Inherently, human beings know exactly how to live in perfect balance with all of nature. We have everything it takes, right now, to create a peace-filled, equitable, life giving, and sustainable existence on the planet. It is time to put an end to isolation and to begin thinking from the heart. In order to solve the severe ecological and social problems on our planet today, we need to gently rekindle our connections to ourselves, each other, and the natural world.
Mission Statement
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 indigenous wisdom, diversity, inclusion, compassion and creative expression as fundamental to the long-term well-being of our planet and its inhabitants.
Dear Friends,
The Emerson Brook Forest has been my home since the spring of 1981. My son Ariel was two months old when we first settled here in June of that year. Our first home was a 10×10 foot canvas tent. I was constantly awed by the presence of a new human and felt guided by his simple needs.
With little more than a north star vision of a life in the woods, we gathered the materials and the help we needed to build and move into our house by the end of November. The winter was challenging.
Pablo joined us in 1982 followed by Iris in ’84 and Bodhi in ’91. We parented and ‘childrened’ over the years with the help of a very large extended family. This family included a community of friends, a pond, a stream, trees and ferns, grasses and wildflowers, wildlife, wind and rain, the night sky and all the other elements of this paradise.
In the spring of 1998 when a ruthless logging operation came to call on our beloved forest, we did what any friends would do. We hollered for help. The media and the general public conveyed its concern that something so beautiful was being ravaged.
The Emerson Brook Forest Sustainability Project began when a grassroots effort raised the funds necessary to purchase and save nearly thirty acres for conservation and educational purposes.
Experience has taught me that humans are as much a part of nature as any creature. The confusion and problems we face today come from not fully knowing this. The Sustainability Project is an invitation to anyone who would like to reclaim this knowledge.
With love, Valerie