Dear Curiosity Journal,
It was an honor to gather with fellow land lovers at the Wisconsin Women in Conservation conference on Friday. The collective energy of women who desire to heal the earth is truly a peaceful and powerful force. During the drive to Stevens Point, my heart slumped a surprising measure as I passed field after field of conventional monocropped space. I can’t unsee the erosion, water contamination, soil degradation, and deep impact on our land. This is a landscape I was once emotionally indifferent toward. It just meant farmers doing their job, and it still means that. I don’t want to begrudge anyone’s livelihood. Making a living is difficult for all farmers. I’m a peaceful observer of my own emotional tie to land use beyond our 200 acres. Why am I in tears driving across our Wisconsin landscape? So, to say the storytelling of women healing land uplifted and inspired my spirit would be an understatement. Listening to how these matriarchs are engaging, educating, researching, funding, and implementing conservation sparked joy, solidarity, and harmony in my heart-set, even hope that we can move the needle on conservation in our state.
~Joy