Held virtually, our 17th annual celebration was different this year. This did not stop our community from having a great time and many attendees shared that Nature’s Inspiration was the best online event they have ever attended.
Music was key to the event’s magic. With musical performances from Grammy award-winning Raul Pacheco and Ozomatli, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Neil Young, rising star Calina Lawrence of the Suquamish Nation, and Freddy Clarke, the diverse mixture of rock, soul, hip hop, and flamenco guitar kept the lively energy going throughout the evening.
It was a privilege to honor Valentin Lopez for his leadership as the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Chairman. Solidarity was the anthem of the event and this was emphasized by the program which included a land acknowledgement from Chairwoman Charlene Nijmeh and opening prayer by Vice Chairwoman Monica Arellano, both of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area.
We celebrated the importance of protecting sacred lands, specifically Juristac in Santa Clara County. It was humbling to hear from Chairman Lopez,
“All Mutsun are inspired to take care of Mother Earth so we can honor our ancestors and fulfill our sacred obligation to Mother Earth and to Creator. We are extremely thankful to Green Foothills and together we form a strong team for the protection of both cultural and natural resources.”
Most importantly, we are incredibly thankful for the support we received from the Green Foothills community. Nature’s Inspiration is an extremely important fundraiser for our organization and supports 25% of our operating budget. The event exceeded our fundraising goals, raising over $300,000 in gross proceeds. From sponsorships, ticket purchases, and auction bids, the Green Foothills community stepped up to help us achieve our goal and to show that our work protecting local nature is extremely valuable to our region.
As part of our continuing journey to be good allies with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, together we raised over $22,000 for their non-profit organization the Amah Mutsun Land Trust (AMLT). AMLT promotes traditional cultural and spiritual indigenous stewardship of Amah Mutsun tribal territory through research, conservation, restoration, and education. AMLT plans to invest the funds from Nature’s Inspiration in programs dedicated to Amah Mutsun youth which include a youth stewardship summer camp, a Native Stewardship Corps summer internship program, and a year-round Native Stewardship Corps. These programs allow AMLT to restore the path of learning and interaction with nature that the Amah Mutsun have followed for millennia as well as intentionally develop the next generation of Amah Mutsun land stewards through youth engagement in indigenous stewardship and ecosystem restoration projects. The Youth Walk to Juristac event is just one Protect
Juristac campaign activity the funds helped support.
We couldn’t be happier with the support and success of Nature’s Inspiration 2020 that was made possible by our generous community. Now how do we top that next year? We started by inviting the Green Foothills community to submit nominations for our next Nature’s Inspiration honoree. Our Nature’s Inspiration Award Task Force will review all nominations and make the final selection. Our honoree will be announced in the early spring and we’re looking forward to another great event this fall.
Our heartfelt and sincere thanks to all the wonderful people whose generous sponsorships made the event possible!
