Fighting for Mother Nature

NEA Today, Feb 2001

People

A retired teacher takes up the fight to preserve Wisconsin's natural resources from becoming Just another shelf of bottled waters.

After 48 years of teaching, Joan retired-nd son-Schmidt retired--and immediately jumped into a battle to preserve the pristine water of Big Springs near her Wisconsin Dells family farm.

Christopherson-Schmidt, who turned 70 last July 4 while a delegate to the NEA Representative Assembly in Chicago, spent her first official day of retirement testifying before the Wisconsin State Senate.

The issue: Whether Perrier/Nestle should be allowed to mine Wisconsin's spring waters for a new brand of bottled water.

Christopherson-Schmidt inherited 160 acres of marshland from her father. He made her promise never to let anyone drain or commercialize it, saying, "that land is for the animals, plant life, and water of the state of Wisconsin. We don't really own the land, we're only renters and must leave it as good or better than we found it for our children and grandchildren."

"Ms. Chris," as her Milwaukee students liked to call her, taught art, English, drama, and debate from the preschool level all the way through college.

"As educators." ChristophersonSchmidt says, "we must help children learn to appreciate and respect their environment and its natural beauty. That way they won't destroy it. They'll help protect it for the future."

Perrier recently received a permit from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to tap Big Springs water at a rate of 500 galIons per minute without getting an environmental impact study.

Christopherson-Schmidt is part of a group called Concerned Citizens of Newport, a leading force for preserving the land. CCN is suing DNR for failing in its public trust to protect Wisconsin's waters.

"The fight is worth it to me,' she explains. "Wetlands are important to the environment, and if we lose this fight, we lose the environment."