Around the globe, human societies are engaged in activities that have reached the limits or are exceeding the capacities that many natural systems can support. There are reports of lowering water tables, soil erosion, expanding deserts, depleted fisheries, droughts, global warming and melting polar ice caps, oil shortages, loss of rainforests, over-grazing of ranchlands and famines. As the basics of life become scarcer, more wars are fought to control the remaining limited supplies. It is a bleak picture indeed.

At the same time, another trend is occurring: people are working together to create sustainable models of living in balance with the earth’s systems. For many, this requires some major shifts. Living in a sustainable way means using only as much as is needed. It means living within the limits of the ecosystem, so that it can replenish itself without irreversible harm. It means allowing people, animals, and plants to co-exist and thrive together. It means giving equal consideration to economics as well as ecology when making business and political decisions. It means understanding how the choices one makes affect the earth and all its inhabitants. It is a shift in perspective toward realizing the interconnectedness of every living being in this world and finding a deeper joy in taking actions that benefit all.

The southern Appalachians are one of the most biologically rich regions in the Northern Hemisphere, home to over half of the species of flowering plants and ferns in North America. Currently, North Carolina is losing over 100,000 acres of land each year to development, with the biggest threat being new development. Conservation development takes the approach that the highest priority is the protection of the land. It aims to create communities without destroying rich habitats, water quality and scenic vistas. Its goal is to use good ecological designs that enable the existing natural environment to sustain itself in a healthy manner

What is the incentive for developers to follow the conservation guidelines listed in our sidebar? There is a need to establish a systematic scale for rating developments with recognition and rewards for those who design according to conservation principles. For example, a development with fifty percent of the land left in forest would score higher than one that protects only ten percent, as would those that protect ridgelines, streams, and habitats. A conservation design may result in fewer lots, but because there is significantly more protected land, these lots will typically be more valuable.
An obvious big advantage of living in a community in the midst of conserved land is being able to walk out one’s door and immediately enjoy the serenity of living in nature. Perhaps even more important though is the quality of life that comes from developing friendships and cooperating with people who share similar conservation and sustainable living values.

As more and more people choose to live sustainable lives on a local level, it does make a real difference. Our actions are part of a powerful transformational trend of personal and planetary healing. The more that people cooperate and share with each other, the more everyone is empowered to live and love in a sustainable way. As the understanding deepens that all beings are connected and that it is in everyone’s best interest to help each other, the movement toward communities and societies based not on dominance and fear, but on cooperation, love and respect, is brought to life.

John Myers has worked for eighteen years with non-profits and land trusts protecting over 20,000 acres of land for parks and trails, including Hickory Nut Forest: www.hickorynutforest.com. John can be reached at 828-252-6258 or john@hickorynutforest.com.

Jane Lawson is grateful to have lived in the mountains of Western North Carolina for most of the last thirty years. She is a writer and psychotherapist in private practice in Asheville and specializes in energy work with women. She can be reached at: janelawson@skyrunner.net, 828-252-6258.

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