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West Marin Youth Celebrate the Geography of Hope
We were up in Point Reyes Station today, checking out the annual Western Weekend festivities. Happy crowds, donning Cowboy hats and boots, filled in around long picnic tables full of BBQ chicken, corn bread and greens. Dogs milled about. Horses were tethered to posts, following the end of the parade.
Seeking respite from the sun, I stepped into Toby's Feed Barn, to see what latest art installation might be hanging on the walls. Venturing into the back gallery, I was transfixed. The space was completely transformed. Students from the West Marin School, in a tribute to Wallace Stegner's Geography of Hope, had filled the rooms with giant murals of land, sky and waterscapes. Their art objects - myriad wild creatures, a cave, one giant cloud dripping rain, birds in nests, and an enormous butterfly, all surrounded Stegner's famous wilderness letter.
Giant on the wall, was Stegner's plea for us to conserve our natural surrounds, and return to a Geography of Hope. I just stood there, thinking about gas prices, our dismal administration, the ridiculous fact that we have to fight for the very things that seem so essential in this world - conservation for instance. Tears welled up in my eyes, and for a moment I did feel hopeful, there among all the children's objects honoring the earth and its creatures.
Not every child, or adult for that matter, has access to the beauty of West Marin. For those of us who do, let us not forget any opportunity we have, to share our appreciation of this area and its resources. What are you doing next weekend? Could you invite someone from the city, who's never seen West Marin, to visit this marvelous installation? Pack a picnic lunch of local foods and get yourselves to the fields or waterfront.