The Morris Graves Museum of Art in Eureka, CA Presents TAKING ROOT

Maggie Wright, panelist; Humboldt State University student and catering assistant; Hermine Amoussou, event organizer, panelist and caterer extraordinaire; and an audience member, originally from Kenya, whose mother attended school with Wangari Maathai.

Attendees of last night's screening in Eureka, CA, enjoy a delicious African dinner prepared by Hermine Amoussou.

Last night, a large crowd packed the Morris Graves Museum of Art in Eureka, CA, for the Community Cinema screening of TAKING ROOT: The Vision of Wangari Maathai, co-presented by KEET-TV, the Humboldt Arts Council and Humboldt State University Library.

The evening began with a delicious African dinner prepared by one of the panelists and organizers, Hermine Amoussou, with the dedicated and well-organized assistance of her Humboldt State African studies students.

While attendees dined and viewed gallery exhibits––including an exhibit of photos taken by children in an orphanage in Benin––tables were set up with information about conservation efforts and ways to get involved provided by Roots and Shoots, an organization that strives to create a better world, and Six Rivers National Forest, which encompasses 957,590 National Forest acres in Northwestern California.

Well-fed, the crowd was eager to see TAKING ROOT and seemed to be thoroughly engaged by the film. The screening was followed by a discussion facilitated by Dr. Noah Zerbe, assistant professor of politics at Humboldt State University; Hermine Amoussou, lecturer of anthropology at Humboldt State University and College of the Redwoods (originally from Benin); Melanie Williams, lecturer of politics at Humboldt State University; Nancy Gibson, deputy forest supervisor at Six Rivers National Forest; and Maggie Wright, real estate broker (originally from Kenya).

The crowd was eager to ask questions. Below is a sample of the dialogue from the lively Q&A:

How is the current situation in East Africa?
In Kenya, the infrastructure has gone bad––roads are bad and the security is questionable. Historically, during the presidency of Jomo Kenyatta, he gave away lands to his cronies, so the situation for the people who don’t own land is particularly bad and there is a lot of corruption.

What does earth-based politics look like? What if we spent our energy seeking a different political spectrum? The image I’m thinking about is the soldiers holding guns in one hand and a plant in the other from the movie.
In order to continue our existence, we have to do our part in small ways: teaching our children to recycle, and to respect our nature. Small things can lead to big change. We should also spread the message by word of mouth, too. We need to have an important dialogue about what we care about. Lately, I’ve been very encouraged by reading recent letters to the editors about sustainability and preserving our ecology here on the North coast (i.e. Richardson Grove Highway 101 expansion, etc). We need to take more time for dialogue!

In the movie, Wangari Maathai says “good things come from the mountains” and that rang true with me. Back in 1900, 60% of U.S. was rural. In 2000, 80% of people live in metropolitan areas. Our children are spending too much time with media (TV/Internet etc), and they are spending far less time interacting with nature. How can we help our children connect with our natural world?
Local Forest Service Office started a program called “Kids in the Woods” sponsoring dozens of partnership projects all over the country to get kids outdoors, up close and personal with nature. Our local Eureka Zoo’s Roots and Shoots group has been working toward its parent group, the Jane Goodall Institute’s goal of planting trees in the U.S. Our choices need to reflect the future generations.
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During last night’s discussion, many people commented about the film’s impact on them. One person remarked, “I was struck deeply by Wangari Maathai’s courage. She challenged part of her own culture while maintaining her culture.” While another attendee was struck by the message of conservation and the importance of education “Nature is orderly. You can learn a lot from science and nature and we need to teach our kids, too.”

TAKING ROOT: The Vision of Wangari Maathai premieres April 14 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings)

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Tags: environmental, Eureka, Wangari Maathai