my desk and he wanted to share his rendition.  He thought it was very important for there to be a tree house for the kids at the sanctuary.  And it really makes sense though doesn't it?   Isn't that where kids go to get away in peace and have some quiet time?  There is also a huge tree for kids to climb beside the two cows.  The Art room is pronounced as one of the most important structures of the sanctuary.  The art room at his school is one of the funnest places where discussions take place among all the artists and creations take shape.  The cafe is a cozy little cabin on the sanctuary - perfect for small bites.  There are two sheep hanging out beside the pond where two ducks are swimming.

This is a sketch of my vision for Possums Welcome.  The space will be welcome to people who happened to drive by or hope for a getaway in the beauty of Northern California.  And when they stumble upon Possums Welcome, they will learn and be nurtured and fed.  The small menu will have delicious irresistible bites, including, but certainly not limited to, homemade hummus, some delicious veggie chili, Patatas Bravas,  spaghetti aglio e olio and teas.  The Cafe and Learning Center will serve fresh organic vegan nourishment for the body, mind and soul.  The sanctuary then becomes a safe place for people who share their stories in our Wednesday night teach-ins in the learning center and the animals who share their stories throughout the sanctuary.  We have so much to learn from each other.  Perhaps that might be another blog post.  The animals tell us stories of their resilience and about where we are today as a human society.  And the yogis will teach us to listen.  The goal is to educate people in a supported environment in the hope that people will depart Possums Welcome refreshed and with new perspective and strength to make this world more compassionate for everybody.  My desire is to expand people's circle of compassion to include animals and the environment. 

So this is a very rough sketch of the vision of Possums Welcome.  The proportions are off in this image, the space for the Community center, art studio, cafe and B&B should only take up 10% of the land.  The other 90% of the land will be a sanctuary for the non-human animals.  My first drawing was on paper.  I am sure I can find it somewhere to post on another blog.  The Cafe will have a slim menu of delicious vegan food and local organic wines and micro brews.  For the menu, I am thinking of a homemade hummus with fresh veggies, a cream of mushroom soup, a hearty seedy salad and perhaps a flat bread.  The B&B will have 5 comfortable rooms for guests.  The cafe's kitchen will be used to do our cooking demos.  The Community Center will have all the weekly teach-ins from yoga and meditation and lessons on self care.  The Art studio might have a kiln for ceramic firing.   It defends on safety of course.  And all around will be the stories, inspiration and lessons from the animals, the few ambassadors who were lucky enough to make it to Possums Welcome.  I can't wait for this to become a reality.

In my quest to bring a foreign language into our public school, I have been so fortunate to receive so much help getting the program started.  Other teachers and parents have come forward to contribute in various ways to get the class and curriculum going.  Our first year received the assistance of parents who helped walk the kids to and from class (Thank you Anne and Jasmine) and others who would help get the teacher paid (thank you year one Spanish Class parents).

After the success of the first year, I received the overwhelming comment from parents that they wished the class took place more often.  I thought the best way to learn a language was to have exposure more often.  But then we don't want to burn our young little rascals out, right?  Soooooo I thought, let's make it fun.  This second year of the program will be entirely arts and movement, but in a different language.  And it will be every day for just 25 minutes to begin the new day.  Hopefully this pilot program will go well.  I will keep you all posted!