Beth coordinated for a group of Sierra Club employees to paddle up the river together in kayaks. Her goal was to educate everyone on the importance of clean water by exploring the river and promoting the water program which she is in charge of at Sierra.

Beth also has a deeper reason for wanting to protect the river and the land around it. She is a member of the Nottoway Tribe of Virginia. The Sierra Club, like many environmental groups in the country, are invested in indigenous rights and the importance of this land to the indigenous community.

The team dropped into the water at Cary's Bridge Boat Ramp in Southampton County, Virginia. From there, they paddled upstream for about an hour, settled on a beach where they had fellowships and snacks.

Afterwards, Beth talked to the group about the area and its importance to both the environment and the indigenous community.

The footage captured on this paddle will become part of a large anthem video that we are producing for Sierra Club. The video will help promote the organization's efforts in educating people about the environment and the importance of making sure that everyone has clean water.

This project is also the result of our ongoing relationship with Beth. Over the past year, we have been working with her on a personal documentary (tentatively titled Seeds) to tell the story of indigenous people in the Southeast that are taking a stand for the environment and fighting back against industrial overreach and extraction.

This type of nonprofit video work is aligned with the values that Myriad lives by on a daily basis. Our goal is to have 1% of our revenue invested in pro-bono work (and cash donations to organizations like Sierra) and this partial pro-bono project is exactly the type of work we love doing.

We understand the importance of indigenous perspective as it relates to environmental action. Sierra Club's approach takes this perspective into account with their work with folks like Beth and we want to help make that work make a difference.