Our Vision
We believe that conservation and stewardship begin at home, and that our individual actions have an important impact on the world around us. From that framework, we can build neighborhoods and communities that work together, with a view of the ecosystem as “our shared commons,” worthy of care by all, so that we can protect the richness of life, both locally and globally.
We are certain that the important legacy of conservation in the 1800s and 1900s— protecting special places by setting them aside in parks, sanctuaries and preserves—is still critical to conservation today, but that it cannot be the sole model for protecting biodiversity as a whole. The current fragmentation of our landscape into parcels of private ownership—both large and small—requires that we engage all citizens in actions to re-establish native plants everywhere, as a foundation for intact ecosystems that can adequately regulate themselves.
We seek to build a shared vision of the world that views humans as being “of nature,” not separate from it. This will help us reframe our landscapes and integrate our built environment into a native plant heritage that must be reclaimed if we are to sustain life as we know it. We must embrace local systems while we also operate in a globally connected world.
We have experienced that successful conservation efforts are strengthened by a sense of community, and we strive to nurture those bonds through our events and programs. We aspire to achieve our vision throughout the Commonwealth, in areas urban and rural, and on lands large and small, both public and private.