I know I am blessed to live here. The beauty of the hills, the quiet peace of the woods, and the cool lapping of the bay on a hot summer day. I’m proud and inspired by my community – but also feel a deep sense of responsibility. The natural beauty forests and trails must be protected and conserved. And while it’s easy to leave it to others, I simply cannot.
This is my home, and I need to do my part to protect the beauty of the hills and valleys of the escarpment.
When I take my dogs for a hike or snowshoe with friends through the hills, I feel a duty to future generations to do my part to ensure that they too can enjoy this little piece of heaven on earth. These moments hiking, biking, or kayaking – the times I’m out in nature – are the moments I look forward to every day.
When I see subdivisions paving over forests, lakes, and trails, it just doesn’t make sense. Densify where appropriate, but not where it threatens wildlife, our nature, and the beauty we all enjoy on a daily basis. Each one of us has a responsibility to protect the sensitive and unique flora and fauna of our community’s piece of the escarpment. Society can mitigate our impact on nature and balance the need for growth with protection of the environment.
If our community doesn’t stop large-scale developments destroying swaths of old forests and wetlands, we’ll lose what we have forever. And there’s no coming back. Our community needs to conserve what we have now and preserve it for future generations.
It’s easy to leave the fight to others, but nature in the escarpment is at a crossroads – and we all have a role to play. We all need to take ownership of the problem and the solution. We can’t leave it to governments or others in our community. We must all realize “this is my escarpment” and we each need to do our part for it. We need to take action – and do it before it’s too late.
I know I can’t just leave it to others. This is my escarpment and it’s my time to do my part for it.
Guest contribution from Peter, a Blue Mountains resident.