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Life on a Sustainable Planet

Smithsonian Voices

Fred Tutman is the Patuxent Riverkeeper, the longest-serving Waterkeeper in the Chesapeake Bay region, and the only African-American Waterkeeper in the nation

Discerning Blades of Grass in Grassroots Movements: A Riverkeeper's Perspective on Environmental Equity and Diversity

Fred Tutman has dedicated decades to grassroots efforts to keep the Chesapeake Bay region's vast waterways clean. He is the longest-serving Waterkeeper in the Chesapeake Bay region and the founding Patuxent Riverkeeper. There are over 300 Waterkeepers on six continents with nearly half located in the United States – and Tutman is the only African-American Waterkeeper in the country! He's shared his experiences in this field with Smithsonian's Earth Optimism both at our 2020 Digital Summit and during a Folklife Festival collaborated event. Here we talked to him once again about how grassroots causes can empower communities and promote diversity in environmental movements.

Cat Kutz | October 30, 2020

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