Events

July 1, 2010 is the official David Brower Day, honoring firebrand environmentalist and community activist of the same name. David Brower is considered by many to be the father of the modern environmental movement. With a vision and influence equaled in the last century only by Rachel Carson and Jacques Cousteau, David Brower created a legacy of activism which focused on the interconnectedness of the world around us. Brower had an unmatched talent for articulating what we were doing to our planet, and the urgent need for remedial action. Brower’s message and vision made the environmental movement part of our day-to-day lives and led thousands of activists across many generations to put the Earth first 

David Brower holds a long list of accomplishments throughout his life as an activist. Among many of his accomplishments, Brower served as the first executive director of the Sierra Club from 1952-1969 and is largely credited with increasing the organization’s membership. By the end of his tenure, the Sierra Club had become the nation’s leading environmental membership organization. Brower later founded Friends of the Earth (www.foe.org), a worldwide environmental network now active throughout the world, co-founded the League of Conservation Voters, the nation’s leading environmental political action group, and founded Earth Island Institute in 1982. Brower was also instrumental to the success of many environmental campaigns, including the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964, which protects millions of acres of public lands in pristine condition. Brower died in his Berkeley home in late 2000. Eighty-eight years of courageous activism made Brower one of the most successful environmental advocates of our time. As a way of celebrating the accomplishments of the local boy turned environmental activist, the City of Berkeley in 2000 sanctioned July 1st as the official “David Brower Day”.  

In honor of David Brower’s legacy, the David Brower Center will collaborate with youth from the South Berkeley YMCA and Berkeley City Council Members in Berkeley on July 1st for a non-public event.