Melody Branstrom, Pat Rourke, and a “bigger boat.”
Dee Berisha
Inspired by a WOOO (Women On Our Own) Day Trip to the “Washed Ashore” exhibit at Tucson Botanical Gardens in May, Pat Rourke and Melody Branstrom began a mission of impact. “Washed Ashore” was an exhibit with the purpose of saving our seas. The exhibits displayed at the Gardens were replicas of various ocean life, such as jellyfish, whales, porpoises, and penguins, all made completely out of plastic—plastic, that is, destroying our oceans. Plastic in these exhibits had been harvested off of the beaches of Oregon, having been “washed ashore” from the Pacific Ocean. Four such displays, all using discarded plastic from Oregon shores, currently tour the United States. It was this experience that inspired these women into action.
Making it known to only a few acquaintances and neighbors, Pat began accepting cleaned pieces of hard-to-recycle plastics, broken-down cardboard, aluminum cans, metals, and glass into her garage. A neighbor began bringing discarded plastic beverage bottles from the SaddleBrooke One golf course to Pat’s garage. It wasn’t long before Pat realized that she would “need a bigger boat”!
Melody Branstrom answered the call of a “bigger boat” by offering the use of her pickup truck. So, on an early July morning, Pat and Melody crammed the truck bed and Pat’s SUV with bags of varied plastics, cardboard, and glass to begin the maiden journey of delivering their collected, cleaned, and hard-to-recycle “garbage” to Tucson’s Ward 6, who welcomed this effort from SaddleBrooke. Ward 6 has spearheaded this effort in support of ByFusion of Tucson, an infant company that will manufacture bricks made from the hard-to-recycle plastics. These bricks will have a life expectancy of up to 1,000 years!
One would think that such an undertaking would be daunting, and you would be right to think that. But even though we live in a paradise known as SaddleBrooke, it does not mean that we should ignore the ever-growing problems plaguing our environment. Making a difference in our community and in our world was what called Pat and Melody, and those few neighbors and friends, to collect and, thus, support their efforts. And even though we may think our throw-aways are too small to make a difference, when you put it all together, we realize that we “need a bigger boat.”
Pat and Melody were (pleasantly) overwhelmed by SaddleBrookers who wanted to be a part of these efforts. Looking forward, they would like to plan an informal get-together to share information and ideas in this effort to take better care of our planet.
If you are a single woman in SaddleBrooke who is not in a committed relationship, you may be interested in learning more about Women On Our Own or in joining WOOO. Our dues are $10 per year. Please contact our president Brenda McBride at [email protected] or 267-968-3894 for a membership form.