ISSUE 3, 2017
Keeping Our BALANCE
H
enry David Thoreau is best known for living at and writing about Walden Pond, but as I’ve recently discovered, his 2-million word journal is a much better representation of his journey with art and science. I’m a little obsessed by the recent (partial) publication of his most intimate thoughts because he found what I strive for everyday – balance. As a land conservancy, we are always trying to strike just the right balance between what land should be protected and what land must be developed for industry and homes and infrastructure. Sometimes this is easy and obvious but you would be surprised by some of the “close calls” we have to make and the consternation we feel about saying no to a project.
“Balancing the science with the poetic is the ultimate test of every communication we have with you!” We face another challenge in how we explain our work and why it is valuable. Balancing the science with the poetic is the ultimate test of every communication we have with you! I tend to fall back to explaining the science and the details
BY LAURA JUSTIN Executive Director
and the minutia. I personally enjoy the technical aspects of land conservation but that’s not why most people care about HeadWaters… or anything for that matter. Thoreau spent most of each day outdoors, taking meticulous notes and sketching the tiniest detail of every living creature he came upon. I’m convinced the “imbalance” we sometimes feel in ourselves is mainly our lack of time outdoors; watching, smelling, listening, feeling hundreds of interactions that occur within the range of our senses. And why not take it a step further, as Thoreau did? Put your nose against a tree and smell it – listen to the creaking of hardwoods on the coldest night of the winter – taste the lichens and moss you find on a shaded rock. There is no way to describe those experiences “scientifically”. Alexander von Humboldt, a brilliant scientist who Thoreau greatly admired and often emulated, was keenly aware that science cannot stand alone in our understanding and sharing about the natural world. As the first person to observe and document climate change in 1800, he knew that facts and figures were easily ignored. He was quoted as saying “what speaks to the soul, escapes our measurements”. And so today, and every day, I strive to find the balance in our work and I hope the same for you.