(Photo: Vincent Tom)
Lisa has been a dedicated Blue Dot volunteer since 2014.
I grew up in West Vancouver. My mom thought it would be fun to take pictures of me hugging a tree. Little did I know at the time that I would become an actual “tree hugger” in my later years.
My childhood, spent outdoors at the beaches and parks of West Vancouver, contributed largely to my love of nature and my desire to protect it. I have fond memories of scrambling up the steep cliffs at Whyte Islet and then making sure to get back to the mainland before the high tide came in and covered the rocks connecting the island to the shore.
Being in such close connection with nature, I love and appreciate its pristine beauty but also notice the inevitable degradation that occurs as a result of human activity. I get to be outside every day for my work and recreation, but I’m acutely aware of the environment around me. West Vancouver is not the sleepy cottage community it once was. Industry and development are encroaching, and with that comes an inevitable increase in pollution.
In 2015, I joined the Blue Dot movement and, along with other loyal volunteers, worked tirelessly to collect signatures from our community and draw attention to the importance of environmental rights. Our municipal government unanimously passed a declaration recognizing our citizens’ right to a healthy environment in July 2015.
The Blue Dot movement will continue until one of the most basic of human rights — the right to live in a healthy environment — is recognized and protected for generations to come.
In the meantime, I’ll continue to hug trees in my wild West Vancouver.
Blue Dot relies on the efforts of dedicated citizens taking action in their local communities. Humans of Blue Dot is an attempt to capture the unique stories of some inspiring volunteers who have generously given their time to advancing the environmental rights movement in Canada.
