¶¶Òõ̽̽

This was an interview I conducted with Amy Seidl, an ecologist, writer, and professor here at ¶¶Òõ̽̽. We talked about her relationship with Earth Week, her past experiences, how she thinks ¶¶Òõ̽̽ is handling the event, Megan Mayhew Bergirdman’s upcoming talk, and more. Her work and dedication to Earth Week is an inspiration. She was extremely eloquent in expressing her ideas about ways to celebrate Earth Week better and our discussion around it. I hope that reading this interview will imbue readers with a careful optimism and determination to make our world a more ecological space. 

What does Earth Week mean to you? 

Amy: I guess I'd start by saying, I wish it were Earth Month. And then thinking, oh my gosh, that’s not enough time either. But what I like about Earth Week, is the concentrated discussion and presence about these issues, then thinking about a lot in the larger community. What I love about Earth Week, is that feeling that everybody's aware, and their sensitivities are higher about the importance of environmental justice, healthy ecosystems, and the way we feel when we're connected to nature. So that's what I look forward to, all how those connections, the highlighting of environmental justice disparities, or how we can steward and be agents of change in ecosystem functions, is what just invigorates me for a week. 

Why do you think it's important to have it at a place like ¶¶Òõ̽̽? Does that make it different for you? Does it change from hosting it in a place like your town hall? 

Amy: I celebrate the earth with my community through cultural practices. We have a day where everybody walks to different sugar houses in the town, it happens in March all over the state. In May, on Greenup Day, the entire town, literally the entire town, comes out and removes trash and we gather as we're bringing the litter, old pieces of metal, and, things that have been dumped. And those are moments in which there's a celebration of people who live in this place, and people interested in stewarding our town. It doesn't have a forum of speakers or documentary films but it does have a deep community connection around place, which I appreciate. But you make me think, oh, like how could we bring more Earth Day events, Earth Week events, to my town, to the library, through other kinds of gatherings? 

So in other words hosting at a college gives Earth Week more of a public forum for environmental issues? 

Amy: Yes, it elevates the conversation into the public university's role. It’s important to challenge ourselves with ideas, especially, in an age of social media, and ask one another, to engage in opposing ideas. To think through how those ideas can be manifested in policy or changed through business or other sectors. I'm happy to question why, in my small town, it's more of a celebration of place and less, how can we grow intellectually from looking at a powerful film or hearing an author speak about a point that might be provocative.? 

So you’ve noticed that at ¶¶Òõ̽̽, there are more arguments and discussions about environmental issues than elsewhere? 

Amy: The event my lab group and I are putting on will interrogate how we write about and witness climate change in a way that acknowledges grief, despair, and hope. That's a little bit grittier than, let's clean up our environment. 

Along that same vein, how do you think ¶¶Òõ̽̽ handles its values during Earth Week? 

Amy: Wow, that's a big question. It varies. I've been here for 15 years and some Earth Weeks, I've found, rose to the occasion. Meaning, that we asked hard questions of ourselves, like when divestment from fossil fuels was happening. I remember Earth Weeks in the past in which students protested and demanded change.

You and I are both involved in REC (Restoration Ecologies and Cultures) It celebrates the fact that restoration is going to make a change but we have to ask hard questions like which focal species will we choose? Who are the stakeholders? How much is it going to cost? But figuring that out is part of the puzzle. So in our celebration of Earth Week, what are the things that we as an institution are grappling with? 

One suggestion is the idea of carbon offsets. Our campus sustainability plan is predicated on carbon offsets. And where do those offsets come from? Are they local? Verifiable? I would love to see a discussion about carbon offsets. I think that would be such a cool Earth Week event,  

Do you find that ¶¶Òõ̽̽ students are supportive of Earth Week? 

Amy: Yes, definitely. My lab group (CCALL) will be putting on an event with writer Megan Mayhew Bergman. CCALL stands for climate communications, advocacy, and literacy lab. And we meet every Monday to have a discussion, of sorts, on climate change. Generally, CCALL members want to have Megan Mayhew Bergman and I will speak about our writing she's a climate fiction writer, and I'm a nonfiction writer. One of our students Anna Eldridge is going to facilitate the conversation. 

How did you decide on Megan as one of the speakers for Earth Week? 

Amy: Megan is relatively new to Vermont. She's a scholar in residence at Middlebury College, an environmental writer, and also directs an environmental Writers' Conference in Vermont. She also has a new book of short stories called How Strange a Season.   

Can you tell me more about climate fiction? 

Amy: There's an entire genre, a subgenre of environmental fiction called climate fiction, or Cli Fi. Probably the most famous climate fiction writer is Margaret Atwood. Movies, gaming, and fiction impact the way we see the world, and they're very powerful mediums. Writers, help our readers understand that we're witnessing the very thing that we have been predicted and that we can write through those experiences to provide meaning, or even to sponsor different actions. 

How do you feel ¶¶Òõ̽̽’s new slogan ‘for people and planet’ reflects the university’s values? 

I would say it's a great direction. It's the right, pivot to an aspiration that implies health for both – people and the planet. That is really powerful for this moment in time.