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Miles Arnott, Executive Director, offers a warm welcome from the Visitor Center garden. |
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| Welcome from the
Director |
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When it comes to the stewardship of our environment, it seems to me that we ought to make room for everyone, regardless of where they fall along the political spectrum. Environmental issues are "big tent" issues, and everyone has a stake in them. Regardless of what you may have been told, no one person or political philosophy has all the answers. To solve our challenges, and we have many, we need to tune-out the divisive rhetoric coming from the extremes on both sides and get to work - together. Demonizing one viewpoint or stereotyping another only serves to divide us at time when we need to be recruiting more people, not alienating them.
Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve serves as a model for just such an inclusive philosophy. The staff, volunteers, and our many members come from a diverse political background, both left and right, liberal and conservative. All of them park the rest of their political baggage at the door and work together toward our shared mission; to lead people to a greater appreciation of native plants, to an understanding of their importance to all life, and to a commitment to a healthy and diverse natural world.
I believe that just such diversity of thought and opinion is what makes us such a strong and vibrant organization. Regardless of where you stand on countless other political issues, if you believe in our mission of education and conservation, there is a place for you here. We are inclusive rather than exclusive, remembering that in the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we have been taught.
With great pride in our staff, our volunteers, our members and our mission, I encourage you to take part in the programs and activities detailed in our Calendar of Events. Representing months of thoughtful planning , the Calendar is filled with a rich diversity of learning opportunities, from children's reading programs to professional symposia. There is something here for everyone.
I encourage you to participate, discover and meet new people who are inspired by the same appreciation for nature that inspires you.
A. Miles Arnott, Executive Director
Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve Association
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