Last night I was reading an article in National Geographic about a national forest in Finland and I ran across a passage that made me sit up in my chair and re-read it a couple of times. Since I don't have the magazine in front of me right now, I'll paraphrase the passage. The author wrote that national forests are more than the preservation of species and ecosystems. They are a preservation of the cultural values of a society.
Think of the West Hylebos Wetlands and the 425+ acres we've preserved in the Hylebos Creek Watershed. Yes, those include irreplaceable species and natural systems, but they do also represent fundamental community values.
Those acres represent a belief that the natural world is an important part of community quality of life.
They represent a belief that the children of today should know what a forest feels like to walk through, or what a frog sounds like.
They represent a belief that the children of tomorrow and days beyond should be able to grow up healthy and strong because they have clean water to drink and clean air to breathe, among other things.
Our role at the Friends is to be the vessel for these values; your values. You make it happen, though. You provide the volunteer work, planting trees and knocking down invasives. You donate the funds that make habitat preservation and restoration possible.
Thank you for making this a community that values the future!
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