I often write to you in this shared weekly space about sustainability, about long passed down family recipes, and about personal moments that make me feel more connected to nature and to my community around me. This last week of June, the Alaskan landscape, flashing its resplendent spectrum of colors lit in full fanfare by the summer solstice, serves as a perfect reminder that the most enriching part of these experiences is diversity.
Without diversity, there is no sustainability. It’s the multitude of fish in the rivers that keeps the ecosystems of Alaska abundant and biologically diverse. It’s the darkness of winter that reveals the joys and energy of the light in summer. It’s the different types of people from all backgrounds that make the Wild Alaskan Company team and membership a thriving community.
To embrace diversity is to understand that what’s different about us makes us stronger, ecologically, biologically, and as a society. A diverse society is one that is more robust, and ultimately more sustainable.
The full spectrum of diversity and pride is hard to capture in a singular email, but I do want to take this one to state that Pride Month and every month, Wild Alaskan Company stands with all LGBTQIA+ teammates and the greater LGBTQIA+ community, in Alaska and beyond.
At a fundamental level, we believe that, just as environmental sustainability benefits the whole planet and the humans that call it home, human rights, equality, and racial justice benefit all humanity and allows us, as a species, to be better stewards to our home. When we protect what is different and unique about the planet and each other we foster a more resilient, and ultimately more sustainable existence for all.
And while I’m letting nature express the celebration of diversity that we cherish in the Wild Alaskan Company community and beyond, I can’t help but reflect, that as I share story after story with you, there is one thing that connects them. Whether it’s a perfect buttery bite of halibut, a moment of silence with nature, or a roaring round of laughter around the table with family and friends, deep down it’s all about love. Wild, diverse love in all of its forms and expressions.
Happy Pride and Live Wild,
Monica
Pictured above: A rainbow, revealing its colors among the fish, flowers, and the frigid waters of Alaska.