What’s my current creative mission?
It’s a mission to contribute goodness, compassion, and resilience keeping in mind the realities of our increasingly challenged world.
Returning to Bellingham in the heat of the pandemic during 2020, I aborted my years-long slow exploration of European off-the-beaten-path places via house/pet-sitting. Living like a locale, not a dang tourist, hiking daily in nearby inspiring wildernesses.
Back in the Pacific Northwest, first thing I did was this:
Pause Everything.
I intentionally began a quiet, contemplative, exploratory period lasting several months. A time for creative expansion, not immediately honing in on something new.
I’m what is often called a multipotentialite. As accurately explained by Wikipedia, “A multipotentialite is a person who has many different interests and creative pursuits in life. Multipotentialites have no “one true calling” the way specialists do. … We have many paths and we pursue all of them, either sequentially or simultaneously (or both).”
Here’s one thing that page doesn’t mention: sometimes multipotentialites need a pause. That’s how we reinvent ourselves creatively from time to time.
I considered returning to some cherished ideas that were unfinished. Such as a middle-grade novel manuscript about grief/loss that I wrote during my travels. And a few others.
Nope. Not yet.
Eventually, I realized the climate and biodiversity crises weighed heavily in my heart and mind. Thank you, Greta Thunberg, for the urgent wake up call!
I looked at ways to contribute my varied skills to that urgent issue with positive, meaningful action — in our corner of the Pacific Northwest. So here’s what I did:
Whatcom Million Trees Project (2021-25)
In Spring 2021, I formed and led Whatcom Million Trees Project, a 501c3 non-profit whose mission is to PLANT and PROTECT one-million trees in Whatcom County — and to CONNECT people in hands-on positive action and increased awareness of the many benefits of trees and healthy forests.
Plant * Protect * Connect — a three-part mission. Why? It’s the most effective and balanced way to engage people to address climate and biodiversity crises and to enhance the health and resilience of our local communities. And, importantly, to build hope in people to stay engaged and work together! Other existing local nonprofits have long addressed riparian areas and land trust acquisitions, but what about public-purposed County lands and urban forests/parks/greenways which don’t receive nearly as much attention or agency funding? That’s WTMP’s niche!
Although there have been or are a few other “million trees” efforts nationally, ours is fairly unique with this three-faceted mission. Learn all about it at the link above.
Fast forward to 2026: To date over 4+ years, WMTP has protected nearly one half-million trees locally as well as planted several thousand. We are very grateful to have been strongly embraced and supported locally.
It was tremendously exciting and fulfilling to take this on with a small team of talented staff and hundreds of volunteers. I handed off the reins of WMTP in early 2026 to Susan Hutton and shifted to the WMTP Board to continue to offer strategic vision and advice. I’m also co-leading a special WMTP project with WWU seniors to design low-cost wildfire sensors as well as supporting WMTP staff whenever requested.
Pickford Film Center — Grand Theater (2022)
In late 2022 I initiated a sizable community challenge matching grant that successfully raised the remaining $400,000 needed to construct a Pickford on Grand theatre project by the wonderful nonprofit Pickford Film Center. The new facility opened in 2025 and its additional screens give the Pickford much more programming flexibility — especially for potent, informative documentaries and school/special film events which are of highest interest to me and super-essential to see in our challenging times.
In 2026 my time and energy has now opened up again, so I am freshly considering What’s Next for my life path. More efforts to do good will come in a way that preserves a BALANCED lifestyle with more time for close friends, family — and adventures! (Whoops! I admittedly sort of blew the balance part during the WMTP years. Time to fix that. 😉 ) Stay tuned!
