BEHOLD THE BEAUTY

If the eyes were meant for seeing,
Beauty is its own excuse for being.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

AN INTRODUCTION

From the beginning of human history Natural Beauty has been one of humankind’s great standard bearers.

The very reason we cannot accept disease, water and air pollution, the pillaging of native landscapes, crimes against our human family and mistreatment of animals is because these actions offend our sense of Beauty and the Natural Order.

The Wildlands Conservancy, whose long-standing motto is “Behold the Beauty,” founded the Behold the Beauty Association to help foster the appreciation of Natural Beauty in people’s daily lives.

 

Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

- John Keats

 

 OUR CORE BELIEFS AND PRINCIPLES

First and foremost The Wildlands Conservancy protects Beauty and offers to bring Beauty into people’s daily lives by following these tenets for our two dozen nature preserves that compose the West Coast’s largest nonprofit Nature Preserve System.

FIRST TENET

BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THE EARTH IS SACRED, all of our preserves are protected forever and will be bound by legal instruments.

SECOND TENET

SINCE THIS WONDROUS EARTH IS OUR HOME, all of our preserves are open to the public for free because having to pay to visit Nature is to be dispossessed of a birthright. Free access to our preserves removes the socio-economic barriers that tend to promote a disconnect with nature.

THIRD TENET

SINCE CHILDREN ARE THE FUTURE OF PROTECTING THE EARTH’S BEAUTY AND BIODIVERSITY The Wildlands Conservancy focuses on outdoor education and is California’s nonprofit leader in providing free youth programs--especially for those who are unaware of their birthright to visit nature.

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FOURTH TENET

WE IMPARADISE THE EARTH by healing human impacts to both the beauty of the land and its rich biodiversity in order to foster inspiration, contemplation and introspection, and joyful natural experiences.

FIFTH TENET

WE ABIDE BY A DO NO HARM POLICY which prohibits us from: a) using our protected lands for mitigation banks for species and habitats destroyed elsewhere, b) selling the carbon sequestered in our trees to carbon markets that offset global polluters, c) treating our lands as a commodity.

SIXTH TENET

OUR PRESERVES ARE LIMITED TO PASSIVE RECREATION, such as hiking, camping, photography, and self-exploration that fosters the contemplation of Beauty, the Sacred, the Divine, and the timeless attributes of Nature shared by all cultures throughout time.

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SEVENTH TENET

THE WILDLANDS CONSERVANCY DEFENDS ITS LANDS and aggressively safeguards them from exploitation from energy companies and international developers. Such defense led to the establishment of the largest National Monument in the lower forty eight states—the 1.6 million acre Mojave Trails National Monument.

 

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth
find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.

- Rachel Carson

 

 ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE

FIRST ACTION

GET INVOLVED IN A CAUSE. Wherever there is a place of great Beauty and Biodiversity, someone has been given the eyes to see its Beauty, the mind to understand its importance, the passion to act upon its protection.

SECOND ACTION

BRING BEAUTY INTO OUR DAILY LIVES by planting native trees and plants in our yards and communities and observing the fascinating way they attract native birds and butterflies and other pollinators. Or, beautify the areas around us by removing the eyesores of trash.

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THIRD ACTION

BE GRATEFUL FOR THE GIFTS OF THE EARTH including the beauty and origin of objects in your daily life--the grain in your wood table, your houseplants, beautiful prints in cotton fabric, the fruits and vegetables in your kitchen.

FOURTH ACTION

GATHER FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND SOCIAL GROUPS OUTDOORS in a beautiful natural setting and discuss the importance of Nature’s Beauty to our mental and spiritual health and well-being.

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FIFTH ACTION

LIVE SUSTAINABLY, as our consumption and the exponential growth of our industrialized societies have led to the depletion of the world’s finite resources: lush tropical forests, the ocean’s fisheries, clean air and clean water, native wildlife, and the many pristine landscapes that compose our beautiful earth.


SIXTH ACTION

LIST OTHER ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE to preserve and Behold the Beauty in your life and the lives of others.

 

Become a member of the Behold the Beauty Association and
inspire friends and associates to join for free.

 

ASSOCIATION NEWS AND UPDATES

 
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