State of the Oceans – What I am Doing About It

Nothing like a little time to reflect and develop a way for me to combine all of my loves: homeschooling, environmental activism, and teaching others how to affect government and shape their communities (see State of the Ocean Report – Time to Act). And I will still have time for my health stuff.

I started the Revolution 2011 club for my homeschooling group, and hopefully we will take it national and make it available to other homeschooling groups. So far 18 kids are interested.

Here is the email that I sent out, which may be useful for some of you who might be interested in doing something similar with kids (regardless of whether or not they are homeschooled):

Hi all. I am writing with two new homeschool offerings, one or both of which may
be interesting to you.

1. I want to teach kids how to become involved with and influence our government
and their communities to make changes they think are important. I am planning
this Fall to lead a group of kids (14 years+) to work on a city or county issue
that requires the city or county commission to take action. We would start from
identifying the issue, researching it, preparing our arguments in support and
preparing to defend against opponents, and ultimately lobbying the local
government to take action. This knowledge is such a fundamental part of our
country’s history and it is being lost much to our detriment.

2. I want to start a group or two (or three) groups of homeschoolers to take
action regarding the 2011 Oceans report. I blogged about it here, and it will
help you understand where I am coming from:
http://movingstronglyforward.typepad.com/moving_strongly_forward/2011/06/state-of-the-ocean-report-time-to-act.html.

I want to have it open to ages 7 and up, but may divide it into two or three
groups, depending on the age of our participants. If it breaks into multiple
groups I will need some help facilitating them all.

Who am I and why do I want to do this? I was an award-winning environmental
planner and lobbyist in Florida. My focus was manatee and ecosystem protection,
a contentious effort that taught me the realities of our political process and
the impact we can have on it. I spent 20 years working in government, for an
environmental non-profit and as a private consultant. I have helped bring
lawsuits against government and defend government from frivolous lawsuits. I
have drafted legislation and lobbied at the local and state levels, and this
year I had two health care related legislative victories in North Carolina.

If you are interested in participating in one or both of these groups, please
drop me an email and let me know the ages of your interested children.

Thank you!

Laura Combs