April 2020 Newsletter Volume 4 Issue 10

FAIR TRADE AND FAIR TO ALL CONCERNED

Photo: Rotarians Mina Venkataraman (in magenta fleece) and Anandhi Chandran (orange scarf), introducing anti-microbial Safepads to tea pluckers in the Western Ghat mountains of South India. Mina is Co-Chair of ESRAG's South Asia Regional Chapter.

 Restoring watersheds to prevent disasters

Ecologist Godwin Vasanth Bosco planting a demonstration garden of native grasses with Rotarians of the Nilgiris West Club and the Rotaracters of the JSS College of Pharmacy.  Photo provided by Meenakshi (Mina) Venkataraman.

When massive floods and landslides left thousands homeless in Kerala, South India last year, scientists in the Nilgiris West Rotary Club seized the teachable moment to focus their community’s attention on the ecological damage that fed the flood, and to point to solutions right under their feet. By bringing together stakeholders with far greater resources, the Club is working to catalyze the restoration of a natural system of defenses to prevent future disasters.  The floods showed vividly that the economic survival of plains communities below depend on the ecological health of the Blue Mountains above.

Green Strategy win-win 

for workers and Fair Trade

Rotarians Meenakshi Venkataraman and Dr. Keerthana Kuman addressing a women's self-help group in Ooty, in the Nilgiris region of South India's Western Ghat mountains.

The Nilgiris West Rotary Club in South India have launched a successful solid waste prevention program that’s helping women workers save money, while enhancing local Fair Trade tea brands’ reputation with faraway consumers.  The project is flourishing because Rotarians are paying close attention to the needs of both workers and employers. 

ESRAG Annual General Meeting June 24 

ESRAG's Annual General Meeting for Members, originally scheduled June 7 at RICON 2020, which was canceled due to the COVID 19 pandemic,  will now be held online at noon, UTC on June 24.  Please join us!  Watch your email for updates and details!

Nominations for four board positions are open till midnight on April 30 (Central Daylight Time in the US) with votes due by June 1. You must be a member in good standing to participate in the nominating process,  to be eligible for nomination to ESRAG's Board of Directors and to vote. Members can refer to the announcement from the Nominations Committee sent by email on April 20/21, 2020. 

Renewable Energy Task Force

Charlie Garlow of Rehoboth Beach Sunrise Rotary in Delaware (USA) converted his classic gas guzzler into a solar-powered Porsche. "I urge all ESRAG members to set a good example by buying or leasing an electric car, and adding solar panels to charge the EV and house," he writes. "That way, your carbon footprint doesn't have to be offset for your local trips."

ESRAG has launched the Renewable Energy Task Force (RETF) to foster and provide technical support to Rotarians in hopes of a significant expansion of the kinds of renewable energy projects that will be eligible for Rotary Global Grants.  Can you help?  ESRAG is asking Rotarians with expertise in renewable energy to contact the RETF Chair, DGND Nathan Thomas  if you are interested in serving.

Got 15 minutes? Add your ideas

to ESRAG's Green Events Handbook!

ESRAG Project Drawdown Task Force forming

Stopping global warming is possible, with solutions that exist today. In order to do this, we must work together to achieve Drawdown, the point when greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline. Project Drawdown®  is a nonprofit organization that seeks to help the world reach “Drawdown” and begin to solve climate change. Drawdown, the organization has emerged as a leading resource for curated research-based information and insight about climate solutions. 

At the close of her briefing to the Rotary Foundation's Environmental Task Force on the case for creating an Environmental Area of Focus ESRAG’s Communication Director Karen Kendrick-Hands presented a copy to each Task Force member. The mitigation measures evaluated and ranked in Project Drawdown are a wealth of project of project inspiration. In response to the request of many fans of Drawdown, ESRAG is forming a task force to share Project Drawdown and its resources with Rotary Clubs worldwide. 

To join this task force, contact Madeline Allen today, and you’ll be invited to the kick-off meeting.

Showcase your impact with Ocean Conservancy CleanSwell mobile app

Photo of a coastal cleanup: Ocean Conservancy

The April 2020 Rotarian highlighted the Plastic Trap - both the problems arising from our use of plastic and the solutions.  Beach and community plastics clean-ups are popular Rotary projects. The Ocean Conservancy encourages Rotarians to add the impact of your project to the worldwide International Coastal Cleanup by using the Clean Swell mobile app, which you can download for free. ESRAG began publicizing the International Coastal Cleanup in late summer, 2018.  Since then, Rotary and Rotaract Clubs from seven countries have uploaded the impact of 33 cleanups with the Ocean Conservatory. In just 18 months, 1,200 Rotary volunteers have collected 13,658 pounds of trash, including foam and plastic carry-out containers, straws, cutlery, and bottle caps, food wrappers, and cigarette butts.  Click here for virtual posters in English and Spanish that explain how to log your project and earn kudos on social media.

Tell us about your project!

Congratulations to the Costa Rican entrepreneurs of RETUS and ESRAG member Karen McDaniels, whose Global Grant-funded eco-tourism project is the cover story of the May 2020 Issue of the Rotarian Magazine!  We're eager to showcase your projects in the ESRAG newsletter. Email our reporter, Ariel Miller with news of what you are doing.  We're delighted to run your own writing or to schedule an interview if you prefer.

The Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group operates in accordance with Rotary International policy, 

but is not an agency of, or controlled by, Rotary International.