On the sandy shores of the Indiana National Dunes, a dozen environmental organizations gathered on Saturday to celebrate — and protect — their planet.
Kimmie Gordon, founder of Brown Faces Green Spaces, an environmental equity organization, said the event started six years ago with just a few vendors and attendees. Today, Planet Palooza, as it is called, draws over 80 participants and a dozen vendors, helping to build community, raise awareness, and bring more diversity into Northwest Indiana’s environmental space.
Gordon said this year’s theme, “Boots on the Ground,” symbolized the need for persistent action in environmental conservation despite the federal dissolution of related issues like diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, rollbacks of environmental justice protections, layoffs of national park staff, and funding challenges caused by federal cuts, prompting a call for continued support.
Gary’s industrial legacy in steel production and air pollution has driven local environmental activism and conservation efforts for years, with ongoing pollutant projects in the region underlining the need for more protection of its wetlands, parks, and natural resources.
As Indiana experiences rollbacks in environmental justice protections, Black cities like Gary, one of the most air-polluted cities in the country and overburdened with hazardous waste and pollutants, are particularly vulnerable to its harmful effects. But miles down the road from the steel and smoke of Gary Works, on the sunny shores of Indiana Dunes National Park, environmental events like Planet Palooza bring awareness and calls to action for more protections in Steel City.
“The boots on the ground theme is inspired by the reclamation of diversity in the environmental space,” Gordon said.
“There’s no way in the world that DEI cannot exist, because it’s all around us. And you can see that here,” she said, pointing to the diversity of attendees, many of whom were Black, white, or Latino. “That’s what I wanted to show, is that you can’t take it away, so don’t even imagine it. DEI: Don’t Even Imagine — a world without it.”
She said it feels good to host the event in Gary on the shores of the Indiana National Dunes, one of the gems of Northwest Indiana’s environmental offerings, and Lake Michigan to see how the community comes together for a common cause. This year’s vendors and tables included Save Briar East Woods from Hammond; Just Transition Northwest Indiana, based in East Chicago; and Gary Advocates for Responsible Development, alongside Northern Lake County Environmental Partnership, The Field Museum in Chicago, and Save the Dunes.
East Chicago native Devon Norfleet, 23, said he attended Saturday’s event out of his “genuine love” for nature and participated in the morning’s beach shore cleanup. After the group picked up about 10 pounds of trash, he said the need for more events like Planet Palooza was more apparent than ever.
Devon Norfleet, 23, said the need for more events like Planet Palooza was more apparent than ever. (Jenae Barnes/Capital B)
“I’ve been to a few events here and there, but they’re not as widespread as they probably should be, especially considering the pollution in our specific area,” he said, adding that operators such as East Chicago’s BP oil refinery spurred his conservation efforts. “It definitely needs to be a bigger program. But I am glad that we are having this.”
Standing at a table filled of fox, coyote, and otter fur, Kip Walton, the outreach program coordinator at the Indiana Dunes National Park, said that he attended Planet Palooza as a vendor as well to help bring awareness to the richness of diversity of the region’s local and national parks.
After 33 years in the National Park Service, Walton, who grew up playing in the outdoors, said it’s critical for people to remember to “enjoy the diversity” of nature and their communities.
“I think that’s really, really important for people to understand, especially nowadays, when they’re starting to try to get rid of DEI and environmental justice. I think it’s time for us to get together in outdoor spaces like this and just enjoy each other and enjoy the outdoors.”
Looking out over the sun-glossed lake, dancing to the background of classic cookout tunes, Gordon said she is uncertain of what lies ahead. Federal funding for environmental projects and sustainability, already limited, continues to be slashed, she said, and the impacts of rolling back environmental protections that plague her hometown are daunting. Still, she said she is determined to stay present, mobilize her community, and forge on for a cleaner future.
“I think now more than ever in 2025, it’s important that the community comes together, along with the organizations, on one accord and continues to mobilize, just as we have been doing in the past,” she said. “Because these issues don’t go away. They may no longer be acknowledged at the federal level for right now, but they will never go away. DEI will never go away. Environmental justice and environmental racism will never go away. And so that’s why we’re here, continuing to continue.”
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