An Interview with Philip Mathieu
Once we begin to understand the problems in the world around us, we have an obligation to work on fixing them. Philip Mathieu, a member of MEEA’s Changemaker network and the Education and Stewardship Coordinator at Cape Elizabeth Land Trust, exemplifies this sentiment. Philip is a volunteer for the Sierra Club Maine’s legislative team, where he has testified on environmental bills, pushing for stronger climate action at the state level. Additionally, Philip was on the planning team for MEEA’s Climate Education Summit where he led discussions on how to create a climate resilient workforce in Maine. He also has a passion for creating music and podcasts, which he has used to communicate environmental concepts and make environmental education accessible to everyone.
Philip joined the Changemakers network when he heard about the Gathering from a friend. He quickly connected with the community despite not knowing any of the attendees beforehand. “I think of it as one of my first real entry points to the world of environmental education, and I’m thankful that it was because it’s a pretty unique organization. It’s helped me gain a lot of insights into both what the world of environmental education is and also confidence in how I fit into that world.”
Though Philip has been deeply involved in environmental education, he found a unique space for reflection at Changemakers. In the fast-paced schedule of seasonal work Philip is involved in, it is often difficult to take “time to be intentional.” Philip discussed how some of the ideas and conversations at Changemakers have found their way into other areas of environmental education, especially in diversity, equity, and inclusion. “Changemakers is putting out roots beyond the world of environmental education where it originated from, and I’m really interested to see where that goes”
Philip said that Changemakers has been central to his own personal equity journey, allowing him to start conversations around equity at other organizations he works in. Conversations and exchanging ideas within the Changemakers network has brought up questions like who stewards land, and for what purpose. Our identity plays a role in how we view land management, and learning to see from another perspective is valuable and necessary.
A lot of the ideas about how we think about communities we serve, how we approach topics, how we present a lesson, what assumptions we make and don’t make, all those ideas are extremely applicable to environmental education, but also pretty applicable to a lot of things we do in the land trust world... I’ve been really pushing in my organization for us to try to at least have a more open perspective when we imagine the idea of stewarding land and what we could do there.
Even if the decisions made about land don’t change, he emphasized the value of the process and taking time for reflection.
Before Philip found his way to the conservation world, he was interested in technology, engineering, and science. He got a degree in physics, and can see himself integrating the skills he has in environmental education with data science skills. He emphasized the importance of communicating math and science to a wide range of audiences. “There’s a big need in our world for people that both can talk to other people, can teach things and explain things but also use numbers where appropriate, and I would love to be in that intersection.” The Changemakers Network has been a place for reflection and building skills in communication and education, work that Philip has been leading in his own organizations with his unique combination of technical knowledge and passion for preserving the environment.
