“My bees are so friendly, you can pet em,” beams Dave Carter, leader of the Environmental Advocacy Training Workshop I attended a few weeks ago. Having once worked for the Delaware Department of Natural Resources, he doesn’t bee keep for the profit of honey production. It’s more of a “zen thing” for him. This season alone he produced about 14 gallons of honey. Most of it he gave away to friends, family, and poor college students, like us. Since the honey is organic, it offers a natural remedy to allergies. Each bee hive was hand-crafted by Dave, a sort of handi-man for the environment.

Visiting Dave’s house and farm was the perfect ending to a day of training. In the comfort and serenity of the Blackbird Reserve, we learned the tools of advocacy. Dave and Amy Roe were the organizers, but all of us were students. We learned how to distribute the various role of a movement. We need organizers, media producers, artists, scientists, economists, and sheer numbers. Everyone’s skills can come together in a perfect harmony to get the job done. We talked about the importance of forming a 30 second message. We collaborated on issues important to us. The conversations there were beautiful. Everyone was so incredibly dedicated to serving our planet.

Throughout the day, I met with so many inspiring people and learned from each and every one. I even met a blogger, who gave me some advice about using social media to our advantage (something I have been working on with the social media team at UD.) Members of Eqaute talked to us about PNC bank and their funding of mountain top removal. A young woman, who was gased at a recent protest, talked about the Delaware City Refinery and their possible tie to tar sands. It just so happened, that they were simultaneously hosting a community day featuring free ice cream. Suddenly, free ice cream isn’t worth it anymore. The talk of deepening the Delaware River hit close to home after many conversations about dredging the Chesapeake. Then, we dove into the gritty politics behind each of these problems, because ultimately changing policy is how to move forward.

Six hours of this wasn’t enough, so we continued the conversation at Dave’s farm. There he gave us a tour of his gardens, solar panels, composting pile, and bee colonies. Every aspect of his life mirrored what he had taught us. He built the pavilion that the solar panels were resting on. The angle may not have been perfect due to the fact that his knees could no longer handle the steep slope, but the panels still provided more energy than he and his wife used. It must be an amazing feeling to know that you’re not pulling any energy out of our limited reserves.

He had patches of fruit and vegetable gardens scattered throughout his yard. He fashioned a protective housing for his wife’s strawberry plants, as an anniversary present. Everything was organic, of course. He had corn fields, and tractors, typical of other farmers, but his passion for sustainability made the whole thing feel like much more of a lifestyle than any sort of business.

He was willing to show us how to drive a tractor and invited us to come back for a hayride sometime, anything to give people more positive outdoor experiences. When he would talk to local reporters about issues concerning the watershed, he would take them out into the estuary in a canoe. It’s hard to write a negative piece when you’re face to face with the beauty.

I was thankful for his knowledge that he and Amy bestowed on us, but I was equally appreciative for the tour of his house. It was truly inspiring to see someone incorporate their passion into a functioning lifestyle. Finally, the general doom and gloom attitude when it comes to environmental issues didn’t seem quite as harsh. There was proof that a community could operate following the rules of nature.

The research regarding the state of our environment has already been done. We know that we are affecting the earth’s natural balance in a negative way and we know what we have to do to prevent further damage. It is our generation’s job to convince everyone else. It requires a personal connection and relating our own values to whomever we are trying to convince. With one step on to Dave’s farm, he made everything we had talked about personal. I knew instantaneously that he lived every word that he preached.