The region of Western New York is no stranger to extractive practices. For hundreds of years, the land and watersheds where we call home have been subjected to overdevelopment, polluting industries, and decision-making that fails to account for the harmful effects on ecosystems, as well as community health and agency. Many of us are working on trying to stop or slow these practices. Sometimes we succeed, but often our actions feel inconsequential in the face of this Industrial Growth Society. What if we could redesign our systems to prioritize the environment and public health alongside economic growth?

The Great Lakes and State Waters Bill of Rights is a proposal in our NYS Assembly that aims to recognize the legal rights of all watersheds and ecosystems in NYS to "exist, persist, flourish, naturally evolve, regenerate, and be restored", as well as the rights of members of all of our state communities to clean and healthy water, air, and soil. This bill originates from the Rights of Nature movement, an international movement that has seen countries such as Ecuador, New Zealand, Panama, Bolivia, and local municipalities worldwide adopt laws granting rights to land, water, air, and non-human beings. A small group of us in WNY is mobilizing to advocate for this bill and speak about it to our networks and communities. We believe that recognizing the legal rights of nature is a holistic and long-term strategy to address the lack of concern for environmental protection and community health in decision-making.

We want to invite anyone interested in learning more about the bill and how to get involved to our open meeting at Burning Books on Thursday July 24 at 7p (register here). We will provide a brief presentation on the bill and the Rights of Nature movement, followed by a Q&A session featuring a representative from Assemblymember Burke's office, who proposed the bill, and a member of CELDF, the organization that helped draft the bill. Our goal for this meeting is to familiarize people with the concept and make them comfortable discussing it with their network. We also intend to plan for the next steps in this campaign in WNY, including hosting public meetings, a film screening, and smaller discussion groups.

If you are unable to attend but are interested in getting involved and learning more, please visit the Great Lakes Bill of Rights page on the WNYEA website here: https://www.wnyea.org/great-lakes-bill-of-rights.html.