About the Project

Natural land is disappearing at an unnatural rate.  5,000 acres a day are developed in the United States.  This problem comes along with several others.  According to Richard Louv, children are suffering from Nature Deficit Disorder.  Their lack of unstructured time outdoors leads to numerous health consequences – the current generation is likely to be the first to have a lower life expectancy than their parents.  More broadly, all generations are suffering from a lack of social capital, as Robert Putnam described in his book Bowling Alone.

The private land conservation movement offers a lot of solutions to these problems.  The number of land trusts (non-profit organizations that protect land) is increasing rapidly.  In 2005, there were 1,600 – an increase of 32% from the year 2000.  These land trusts save land – a total of 37 million acres by 2005.  But even more importantly than that, they provide a forum for people to come together to take care of the land.

Land Trusts have recently realized that if they are to be successful, they need to reach out beyond their usual base to engage new people.  The oldest land trust, The Trustees of Reservations, says,

“We need to tap the wellspring of people’s joy-in their communities, their heritage, and the natural world-and mobilize a whole new generation to care.”

Peter Forbes, director of the Center for Whole Communities, has spoken often about the importance of stories.  In a talk in January 2008, he said,

“Our challenge is to help our neighbors and ourselves to imagine, and then create, a different world. Story has the power to do that.”

People learn best, and change best, from stories.

As land trusts begin to recognize the importance of stories, they are using them more in their publications.  For example, the Land Trust Alliance website, revised in June, now puts a story front and center on their website.  What the story is changes each day – but the story is always about a piece of land that has been conserved forever.  That story – of permanent success – is the most frequently told.  However, the more interesting story is what happens once the land is protected.

That part is generally called stewardship – a word which means “the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.”  A group of people who care deeply about the land, though they do not own it, take care of it day after day.  In the process, they connect with the land and with each other.  It is this process of stewardship which has the power to solve the problems of disconnection written about by Richard Louv and Robert Putnam.  It is my hope that stories about stewardship will inspire those who do it to continue and inspire those who do not to take part.

My Project:

For this project, I will interview people who take care of the land and tell their stories with audio and pictures.  My goal is first to learn what I can from these people, and secondly, to disseminate the stories to others. I hope that these stories will be both entertaining and inspiring.

I want to interview a diverse group of people with respect to:

• Geography
• Age
• Race
• Political points of view and attitudes towards conservation
• What brings them to the land – i.e. landowners, volunteers, professionals
• Kinds of land they take care of – i.e. urban, rural, mountain, valley, large, small
• What they do to take care of the land – i.e. agriculture, forestry, invasives control, wildlife stewardship, hunting, gardening
• Their particular passion with regard to land – i.e. trees, birds, gardening

I want each story to contain these elements:

• Portraying a character that listeners can both relate to and be fascinated by.
• Describe the process of doing actual work to take care of land – bring people in by showing technical, how-to description.
• Include photos, sounds and descriptions that give people a sense of a special and unique place.
• Include stories. Try to get people to tell stories and anecdotes about their work, and get pictures that go with the stories. I think the power of a good story is really what’s going to draw people in to this project.
• Give people a sense of inspiration – show what motivates people to do the work, and what they get from it.
• Talk about community -show how the land brings in other people other than the one I am interviewing.
• Talk about the larger context of the work people are doing on one piece of land – what are the threats? What is important to conserve?
• Include humor wherever possible.

Interview questions:

• What is the history of this property?  Describe the property.
• What is your history?
  • How long have you lived in this town?
  • Where are you from?
  • How long have you been working on this property?
• What do you do on this property?
• What motivates you to do it?
• What was your first experience in this kind of work? Who got you involved?
• Any interesting plants or wildlife on the property?
• What is your favorite part of the property?
• What kinds of people use this property? Who helps you with it? How do you think this property affects other people?
• Tell me some memorable experiences on the property.
• How has working on this property changed you?
• What are your hopes for this place in the future?
• Who else do you know who takes care of land, that you think I should interview?