"I want this so dearly. I am stalking my MLA to honour the commitment to end the practice of taking old growth trees. It was a promise and I don't want empty words anymore," said Burgle.
Mothers Day 2021 was the second that mothers have spent in lockdown or socially distanced structures. It's a profound time of change and growth in our communities, provinces and country. It's a time for reflection and gratitude. So, what do mothers really want?
This month, we invited you to take on a Mothers Day Mission to speak about the value of motherhood in your life and that of your family. Mothers are the foundation of many families and the wellspring of each of our lives. As the world continues to shift towards something like normalcy with occasional veering back into chaos, we see the mothers holding their families, their communities and their social structures together. On Mothers Day 2021, here are three actions to take that can acknowledge, uphold and praise the role mothers play in our complicated lives.
1. We told our stories through art. Parents, grandparents, children and youth expressed their love for both their mothers and the Mother Earth in an international campaign designed to celebrate the world and the mothers that love it. #OurOtherMother is a beautiful message of love about the deep value of the nurture and guidance given to us by the resources provided by the soil, water and air and the resilience of our mother figures. All donated art by Patricia Storms and Tyler Proulx has been displayed on social media and tagged with #OurOtherMother to be included in a social media campaign that stretches from Nigeria to New Zealand.
2. We shared our mission with the ones we love. Mothers in our network love chocolate and flowers but what they really desire is a world where their kids can grow old without worrying about whether the water they drink is potable or the air they breathe is polluted. For our network, the most beautiful Mothers Day gift is that of a strong climate. Our video features mothers from our our teams from across the country as well as partner organization Meres au Front. Click here to watch a poignant collection of what mothers really want.
3. We celebrated mothers who are taking on climate change. Mothers are leading the charge in network, team, community or household on climate action across the world. We see you, we know you, and we wanted to tell the world about the work you are doing. Our Mothers Day mission was to let the world know that our work will not be done until parents have saved the world for our kids.
This year, we are proud to celebrate two incredible mothers in our network. Celine Burgle of For Our Kids North Shore was profiled above. The second is Amanda Ladner, who was driven to run for the federal Green Party the Sea to Sky riding of British Columbia in the upcoming election when it became clear that climate change was changing her ability to reassure her children about their future. Amanda is a business owner of several sustainable restaurants in Vancouver which were built on the foundation of environmental values and designed to revolutionize fast food. Amanda remains optimistic about the current climate crisis despite the tragedy of ongoing loss of species and indications of what's to come.
"We have a really hard time thinking beyond our hundred years on the planet. Long term thinking is difficult for humans but I feel really hopeful when I talk to the youth. They understand the ramifications of what is coming and that's why I'm running," said Ladner.
The month of May and motherhood is coming to a close but our work continues for ourselves, for our world and for our kids.
Tyler Proulx created and donated the first amazing piece of artwork on this web page for our campaign.
All other art work provided by Patricia Storms. Patricia Storms is an artist as well as an author and illustrator of over 30 children’s books and humour books, including The Pirate and the Penguin and Never Let You Go. Her most recent authored books are Moon Wishes, illustrated by Milan Pavlovic, and The Dog’s Gardener, illustrated by Nathalie Dion, and published by Groundwood Books. She lives and works in Toronto with her husband Guy and a semi-domestic cat named Hugo. Her work can be found here.
