In March 2004, at a beautiful northern California retreat center, a dozen each of national nursing leaders and national environmentalist leaders came together for 3 days of learning each others’ language and values and forging new relationship based on their discovery and recognition of shared interests and concerns. The attendees have formed a network of environmentalists and nursing organizations that are committed to continue the momentum established during the meeting in a variety of ways - Imagining what we would do differently in nursing practice - at the bedside, with building design, about health economics, and with our scientific research agenda - if we had a health care system based on a deep understanding of the unity of personal and planetary health.
- Working with major nursing educational organizations such as the American Association of the College of Nurses and the National League of Nursing to raise awareness and develop a strategy for better integration of environmental health concepts into basic, advanced, and continuing education.
- Enhancing nursing’s workplace advocacy and collective bargaining activities by incorporating environmental health into our efforts to improve nursing working conditions.
- Actively engaging within the nursing community and in partnerships with others towards a goal of healthy people and a healthy environment and recognizing that they are inextricable.
Brenda Afzal, RN, MS, at the Environmental Health Education Center of the University of Maryland School of Nursing is the “Secretariat” for the follow-up activities from the national retreat and will be facilitating continued information sharing and communication. She can be contacted at 410-706-1778; or by E-mail: afzal@son.umaryland.edu. Click here for the preceedings packet and list of participants
From the Participants: DORIS CELLARIUS of Prescott, Arizona, a participant in the recent national meeting of nursing and environmental leaders at Bolinas, California, and a member of the Sierra Club, invites EnviRN list serve members to explore the resources offered by the Sierra Club. A SNAPSHOT OF THE SIERRA CLUB Sierra Club's members are 700,000 of your friends and neighbors. Inspired by nature, they work together to protect our communities and the planet. The Club is America's oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. They have over 400 local groups across the country. A SNAP SHOT OF SIERRA CLUB'S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH WORK: - The Clean Water Campaign addresses, among the many problems, over-use of antibiotics.
- The Corporate Accountability Committee's is looking at the issues related to the privatization of drinking water. Go to http://www.sierraclub.org/cac/water/ to learn more about water privatization issues.
- The Genetic Engineering Committee has taken on the issues related to genetically engineered foods.
- The Clean Air Committee has filed dozens of lawsuits to protect public health by insisting on enforcement of federal laws.
- Sierra's toxics work addresses everything from global pollutants to local "Communities at Risk".
SIERRA MAGAZINE - Sierra magazine's (a web based publication) hosts a program called, “Let's Talk”, a book and film club designed to help you get together with friends and neighbors to discuss issues that matter. http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/letstalk/jan_2004/index.asp
- Each issue of Sierra magazine has a "Get Involved" component that makes it easy to send letters to policy makers on the issues that concern you most.
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