History of SNDEI
Sierra Nevada Deep Ecology Institute Heritage Statement
Written May 2007
In the summer of 1999, a grassroots, environmental outreach education organization called the Sierra Nevada Deep Ecology Institute, was founded that was to profoundly influence the communities of Nevada City/Grass Valley and beyond. The vision behind the Deep Ecology Institute was to provide the general public with inspiration and information regarding the local bio-region and global environmental issues facing the 21st century. Through workshops, field trips, classes and guest speakers we would educate people of all ages.
The founder of the Sierra Nevada Deep Ecology Institute was Marge Kaiser. Kaiser received her Masters degree in Wilderness Psychology at Sonoma State in 1989. Following her move to Nevada City, Kaiser began to lead vision quests and workshops in the area. During a vision quest she was leading in summer of 99, Ms. Kaiser experienced an epiphany, a vision of an institute of education that focused on the environment and was available to people of all ages. It was her belief that the environment was headed for a global crisis and that, at that time, such information was confined to scientists and universities. She felt that all humans had a right to understand their relationship to nature and to experience a renewed reverence for life and wildness, in addition to having solutions to address specific issues.
Kaiser’s concern was validated at a Bioneer’s conference in October of 1999, at which Bill McKibben, author of “The End of Nature” announced that global warming had reached such a crisis stage that it was too late to turn it around. By December of 1999, Kaiser had gathered a group of nine people to form the beginnings of what is today, the Sierra Nevada Deep Ecology Institute (SNDEI). Some of the early founders that were part of that group included George Sessions, co-founder of Deep Ecology with Norwegian philosopher Arnae Ness, Julie Carville, author of “Lingering in Tahoe’s Wild Gardens,” Brian Terhorst, Executive Director of KVMR and a fellow graduate of Sonoma State’s wilderness program, Geri Stout, science teacher at Sierra College and other committed members of the community.
The goal was to inspire a deep environmental ethic based on the practice and philosophy of deep ecology and to promote a better understanding of what deep ecology is. The first year we began our “Speaker Series” held at the Madelyn Helling Library in Nevada City. The first speaker was Sherm Swanson from University of Nevada, Reno, who spoke on Watersheds of the Sierras.
A group of angry citizens from Lake Wildwood came to hear the talk. They expressed concern about impact of upstream erosion filling in the lake and environmentalists interfering with the annual dredging of the lake. Dr. Swanson explained that “every lake or pond is in the process of becoming a meadow” and supported their position that if they wanted to keep it a lake, they would have to dredge it. He also suggested that they check out what was causing the upstream erosion. That was a new understanding of the problem for the group.
The next speaker in the series was George Sessions, one of the founders of Deep Ecology, who gave a history of the Deep Ecology movement, from philosopher, Spinoza to Norwegian philosopher Arnae Naess, to American deep ecologists, Thoreau, John Muir, Rachael Carson, Aldo Leopold, Gary Snyder, himself and others. Other speakers that same season included Laird Blackwell, wildflower biologist, and Jim Kuhn of the Northwest Earth Institute.
The speaker series continued for the next two years, along with several field trips, and an annual trek to Grouse Ridge for Native American prayer and ceremony. In September of 2002, the Sierra Nevada Deep Ecology Institute received its 501c3 non-profit status, thanks to the hard work of Ted Toal, who spent 3 months working on the paperwork. A membership program was also established at that time.
The first grant of $1500 came from the Strong Foundation. Several small grants started coming in from 49’r Rotary, Briarpatch, California First Five, and individual donors.
Venues became larger, recognized global leaders in the environmental movement began to visit the Nevada City/Grass Valley area and SNDEI began to be known. Some of the most notable speakers were: Eco-Feminist, Carolyn Merchant, Jerry Mander, chair of the International Forum on Globalization, Bill McKibben, author of “The End of Nature and Deep Economy”, Percy Schmeizer (in a lawsuit with Monsanto over GMO seeds ruining his conventional canola farm), Dan Dagget, author of “Beyond Rangeland Conflict” and Kenny Ausubel, Founder of the Bioneers. The speaker series grew to include an annual presentation of the “Bioneers Conference” on film which has become an annual Ecology Conference featuring speakers on film, breakaway discussion groups, vendors, exhibits and an art auction.
A major breakthrough came to this community when Dan Dagget agreed to be our guest speaker in Spring of 2005, talking on the benefits of using animal impact to restore grasslands and old mine sites, ideas that at the time, were new and revolutionary. For our environmental constituency, the idea that cattle could do anything good was abhorant. For the ranching community, being in the same room with environmentalists was edgy. One member of the environmental community refused to come saying, “Why would I want to hear some cowboy talk about cows?” However, by the end of the talk, a new dialogue had begun. People shook hands across their ideological fence and a new focus on locally grown food began to emerge.
To quote one young member of the ranching community, “About 2 years ago I went to a conference put on by SNDEI with Dan Dagget. My wife and I were serving on the local cattlemen’s board and they had sent us as representatives of the organization. The folks at SNDEI were so nice. …At the time, I had no idea that there were environmentally minded individuals out there trying to build bridges with the ranching community. Hearing Dan Dagget speak changed my life. I had no idea that cows could be used as such a powerful management tool. I later read both of Dan’s books and immediately changed my major at Chico State from Animal Science to Land Stewardship. I have since become much more involved in the interaction between ranchers and environmentalists. This is a very exciting time to be a part of. An age old war is slowly being put to rest and it’s great to see such collaboration taking place. It often starts with someone making the first move, and ultimately SNDEI did that with me and for that I am very grateful.”
In addition to our successful speaker series, several notables agreed to be on our Advisory Board: Bill Duvall, co-author of Deep Ecology: Living as if Nature Mattered,” Jerry Mander of IFG and author of “In the Absence of the Sacred”, Dan Dagget, Kenny Ausubel, Ralph Metzner, author of “Green Psychology”, Native American Elder, Red Wahpehpah, Robert Greenway, Professor Emeritus, Sonoma State University, local historian and naturalist, John Olmsted and several others. These people were immensely helpful in supporting our mission of outreach education to the general public, sharing the same passion for respect for nature and solutions to environmental issues.
From the beginning SNDEI has been committed to collaboration. In the By-laws, we mention collaboration with Native Americans, environmental organizations, government agencies and other non profits. SNDEI has collaborated with many organizations: Yuba Watershed Institute, Tsi Aikum Maidu, Nevada County Land Trust, APPLE, Earth Justice Ministries, NCTV, KVMR, Nevada County School District, Local Food Coalition, UC Davis, Chico State University, Sac State University and Sierra College, to name a few.
As part of the collaboration with the School District, SNDEI designed and implemented an outreach environmental education program, as part of the science curriculum, for at-risk youth at both Silver Springs High School and Sierra Foothill High School. This program focused on the local watershed and included field trips, ropes course, guest speakers, and student mentors from UC Davis and Chico State University. Number of students served was approximately 45 and student mentors, 7.
In another inspiring vignette, a young at-risk girl, fighting a drug abuse problem, was doing the high ropes as part of our field trip program. After successfully jumping off an 80 foot platform to catch a mid-air rope, she shouted “If I can do this, I can do anything.” It took a few tries and determination but four years later, she is currently drug free and has a steady job.
As the speaker series became focused on globally recognized speakers, the number of speaking events was cut back to one or two a year. In Fall of 2003, Cathy Colville, founder of Eco-Kids, asked SNDEI to take over the event. Eco-Kids is an ecology fair for kids held annually at the Imaginarium in Nevada City. We added many activities, booths, 4-H, and several animal exhibits. In addition, we have focused on First Five families. This event has grown over the last several years to serving over 300 people of all ages.
In Spring of 2005, it was determined that we were doing too much with too little. The Board made the decision, in collaboration with the Small Business Development Institute, to cut back temporarily on all, but the essential programs and to focus on building a stronger Board and a stronger financial base. In Fall of 2006 we were aided by the help of a newly formed steering committee. They brainstormed with us about what was essential and what the long term vision/mission was to be. In addition, the Board decided to hire a professional non-profit consultant, retired from the Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Foundation, Pamela Comstock, to assist us in writing a strategic plan and strengthening the organization. Several members of the Board attended the Center for Non-Profit Leadership training. An organization assessment was done determining that SNDEI was in stage 2/3 of development based on a score of 5. The weaknesses that were recognized were the need for more qualified Board members and an organization Development Director. A three year projected budget was determined that would include the cost of this new position. Case statements were written to assist in this process. Over the course of the next few years, SNDEI will continue to distill those elements that have made it successful: visionary leadership, quality programming, responsible governance and respect for nature, while ensuring that these attributes continue to guide the organization.
What began as a conceptual idea in the mind of the founder, Marge Kaiser, has informed and helped to shape environmental policy in Nevada County and beyond. It is the dedicated purpose of the Board of Directors and SNDEI to continue its efforts of outreach environmental education and respect for nature to people of all ages. With the help of members, donors, the Advisory and Executive Boards, and the Nevada County citizens, SNDEI will grow to fulfill its greater mission of environmental education to the global community.
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