Rindge’s Pat Martin honored with statewide United Church of Christ Environmental Justice award

Pat Martin of Rindge received the New Hampshire Conference of the United Church of Christ’s Environmental Justice award Friday morning. Martin was presented the award by Rev. Robert Grabill of Church Of Christ – Dartmouth College at the weekly climate protest in Jaffrey.

The award is presented to individuals or groups in New Hampshire “whose actions have demonstrated environmental justice and stewardship for the planet and its inhabitants.”

“[Climate change] is a moral issue,” Grabill said Friday morning, standing with a group at the intersection of Routes 202 and 124. “That’s why churches get involved.”

Grabill explained that the award represents, in part, a bridging of the gap between the climate movement’s younger members and “vintage” protesters like Martin, a connection Martin acknowledged.

“I’m out here because of Maddy Springfield,” Martin said of the Jaffrey native and graduate student who started the weekly strikes in the center of town.

Martin is a tireless supporter of the climate movement and is a member of numerous groups such as the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, the Monadnock Sustainability Hub and the Keene Clean Energy Team.

“Pat Martin has worked for decades on a variety of climate issues with many different groups, town committees, and individuals,” Grabill wrote in Martin’s nomination letter. “She excels at connecting people to others and at working together to combat climate change ... Everyone I reached out to said they couldn’t imagine a better recipient of this award than Pat Martin.”