I first learned about Patrick Moore from Theresa Peterson (who is featured on the first season of the Just Sustainability Podcast). Theresa suggested that I should record an episode with Patrick because of his extensive community organizing related to protecting the waters of Minnesota and his allyship in support of the Indigenous nations in the Upper Midwest.

Theresa, as she often is, was right: meeting and chatting with Patrick was a wonderful experience. Patrick has had a long career related to advocacy and organizing — he’s been a core figure in a broad range of organizations such as Clean Up the River Environment (CURE), the Land Stewardship Project, and the Minnesota Watershed Alliance. He also is the founder of Java River — a coffee shop in Montevideo, MN that Patrick created with the explicit purpose of offering a space where folks from across the political spectrum could come together in conversation to identify common values and build community. Moreover, Patrick also previously served as the communications director for Pioneer PBS.

Given that he has such an extensive and diverse range of experience and expertise, I was super excited to ask him about how he approaches community organizing and the strategies that he uses to effectively communicate with rural audiences. I was not disappointed. I learned a ton from Patrick about how he frames equity and community in terms of hospitality and the lessons he’s picked-up from decades of political advocacy in rural Minnesota.

Links:

1. http://www.cureriver.org/voices/2013/05/11/patrick-moore/
   
   
2. https://www.cureriver.org/
   
   
3. https://javarivercoffeeshop.square.site/
   
   
4. https://landstewardshipproject.org/