A Visit with Georgia Author Janisse Ray

 

This weekend I had the opportunity to visit an author talk given by Janisse Ray and hosted by Eagle Eye Books in Decatur. If you’ve never heard of Janisse Ray, I highly recommend reading any one of her eight books, most notably her newest release, Wild Spectacle: Seeking Wonders in a World beyond Humans. You’ve probably heard of Ecology of a Cracker Childhood, which made the New York Times Bestsellers list and Drifting into Darien.

 A little about Janisse: she is not only a writer but a naturalist and an activist as well. She is the author of seven nonfiction books and a collection of eco-poetry. Ray grew up in South Georgia and writes about her experiences growing up in the region. She works with various environmental organizations to help educate the public about the conservation and protection of nature, from trees to fish to butterflies. Ray has won an American Book Award, Pushcart Prize, Southern Bookseller Awards, Southern Environmental Law Center Writing Awards, Nautilus Award, and Eisenberg Award, among others; and has been inducted into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame.

During her talk at Eagle Eye Books, Ray discussed the importance of preserving nature and how she is working with Trees Atlanta to plant 800 trees in the metro-Atlanta area so the city can maintain its “City in a Forest” title. She compared humans' attachment to the Earth to a child attaching to its parents; if a child is loved and around their parents from birth, they have a natural attachment to their parents. “The same is for humans and nature,” said Janisse. “Those who grew up in urban environments do not have that natural attachment to the Earth.” However, that can be fixed. Janisse urges everyone, no matter where you grew up, to become more environmentally conscious and to do more to help protect the Earth. One easy and fun way to do this is by participating in our Citizen Science program this month. Or you can reach out to local nonprofits, such as Keep Forsyth Beautiful or Trees Atlanta, and volunteer. Below is a list of other local organizations that you can volunteer with. Now is the time to get active and to help save our home.

Rivers Alive: Rivers Alive is Georgia's annual volunteer waterway cleanup event that targets all waterways in the state, including streams, rivers, lakes, beaches, and wetlands. The mission of Rivers Alive is to create awareness of and involvement in the preservation of Georgia's water resources. Rivers Alive is held annually each fall and is a program of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division Outreach Program.

Georgia Conservancy: Their mission is to protect Georgia through ecological and economic solutions for stewardship, conservation, and sustainable use of the land and its resources.

Chattahoochee River Keepers: Their mission is to educate, advocate and secure the protection and stewardship of the Chattahoochee River, including its lakes, tributaries, and watershed, in order to restore and conserve their ecological health for the people and wildlife that depend on the river system and in recognition of the important ecosystem functions provided throughout the region and planet.

Georgia ForestWatch: Georgia ForestWatch sees a future where people can enjoy forests that have reached their full majesty, where intact natural processes support healthy ecosystems and thriving biodiversity, and clean streams supply water to millions of Georgians. Their mission is to enhance the health of Georgia’s 867,000 acres of National Forest by protecting our forests and streams, advocating for natural processes, and identifying opportunities to improve Forest management.

Jessica Doss

Information Specialist - MLIS

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