Founded in March of 2000, The Sustainability Project, a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational organization, promotes a love of nature, environmental stewardship, caring communities and ways of living that deepen our understanding of the interconnected web of life. Our guiding principles embrace diversity, inclusion and compassion as fundamental to the long-term well-being of our planet and its inhabitants. The physical heart of The Sustainability Project can be found in the Emerson Brook Forest, Gilsum, NH. Here, an all-volunteer endeavor has created wheelchair accessible trails and edible forest gardens for public use and ecosystem benefit. The center functions as a learning laboratory for edible forest gardening, permaculture design and sustainable community practices.
The Sustainability Project’s primary organizational goals are:
- to develop wheelchair accessible gardens, trails and camping sites at our 33-acre center in the Emerson Brook Forest. In addition to giving the public access to a beautiful place in nature, we intend to develop the center as a learning laboratory for edible forest gardening, permaculture design and sustainable community practices.
- to design and build a 1200 square foot, off-grid, solar-powered, multi-purpose educational and community center located in the Emerson Brook Forest. The new nature-inspired structure will enable us to expand our programs, host retreats with collaborating organizations and community groups, and provide shelter for visitors.
- to encourage and support new program ideas, initiatives and collaborations in line with our mission. Individuals or groups with compatible program ideas that could benefit from The Sustainability Project’s organizational structure are invited to contact us at info@emersonbrookforest.org. Review our Program Guidelines here.
- to continue offering (and developing) our mission driven events and activities to bolster our community’s sustainable and regenerative living skills and capacity for life in balance with the natural world.
Ways to Get Involved
- Volunteer your time and energy. There are limitless ways to help promote The Sustainability project’s mission — in the Emerson Brook Forest and in the wider community.
- Attend a board meeting. We meet on the third Wednesday of the month at 6:30 pm. Currently all meetings are being held virtually, please contact us for an invitation.
- Join a committee (Governance, Program Development, Onsite or Fundraising)
- Lead or take a workshop.
- Like us on Facebook
- Join the Monadnock Region Permaculture Group
- Sign up to receive our 1-2 monthly email updates and event listings
- Make a donation.
- Visit us in the Emerson Brook Forest.
Ways To Live Sustainably
- Lighten up your load. Clean out your closets, give away anything extra to someone who can use it.
- Shift your priorities. Spend more time with family, friends, communities and the simple pleasures of the natural world. Make time to be the human being that you know you can be; unspoiled by fear, hatred and the drive to compete.
- Look for guidance from the children. Children represent the highest stage of human evolution and they are great teachers. Re-learn how to cry.
- Volunteer to mentor a young person. Get close to an elder or someone who may have an isolating disability. Help a neighbor; lend a hand to a farmer. If you are not a slave to housework, help make a meal, and/or do the dishes for someone who is.
- Embrace the end of life as a farewell gift, a celebration and an opportunity for family and community to come together in a most meaningful way. Do everything with love.
- Remember as Philo would say, “be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.” Look for the good in everyone.
- Refuse to be polarized. All of us view life’s circumstances through the lens of our personal experience and the influences of our upbringing and social environment. Look beyond differences in opinion to feel the depths of our human connection.