I don’t really know how to start this post. I literally rewrote ten different entries. I guess I’ll start off by saying that I don’t like hydraulic fracking.

Whew. How’s that for getting to the point?

I was in graduate school when I first got involved with the anti-fracking movement. I took a class on “documenting the wilderness” and fell in love with the Shawnee National Forest. Our class went canoeing the Cache River, hiked through woods and swamp lands, chanted around a campfire with the Shawnee native americans, and went camping for a few nights at Bell Smith Springs. It was during this summer that I had learned about fracking and all the potential threats it would bring to our area. So I did some research and went to a SAFE (Southern Illinoisans Against Fracking Our Environment) meeting and after talking with people for a few hours, I volunteered my time to contribute graphic design to educational materials. Here’s a short list of the things I was able to accomplish while volunteering with SAFE:

– New brochures (their old ones were designed with neon yellow and red letters…)

– New Logo

– Video work (taped town hall meetings, investigations of current oil rig complaints, IDNR comment meetings, and more)

– Took photos for the website/facebook page

– Made multiple flyers for speaking events

– “Frack Free Fest” logo, design and t-shirt design

– Website updates and graphics

– New Banner

Also, when I attended graduate school I started to gear my focus on the anti-fracking movement within my projects. I studied “New Media” and was able to learn a range of media skills such as HTML & CS5, documentary film making, dabbled in animation and ceramics. As I grew more involved with the fracking movement, every project I had in graduate school was centered around my efforts within the movement. I made a documentary  and a web comic on the anti-fracking movement, among other things.

But probably one of my proudest moments was when I spoke at the IDNR hearings about the errors of the regulations on fracking.

This whole process has made me realize that things are worth fighting for.  Our health, the environment, education, racial discrimination, the ability to have your own gender and identity, love between two men or women, clean water, the right to healthy foods, a fair wage… the list gets long, but life is short… we must all do our part.