April 22 is celebrated as Earth Day across our planet. This year it landed on a Saturday, and Gabriola responded with a cornucopia of earth-themed activities. GES contributed an information-packed and visually energizing update of current local sustainability initiatives, as curated by Gabriola’s own Maureen Wild. 18 of us gathered at the Gabriola Arts and Heritage Centre to listen to Maureen weave together many puzzle pieces representing numerous local endeavours that are contributing to the vitality and viability of our sustainable future.
Her presentation featured empowering images and descriptions of local initiatives, interwoven with the urgent call to planetary action as framed by the words of Naomi Klein. Her presentation concluded with earth-focussed devotional poetry excerpts drawn from The Angel’s Apprentice, a new book by local author Lawrence Myles; Lawrence generously donated five copies with proceeds dedicated to the ongoing efforts of GES to encourage and nurture spiritual questing on Gabriola. Our sincere thanks to both Maureen and Lawrence for this enlightening afternoon. We look forward to another GES update by Maureen in the coming year that will feature the insights of Thomas Berry on the healing of our sacred Mother Earth.