WHY I GIVE.

Eric Grunebaum

Cambridge, MA / Member since 2017

I grew up in Cambridge, with a father who instilled in us a deep love of the outdoors. He was an avid rock climber in the 1940s and 50s, and together we spent time boating, fishing, and clamming in the estuaries and marshes of Orleans, Massachusetts.

Because of this, I took the accessibility and preservation of natural areas for granted as a kid. I was surrounded by the parks at Fresh Pond and the Charles River, and the mountains and shore were only a few hours away. Threats at the time seemed distant--bald eagles heading for extinction, oil spills off Santa Barbara, and the Cuyahoga River fire. It all seemed like it couldn't happen here.

It was in the early days of the Boston Harbor clean-up that I first understood CLF's critical work and became aware of the need to use the law to preserve, restore, sustain, and improve natural areas and ecosystems.

I am proud to have collaborated with CLF staff in 2012 to present a film I produced about West Virginia coal-country at colleges, schools, and foundations to support their work shutting down coal plants. More...