To inspire action for greater justice and sustainability
An update
We have a simple but powerful idea.
We look for places in and around national parks and other protected areas whose stories will inspire people to act for greater justice and sustainability.
We call these places Natural Neighbors.
We tell their stories and encourage others to do the same.
More than ever the world needs the kind of imagination, moral courage, perseverance — and hope — these places stand for.
Here's our reasoning:
· The world is full of people with moral courage, imagination, kindness, and generosity, people who act on their convictions.
· Unfortunately, we hear a lot more about cruelty, hate, injustice, and stupidity, and our memories retain such negatives more than twice as long as positives.
· More than ever the world needs hope. Hope isn’t passive; it’s a human survival trait. Hope is thinking about the future, expecting that desired events will happen and acting in ways believed to make them more likely. The action part is essential.
· But although hope is about the future, grounds for hope lie in the record and recollections of the past.
Above
A workshop in Los Angeles held in 2016 to explore the idea of organizing a Natural Neighbors project in Southern California.
Those present were representatives of some 20 United States, California state, and local government agencies; natural history and science museums; botanic gardens; a zoo; universities; and a publisher of books on California history and natural history.
Mark Bouman from Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History (center front) shared the experience of Chicago Wilderness, regarded as a model for metropolitan conservation alliances.
The workshop was hosted by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy at its Los Angeles River Center and Gardens near the center of the city. The Conservancy, a California state agency, has been a leading sponsor of Natural Neighbors.