 We Asked, You Answered.
Before printing the first issue of Outlook Magazine, we asked our members to add their own contributions to David W. Orr's article "Optimism and Hope in a Hotter Time."
“Optimism is the recognition that the odds are in your favor; hope is the faith that things will work out whatever the odds. Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up. Hopeful people are actively engaged in defying or changing the odds. Optimism leans back, puts its feet up, and wears a confident look knowing the deck is stacked. I know of no good reason to be optimistic about the human future, but I know a lot of reasons to be hopeful.” David Orr
We pitched a question to our members by email, and people from all over the country and beyond wrote back. We were unable to publish all the responses in the magazine, but we'd like to share them here.
The Question:
What are you doing out of hope for a better future? When you roll your sleeves up to avert climate change, what are you working on—or toward?
The Responses:
Scotland’s Southern Uplands
The hills of the south of Scotland have been grazed bare by sheep and cattle for over 1,000 years, and native oak and birch woodland remnants are tiny and endangered – less that 0.5 percent of the land area, and those mostly grazed, with no tree regeneration. On Jan. 1, 2000, the Wildwood group of Borders Forest Trust concluded the purchase of a 1,600 acre valley called Carrifran, in the Southern Uplands, with the aim of restoring the woodland in the valley to its Mesolithic peak, before Neolithic farmers brought fire, sheep and cows.
We are now in the eighth growing season at Carrifran and have planted 440,000 tree saplings, all grown from locally-sourced seed. Sheep, cattle and feral goats are fenced out. Woodland and heathland birds are already returning. The project has shown what can be done, and now Borders Forest Trust is raising funds to buy a further 1,600 acres nearby.
Hugh Chalmers
Borders Forest Trust
Columbia, Mary.
My hope-driven conservation effort is a blog about nature writing inspired by Leopold’s essay “Pines Above Snow.” At PinesAboveSnow.blogspot.com, I often talk about the books I’ve read that give me inspiration, ideas, energy, or information that help me keep going. Readers comment about the courage and solace they find in fine nature poetry and prose. We’ve turned into a small community united by a love of books and nature, all taking a literary approach toward caring for our future.
Julie Dunlap
Gray’s Lake, Ill.
I have just taken the lead for a team of volunteers planting a fruit orchard on our Learning Farm. This is becoming a community-supported venture as a number of residents have "adopted" a tree in order to pay for its care into the future. They will also share in the eventual harvest. Thus I believe community support will be strong for this project, as it already is for our oak savanna tree planting and restoration of our natural prairie.
Prairie Crossing is a unique and successful conservation community designed to combine responsible development, the preservation of open land, and easy commuting by rail.
We have an organic farm that includes a commercial part (CSA and markets), an educational part (the Learning Farm), and a farm incubator project, enabling beginning farmers to get established.
Linda Wiens
Executive Director, Prairie Crossing Institute
Answer Our Next Question
For the next issue of Outlook we are following up on Steve Swenson's article by asking "What does 'Land Health' mean to you?" Please email responses to craig@aldoleopold.org and have your answer included in our next issue! If you wish, please send a photo to accompany your response.
Mancos, Colo.
My gardening interests have “grown” to include more involvement with promoting local food in the very rural southwestern corner of Colorado, where I live. For lots of reasons (ranging from good nutrition to supporting the local economy), it makes sense to eat foods from our region. I’ve helped to organize a local Organic Growers Club, which has been a great way to get more connected with alternative agriculture. Our club has just finished the second edition of a Local Food Directory, which we will be distributing free at various locations in the county.
This summer I’m helping to establish a Friends Group for our local Farmers’ Market. I’ve come to realize that the Farmers’ Market is a vital component of community-building – so much more than just a place to buy food. Meeting local growers, learning about their work, and supporting their efforts to feed others all give me hope for a better future.
Nancy McGill
Cross Plains, Wis.
We recently moved to where we can have a “hobby farm.” I'm raising pigs, geese, ducks, chickens, and I’m growing a big garden including lots of fruit and nut trees. My focus is on heritage animals and plants which are well adapted to small scale production. This will help us to reduce our carbon footprint. Our food will be very local instead of being shipped from across the country or world.
Nancy Gaedke
Baraboo, Wis.
I’m a new comer to the Baraboo Hills, and one of the things that brought me here was the Aldo Leopold Foundation. I spent the past 30 years in Illinois running my own landscaping and tree care business. Caring for our earth’s trees brought many good things to myself and my family. I am still very active in tree care but am also working hard to promote solar energy through my new company.
The people involved with the Leopold Foundation are the type of people that recognize the urgency of our situation. I feel it won't be long before we're all saying, “Well, now it's too late.” The cost of a gallon of gas should be the least of our worries; let’s talk about the health of our planet. Support solar energy today.
Robert A. Kelly
President, Solar Energy Today
Phoenix, Ariz.
Turning off every light in a facility during the day reduces millions of pounds of carbon emissions from electric generation plants. New high-tech passive solar day lighting fixtures can now light huge facilities such as warehouses and schools. These are not photovoltaics to produce electric power—they are just direct solar daylighting units. Every community should have its schools, gyms, businesses daylit with daylighting fixtures. Don't waste the sun's solar light!
Ellen Bilbrey
Natural Lighting Company
Dayton, Wyo.
A community that is carbon balanced and provides for it neighbors has:
Lawns mixed with shrubs and trees that mingle with the green space of the parks, cemeteries and campuses. Plenty of nesting habitat for migrants and some damp overgrowth for those who are secretive and need a higher degree of protection to produce and nurture their offspring. The creek or pond provides the chorus of frogs that tell us the water is clean. The view from the porch finds people enjoying activities without the sound of engines blocking the bird songs or the laughter of children. The fall leaves and mown grass are slowly turning to humus rather that smoke. The residents of this community realize that they are part of a whole community and the actions of one neighbor will be felt by the others and they are sensitive to what that means.
Don Luse
Elkader, Iowa
When I dig in the garden with our grandsons, or share their enthusiasm, amazement, and wonder at a bloodroot, a bluebird, a frog, or an earthworm, I cannot help but feel hope. Children naturally connect with the earth – both physically and spiritually. Our most important work is to support and nurture that connection – and to emulate it in our own lives.
Larry A. Stone
David Orr's list:
“So, what does a carbon neutral society and increasingly sustainable society look like? My list consists of communities with:
Front porches
Public parks
Local businesses
Windmills and solar collectors
Local farms and better food
Local employment
Bike trails
Summer baseball leagues
Community theaters
Better poetry
Neighborhood book clubs
Bowling leagues
Better schools
Vibrant and robust downtowns with
Sidewalk cafes
Great pubs serving microbrews
More kids playing outdoors
Fewer freeways, shopping malls, sprawl, television”
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