Dread seeped in with the dawn, threading itself through the fabric of my bedding. Though I hadn’t seen the election news, I sensed it wasn’t good. I allowed myself a few more minutes of hope before verifying what my body knew to be true.

 

Before my feet hit the floor, I checked my phone. A new administration was taking over, and it held no regard for the natural environment we all depend upon. This administration had been in charge before, and had waged a shocking war on environmental rules enacted for the global good. All told, over 100 environmental reversals, revocations, and rollbacks took place in its first four years. What would it do in the next four? 

 

I whirled in a storm of fear, anger, and anxiety as I got ready for school. Instead of our usual day, my husband Eddie and I, both high school teachers, were driving students 180 miles to the Iowa State Capitol for a Youth Symposium, where they could debate and collaborate on solutions to global problems.

 

While my husband drove and students dozed in the back of the van, I fought off a panic attack with two hours of deep breathing and focused meditation.

 

How would we survive the barrage of bad news for the next four years? Stay away from social media, avoid news apps and newsstands, and dodge political conversations? Were all those things even possible in this modern world?

 

More importantly, how would the natural world survive? Our air, soil, and water? Our ecosystems? 

 

What was I going to do?

 

My reaction. That was the one thing in my control.

 

Think global, act local. The old mantra reminded me of an idea that had landed in my head six months prior. I must have dreamed it, for the idea was almost fully-formed when I woke up that spring day: Iowa Natives. I knew what it was. What it did. How it helped. 

 

Iowa Natives would be a nonprofit publication sharing the good news about our wild places, our flora and fauna, our environmental stewards, and actions every Iowan can take for a healthier home. 

 

Though the idea came to me months before, I’d developed pages of brainstormed notes, and talked extensively about it with my husband, I’d taken no concrete action yet.

 

We arrived at the Iowa State Capitol and sat through the symposium’s opening remarks. After our students were safely in their respective sessions, I retreated to the State Law Library. Its five-story structure, complete with spiral staircases, a skylight, and tile floors, offered plenty of private spaces. 

 

I had a plan, but first, I needed to let something go. Surrounded by over 100,000 books on the history of our state, our country, and our legal system, I found a table in a quiet alcove of the library, and I cried.

 

When I’d shed my last tear, I got to work.

 

“Action Absorbs Anxiety.” It’s a mantra I’ve learned from author and non-traditional meditation guru Dan Harris. When you feel anxious, do something. As our students prepared to share solutions for topics such as developing sustainable smart cities, I prepared articles of incorporation, the official creation and registration documents, for Iowa Natives. 

 

Sometime later, my husband joined me in the alcove. We stared at one another for a moment, allowing unspoken questions like How will we get through this? drift across the table.

 

“I don’t even remember the drive here,” he said. Though he was just as traumatized by the election results as I was, Eddie and I processed it differently. I had dived into the deep end of despair, and he had numbed himself. We knew one another’s processing instincts, and we also knew we had to find a way to heal that trauma together.

 

“Iowa Natives,” I told him. “It’s time.” He nodded his head. “What do you need me to do?” 

 

Anxiety needs a channel. Iowa Natives is ours. I invite you to join us in fighting the good fight from your land, your yard, your apartment balcony, your wallet, and your vote.

 

Global Vision. Local Mission.