To our global community of supporters and partners,

EarthEcho International’s staff, Board of Directors, and youth leaders are horrified and outraged by the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. Black lives matter. As an environmental education organization, EarthEcho has always strived to create a healthy planet for all. But we also know we must continually do more to ensure a just and equitable society and fight against the pervasive racism and injustices that continue to plague our country.

We will do so by redoubling our ongoing efforts to support youth, families, and educators in underserved communities through our environmental programs, recognizing that in America, and around the world, communities of color are disproportionately impacted by environmental injustices. To further that goal, we are establishing a position at EarthEcho that will ensure our programs and resources are relevant, accessible, and have a positive impact for Black communities and other communities of color. To that end, in the coming weeks, our staff will look to our partners, to organizations on the front lines of social justice work, and to our youth leaders to better understand how we can enhance the programs and initiatives we administer to focus on the critical connection between social justice and environmental issues. We stand in solidarity with the people and communities that continue to face injustice and the movements that support them.

As the founder of EarthEchoInternational, I recognize that our core organization is not yet as diverse as we aspire it to be. We have always focused on building a diverse, global youth leadership network, but we must do more. We must be more vocal, more intentional, and more aggressive in how we combat the systemic racism in our society, because in order to have environmental sustainability we must have human sustainability and we cannot have human sustainability without justice.We are listening with humility and an open heart, recognizing that until there is justice for all, there is justice for none.

Philippe Cousteau, Founder,EarthEcho International

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