Jane Fonda and Gail Osherenko to Receive Environmental Hero Awards at EDC’s Green & Blue Event
April 24, 2018
Santa Barbara – On Sunday, June 3rd, the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) will honor film and television legend, Jane Fonda and local documentary filmmaker, Gail Osherenko, as part of the organization’s annual event: Green & Blue: A Coastal Celebration. Both Ms. Fonda and Ms. Osherenko will be presented with EDC’s Environmental Hero Award which has previously been bestowed on Jack Johnson, Jackson Brown, Yvon Chouinard, and Jean Michel Cousteau, among others.
Jane Fonda is a two-time Academy Award-winning actress, author, activist, and fitness guru. Her career has spanned over 50 years, accumulating a body of film work that includes over 45 films and crucial work on behalf of political causes, women’s rights, Native Americans, and the environment. In recent years Jane has worked to defend our land during a trip to Standing Rock in November 2016 where she helped lead the protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline project and in January 2017 as she stood alongside Greenpeace and First Nation Leaders opposing the expansion of the Alberta Tar Sands. In January 2018, Fonda premiered Jane Fonda in Five Acts, a documentary chronicling her life and her activism, at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. She will next be seen on the big screen in Paramount’s upcoming comedy, Book Club. Most recently, Jane celebrated her 80th birthday by raising $1 million for each of her nonprofits, Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power & Potential and The Women’s Media Center.
Gail Osherenko, who currently serves on EDC’s Board of Directors, will be honored for her documentary film BROKE: The Santa Barbara Oil Pipeline Spill of 2015. BROKE premiered at this year’s Santa Barbara International Film Festival and has since received awards from the IndieFEST Film Awards and the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival. The film follows the impacts and clean-up efforts associated with the devastating Refugio Oil Spill when the Plains All American Pipeline spilled more than 140,000 gallons of heavy crude oil onto the Gaviota Coast and into the Santa Barbara Channel. The film highlights the risks associated with oil development and transportation locally and across the nation. As the Trump Administration pushes to increase offshore oil drilling across the nation, BROKE has been invaluable in reminding community members of the significant risks associated with the fossil fuel industry.
EDC’s Green & Blue is the largest environmental fundraising event along California’s south-central coast. Each year, more than 500 people come together to celebrate environmental victories and to raise funds to support EDC’s work protecting and enhancing the local environment through education, advocacy, and legal action. In addition to the Environmental Hero Awards, Green & Blue features great food, local wine and beer, and both a live and silent auction. The event will take place at Rancho La Patera and Stow House in Goleta on Sunday, June 3rd from 2:00-5:30PM. Sponsorships and tickets are available by visiting www.EnvironmentalDefenseCenter.org/gb or by calling 805-963-1622.
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Environmental Defense Center, a non-profit law firm, protects and enhances the local environment through education, advocacy, and legal action and works primarily within Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties. Since 1977, EDC has empowered community-based organizations to advance environmental protection. Program areas include climate and energy, and protecting clean water, the Santa Barbara Channel, and open space and wildlife. Learn more about EDC at www.EnvironmentalDefenseCenter.org
