Dear Supporters of Environmental Justice in Central California:

As you take well-deserved time off to gather with your loved ones to celebrate the holidays, the Central California Environmental Justice Network (CCEJN) thank you for being a strong ally in promoting environmental justice.

For generations, communities of color have been burdened by poverty and unhealthy environments, but thanks to you and other committed individuals, CCEJN continues bringing together diverse communities and groups through the two resident reporting networks: Fresno Environmental Reporting Network (FERN) in Fresno and Kern Environmental Reporting Network (KEEN) in Kern. These networks allowed us to learn from each other, work together and to break down silos.

FERN AND KEEN are vivid testimony of this. Bringing together regulatory agencies, community groups, and residents, have resulted in concrete improvements in people’s lives. ‘The Arvin Pipeline Leak’ forced the evacuation of over fifty people. After the leak, affected families and concerned community members were trained by CCEJN staff to sample the air they were breathing and facilitated community meetings with regulatory agencies (including representatives from the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources and Cal-EPA) and advocated for stringent regulations. This collaborative effort went from a community based report in the KEEN platform to a state-wide policy bill (AB1071 Salas) that ensures DOGGR has the capacity to protect individuals and communities living near oil and gas pipelines.

To continue our networking conversations, we’re hosting our bi-annual conference “Roots of Resistance” in 2017. Together, we’ll share our expertise and explore sustainable solutions for a safer environment. We must raise $ 5,000 to make this conference possible, can you help us reach our goal? Any amount will put us closer to this goal. To donate, please go to: https://www.gofundme.com/ccejn2017conference

Sincerely,
Rosenda Mataka
Unity Council Chair