Ecology Center Interviews

Building a Movement

Wendy Wilson - June 20, 2019 interview

• 5:00-6:28 - Wendy talks about what it was like working on the trucks for RAA in the early days and how much community support they received.

• 8:23-9:47 - Wendy discusses the block coordinator program and how they helped RAA by teaching their neighbors when the recycling pick-up days were, how to do source separation, and more

• 15:25-17:40 - Wendy talks about how she helped to expand the Ecology Center's environmental library on a small budget.

Mike Garfield - July 22, 2019 interview

• 2:40 - 3:00 Mike comments on how working for the Ecology Center was the best decision of his life because of the amazing things he was able to do. 

David Allan  - November 6, 2017 interview

• 2:14-3:00 - David discusses how he got involved with ENACT and the Teach-In.

• 3:46-4:20 - David describes the initial mission of ENACT and how they came up with the name.

• 7:51-10:02 - David discusses how the Teach-In grew beyond their expectations and how that led to meetings with Dow Chemical executives. He explains some of the struggles they faced, such as bridging the gap between supporters like Dow and the radical leftists on campus, as well as trying to gain legitimacy for their movement. 

• 14:10-15:10 - David recalls how there was lots of grassroots participation in the Teach-In that wasn't planned by the organizers and how it related to political stances on industry and captialism. 

• 16:27-17:17 - David discusses how he got big name celebrities to come to the Teach-In and remarks that "if you don't question whether you can do something, you'd be surprised at what you can actually do."

• 18:32-18:52 & 23:25-24:08 - David remarks that the amount of support  and number of big names they were able to draw to the Teach-In could be attributed to the idea that supporting those taking a stand on environmental issues was "safer" than supporting those protesting issues such as Feminism, Civil Rights, or Vietnam

• 21:26-22:27 - David talks about attendance at the Teach-In and some of the people who came to speak at the event.

Barbara Reid Alexander  - March 11, 2020 interview

• 4:05-4:50 - Barbara discusses the role of women in the environmental movement and how it was a good place to be because people were given roles based on what they could do, not on gender. 

• 5:02-5:50 - Barbara talks about how support for the environmental movement exploded after the first Earth Day and how no one could've expected the level of enthusiam for the Teach-In or for Earth Day. 

• 5:55-7:29 - Barbara describes all the diverse groups across the nation who came together to help support the Clean Air/ Clean Water Acts and how the  popularity of Earth Day forced politicians to listen to them. 

• 9:10-9:56 - Barbara talks about how important and helpful union groups were to the organization of Earth Day. 

George Coling - March 12, 2020 interview

• 12:30-13:27 - George discusses the workshops he organized for the Teach-In and how he was able to raise awareness about inner city environmental issues.

• 18:42-20:23 - George talks about how he and Liz Grant set up the Ecology Center, its initial location, and its first director. 

Arthur Hanson - March 20, 2020 interview

• 1:29-2:11 - Athur talks about founding ENACT and the reasoning behind the name.

• 4:40-7:23 - Arthur recalls the early days of planning the Teach-In and how attending an environmental meeting gave him the motivation and empowerment to get it going. He says that to be able to do something great like the Teach-In you need an enabling mechanism (it was the meeting for him), the ability to trust yourself, and then to just do it.

• 8:15-8:59 - Arthur discusses the initial mission of ENACT and how they had a strong focus on transformative change.

• 9:00-9:30 & 30:06-30:57 - Arthur talks about ENACT's strategy 'mainstreaming' which was an effort to raise enough awareness about environmental issues that they become mainstream. Later in the interview he explains how climate change was successfully made mainstream.

• 15:57-17:16 - Arthur describes the founding of the Ecology Center and how from the beginning, ENACT saw what they were doing in both the short term (Teach-In) and the long term (EC). 

• 20:21-21:34 - Arthur discusses the issue of how public interest in environmental issues crests and wanes. He questions if there is way to keep interest more continuous, especially now that issues are urgent.

• 47:00-49:00 - Arthur talks about two things he learned from the Teach In. One, that you have to take action now, not later, and "build the boat while sailing it." Second, that you can make big change and run an organization well with only a small group of people.

• 51:40-53:10 - Arthur notes that the thing is most proud of is helping to form the Ecology Center because of the importance of reaching out to the community and bridging the gap between environment and development. 

Elizabeth Grant Kingwill - March 12, 2020 interview

• 1:58-2:57 - Elizabeth discusses how she got involved in ENACT and how it was difficult for some due to the time commitment.

• 3:09-3:43 & 17:40-18:49 - Elizabeth discusses the role of women in ENACT and what it was like being one of two women working on the Teach-In.

• 7:23-9:32 - Elizabeth explains that the biggest struggle she faced while planning the Teach-In was gaining the attention of those on campus and in the greater Ann Arbor community. She talks about how important Doug Fulton, a writer for the Ann Arbor News, was for spreading the word about the Teach-In.

• 10:00-11:26 - When asked what was the lasting impact of the Teach-In, Elizabeth talked about how it raised awareness throughout the community and across generations

• 12:12-12:35 - Looking back on the Teach-In, Elizabeth recalls how it was awe-inspiring to see how much support and help was given freely by those at the university and within the greater community. 

• 15:03-17:36 - Elizabeth describes the difficulty she faced keeping up involvement and enthusiam for ENACT after the Teach-In was over. She talks about the founding of the Ecology Center and how its goal was to educate and be a contuing legacy of the Teach-In. 

John Russell - February 27, 2020 interview

• 5:22 - 7:00  - Discusses participation of high school students in ENACT as a pathway to community involvement; highlights button sales as a way for students to raise money for ENACT causes; notes that spaces like the Pioneer HS auditorium were free an used as venues for ENACT activities
• 8:18 - 8:48 - Discusses button sales as surprisingly lucrative fundraiser
• 14:50 - 15:43 - Discusses impact of National Geographic article on education and visits from Japanese teachers who were interested in environmental education
• 15:58 - 17:18 - Discusses establishing the Ecology Center and its original location on Detroit Street as a community hub
• 19:45 - 21:31 - Discusses understanding of ENACT's legacies and four goals of creating the ecology center, some environmental legislation, sensitized Ann Arbor community, and schools.

Doug Scott - March 12, 2020 interview

• 15:03-16:20 - Doug discusses how the initial idea for the Teach-In was formed, the first mass meeting that was held, and how he and Dave Allen became cochairs.

• 19:12- 19:56 - Doug describes what kind of events took place during the Teach-In, how it spanned the entire university, and gives an example of an event put on at the law school.

• 28:47-29:25 - Doug recounts the massive numbers that participated in the first Earth Day and how grassroots and community organizing was key to its success.

• 31:04-31:33 - Doug explains what the slogan "Give Earth a Chance" means to him

Dan Ezekiel - June 26 2019 interview

• 2:57-5:55 - Dan talks about what sparked the idea for Recycle Ann Arbor, how it was formed, and what the first curbside pick-up day was like.

Bryan Weinert - June 19, 2019 interview

• 6:59-9:30 - Bryan talks about the work environment at Recycle Ann Arbor and the Ecology Center. He looks back at the consensus decision making and pay equality as an ideal working environment.

• 13:09-15:03 - Bryan recalls the huge amount of dedication and hard work that helped Recycle Ann Arbor get going and remarks on how much they have grown over the years.

• 17:49-18:36 - Bryan discusses some of the struggles Recycle Ann Arbor faced and how they were able to push through those challenges with the knowledge that they were a part of something bigger.