Imagine this evolutionary idea: People are rewarded for NOT cutting down trees to build. Today it’s easy to make money by cutting down a forest and building whatever you want. But imagine if the opposite were true. Imagine a world where people and, more importantly, big business was actually paid to protect habitats and maintain valuable biodiversity rather than destroy and threaten them.
It’s a progressive idea that author and CAC Chair, Barbara Heinzen, Ph.D. will be speaking about at a New Baltimore Conservancy gathering at the Cornell Hook and Ladder Fire Company on March 9. Barbara’s vision for a greener, more sustainable future will be highlighted in her efforts to restore the 20-acre swamp behind her home.
In 2011, after working internationally from a UK base for 30 years, Heinzen moved to New Baltimore. Her move is part of an experiment called the Barbets Duet. Described as “an experiment in systemic invention”, the Barbet Duet has about 8 learning sites in East Africa, the UK, and one in New Baltimore. At each site, people are learning how to improve the environmental health of their land while also improving livelihoods. The New Baltimore site has just under 20 acres at the mouth of the Hannacroix Creek. It is the only one being managed solely to improve biodiversity, without any kind of farming. Barbara will illustrate what has been achieved here since 2011 and talk about the challenges of the coming years.
The CAC encourages all to join the New Baltimore Conservancy on March 9 (Thursday) at the Cornell Hook and Ladder Fire Company on Gill Rd in the Hamlet of New Baltimore. The program begins at 7:30 pm and is free and open to the public.
