Open letter to the my fellow FERN board members Open letter to fellow FERN committee members on the subject of Forrest Rescue FERN has been home to me for almost two years now. I spend 5 or 6 days a week there. I wanted to give those of you who do not get to spend your days at FERN an idea of how things roll there on a day to day basis, particularly in relation to interaction between Forrest Rescue and myself and FERN in general. Last Wednesday Tom and Rosanne who started City Farm and who came to the committee meeting Thursday came with their grandchildren as they often do. The kids get a vote when they collect them on Wednesdays and they usually vote for FERN. They played in the garden with Kayden who is Toms (from Forest Rescue) son. Tom and Rosanne met David Best, the gardener, Tom would like to be involved with the garden at FERN, he is a mainstay in Men of the Trees. Aran was also around, Aran has been doing a lot of work in the garden. Aran is also involved with Forest Rescue having been part of the Chester Blockade prior to a stint in the army. On Thursday Tom from Forrest Rescue fixed a bad leak in the retic in the orchard, which he and others discovered when they were scouting out for the new chicken pen. He finished just as we were sitting down for lunch so we offered him some, as a thank you he went and got his guitar and played and sang for us. This is the FERN that I know and love. This is why I feel they are family and why I get upset when I have to listen to a list of half truths, incorrect assumptions and misconceptions leveled at them. When I see them addressed with aggression and a lack of respect. I treat no one with a lack of respect and in return I receive respect from all. I believe that it is too easy to make assumptions, I believe we are all on the same side, I believe that the only way forward is with everybody currently at FERN, I see this not as an option but as the only way forward. I see it as highly achievable. Forrest Rescue are well known in the wider environmental world from as far afield as Broome, where they were involved in the successful campaign to protect James Price Point. The southwest where they have been involved in or been supportive of campaigns to preserve the forests. They are involved in the current protest against the shark cull where I have seen them in full flight which means 16 hour days, interviews during the day, activism at night. They have a very broad community support base as a result of their activism work. Activism is not a dirty word. Activists are people who feel so passionately about a cause that they cannot do anything other than follow that passion. This comes at a huge personal sacrifice and it often means they cannot hold down employment or households. I am very grateful that there are those out there who will put so much on the line at a time when our environment requires protecting more than ever. It would be difficult to find people who give more to community than these people. In addition many people who find themselves marginalized by society for one reason or another find acceptance and a kind of family and a life with meaning within Forrest Rescue and that alone to me makes this group special. FERN is the fourth community I have been involved in. What I love about community is the opportunity for personal growth and how it really gives me opportunity to look at my own stuff and grow. Its a steep learning curve and I have not found anything quite like it. So you see why I consider there is no them and us, no boundaries or divisions. We are all on the same side. Just people really. Welcome to the new paradigm!
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 13:02:15 +0000
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