Phil and Lora Clarke, community sustainability advocates
We're community sustainability advocates, and we're Climate Stewards.
Photo by Ingrid Bostrom
“People think, ‘We’re retired, so we don’t do anything anymore,’ and that’s not true. There’s a lot of contributions that our age group can make. ”
About Phil and Lora
Phil and Lora Clarke reject the idea that environmental advocacy sits solely on the shoulders of younger generations.
Phil, a recent graduate of the Community Environmental Council’s Climate Stewards course, is applying his newfound knowledge to make the Valle Verde retirement community, where the Clarkes live, more sustainable. “I took the course to learn how to make this campus greener,” he explains.
The Clarkes’ journey began in the 1970s at Cal State Los Angeles, where their love for each other blossomed alongside a mutual love for nature. In their youth, they joined the anti-nuclear protests at Diablo Canyon Power Plant and became active with the Sierra Club. Over the years, they helped lead the West Los Angeles Sierra Club chapter while building their careers, Phil in health care and Lora in higher education.
Since retiring in 2008 and moving to Santa Barbara, the couple has carried the activism that first sprouted on their college campus into their lives on the Valle Verde campus.
