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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING WOMEN IN THE FIELD OF CONSERVATION DURING WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
WHEREAS, National Women’s History Month is a month-long celebration from March 1st through March 31st meant to honor and highlight the contributions of women throughout United States’ past, present, and future; and
WHEREAS, women have made invaluable contributions to the fields of conservation, environmental justice, and science, propelling sustainability forward by leading their communities in advocacy for clean air, water, and land, protecting the natural habitats of animals, plants, and biodiverse ecosystems, and maintaining their historical status as stewards and environmental educators; and
WHEREAS, the Forest Preserves of Cook County has honored and celebrated Women’s History Month through informational nature walks and newsletters which detail prominent women in conservation throughout history; and
WHEREAS, activist Hazel M Johnson, often referred to as the “Mother of Environmental Justice” from Altgeld Gardens on the far South Side of Chicago, founded People for Community Recovery in the 1970’s to educate residents on how to fight against harmful toxic waste, and advocated for cleaner air and water for low-income communities of color on a global scale; and
WHEREAS, activist Marian Byrnes, after learning the natural prairie located behind her home in Jeffrey Manor, Chicago, was set to become a bus garage, led her community to save the land, and later advocated for the conservation of Lake Calumet, fighting against environmentally hazardous industrialization along the lakefront; and
WHEREAS, activist Kimberly Waserman, director of Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, successfully led local residents in the closure of two power plants in Little Village, Chicago, in 2012, which caused disproportionately high rates of respiratory illnesses, and continues to advocate for the creation of green spaces in urban areas; and
WHEREAS, the Forest Preserves of Cook County counts on the support of various women restorationists, maintenance workers, educators and policy experts who work and volunteer for the Preserves. These women continue to champion the protection of natural resources and native species, and maintain the land for generations to come in a uniquely placed metropolitan area; and
WHEREAS, the Forest Preserves of Cook County acknowledges that we are on the lands of the Council of Three Fires-the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi-as well as the Miami, Peoria, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sauk and Meskwaki peoples, and the women of these communities have been and continue to be pillars of sustainability and stewardship; and
WHEREAS, there are countless other women in Cook County and beyond who have championed the fight towards a more sustainable environment for the health, safety, and enrichment of their families, communities, and natural lands all around us.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Toni Preckwinkle, President of the Cook County Board, and the Board of Commissioners of the Forest Preserves of Cook County, honor National Women’s History Month by celebrating the women of Cook County who have been leaders of environmental change, conservation, and sustainability.end