Raise a Glass of Ginger Beer for Climate Action

Update: The workshop raised $638.80 for climate action! Thank you very much to everyone who donated and attended!

Is the climate crisis driving you to drink? Learn to make fabulous ginger beer on Thursday, August 18th, 4pm PT/7pm ET and raise money for climate action. (But seriously, if your climate anxiety has led you to self-medicate, please seek help from a climate-aware psychologist.) One attendee will win a signed copy of my cookbook in a random drawing.

I’ve been pretty anxious reading the headlines this month—the heatwaves, the fires, the droughts. Taking action by organizing this fundraiser has helped alleviate that anxiety. And organizations taking on the fossil fuel industry need financial support. Big Oil has raked in $3 billion a day in profits for the past 50 years. Pesky details like failing life support systems can’t compete with obscene profits and the suicidal belief that money will protect the ruling class from the laws of physics.

Make the best ginger beer you’ve ever tasted

Let’s say you don’t think you care about climate change. (You probably do though because it no doubt threatens something in this world that you love, such as gardening, snow, or food, for example.) I bet you like ginger beer. And you can’t beat homemade. Add extra ginger for that pleasant burns-your-throat-as-it-goes-down taste. You’ll save money on store-bought sodas, eliminate plastic bottles and plastic-lined cans and be just that much more self-reliant.

To make fantastic ginger beer, you’ll need only water, sugar and organic ginger. In this workshop, together we’ll make a ginger bug, a type of starter for natural sodas, and the most crucial part of the ginger beer process. After we make our ginger bugs and I explain how to care for them, I’ll show you how to make the ginger beer. If you already have a mature ginger bug, make ginger beer during the workshop.

How to secure a spot in the workshop

1. Donate any amount of money to any of the following organizations (or to another similar group):

• 350.org
• Citizens’ Climate Lobby
• Climate Reality Project
• Extinction Rebellion
• Greenpeace
• Indigenous Environmental Network
• Indigenous Climate Action
• NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program
• Natural Resources Defense Council
• Protect Our Winters (POW Europe)
• Sierra Club & Beyond Coal Campaign
• Sunrise Movement

2. Next, email proof of payment to zwc.fundraiser@gmail.com and you will receive the top-secret Zoom link for the workshop. A screenshot of your donation receipt works. Black out any personal information but please leave the donation amount legible so I can calculate how much we raise together!

Ginger Beer Workshop Materials

Equipment

• sharp chef’s knife
• cutting board
• measuring cup and spoons
• 1 clean jar, minimum 2-cup capacity
• clean metal spoon for stirring

Ingredients

• 3 inch of fresh, organic ginger,
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• water

Notes on class materials

• Non-organic ginger may not ferment. Imported non-organic ginger may have been irradiated. This kills the beneficial bacteria and yeasts that ferment your ginger bug. Ginger cannot be labeled organic if it has undergone irradiation.
• You won’t use all of your ginger in class. Every day, you will feed your ginger bug some ginger from that initial 3-inch piece. You’ll need more ginger later when you make the ginger beer.
• The sugar feeds the bacteria and yeast. Use granulated white sugar, evaporated cane sugar, sucanat or coconut sugar. Stevia will not work. Honey might work. Granulated sugar does work.
• Filter your tap water if you prefer. If your water contains high levels of chlorine, the day before class, fill a container with water and cover it securely with a cloth to prevent impurities from falling in. Some of the chlorine will evaporate.

If you have a ginger bug already and would like to make ginger beer alongside me, you’ll need the following additional materials:

• medium-size pot
• large bowl or pitcher
• sieve or strainer that fits over the bowl
• four, 16-ounce flip-top bottles
• funnel
• 8 inches or fresh, organic ginger
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 cups water

Anne-Marie’s Book Club

In the meantime, if you have been experiencing climate anxiety, I have a book recommendation for you. Turn the Tide on Climate Anxiety, written by Climate Psychologists Megan Kennedy-Woodard and Dr Patrick Kennedy-Williams, explains that anxiety is a rational response to the climate crisis and tells us that we must take care of ourselves in order to create the capacity for taking care of the planet. The authors provide tools and exercises throughout the book to help us turn climate anxiety into climate action.

I found nuggets in the book like the following very helpful as well:

When we think in terms of ‘nobody is doing enough,’ we forget about all the millions of people who care and are taking action. There are positive initiatives taking place, and we can choose to be a part of the remedy, rather than being consumed by the problem.

Learn about some of my previous workshops here.