Western Reserve Land Conservancy

OUR LAND, OUR LEGACY

Enduring
and
Prosperous
One simple request
I have experienced many instances of
being obliged by better information, or
fuller consideration, to change opinions
even on important subjects, which I
once thought right, but found to be
otherwise.
Benjamin Franklin, Remarks
(delivered via James Wilson) to the
Constitutional Convention,
September 17, 1787
As below so above

Three laws of nature inspire us


1. All living things are a reflection of
their environment, not of an
emergent innate property

2. All living things move away from
toxins and towards nutrients, if
they can

3. The Law of Color





1972 Stem Cell research: genetically identical daughter
cells manifest differently. Only difference was each
petri dish provided a different culture or environment
Muscle Bone
Fat
Law #1, the environment governs,
At the microscopic organism level
All living things
are reflections
of their
environment,
not of
themselves
Silver maple,
a super-organism.
Law #1, the
environment
governs
Large Elm Tree that
preceded the silver
maple and died a
few years ago
Full expression Silver Maple Adaptive Silver Maple canopy
East Cleveland, Ohio, en route
to Kirk Middle School
The story of David Strong
Law #1, the environment governs
Kirk Middle School was demolished in 2002
David Strong matriculated to University
School in Hunting Valley, Ohio in 1983
Kirk Middle School to University
School: 10 miles
a world apart
Hunting Valley, Ohio, home of University School
David Strong went on to attend Johns Hopkins, where
he earned 4 varsity basketball letters, and then earned
his MD. He is now an ER doctor.

University School.



Nutrients
toxins
Law #2, All living things move away from
toxins and towards nutrients if they can
Northeast
Ohio is also a
petri dish
Cleveland:
915,000 to 390,000

Cuyahoga County:
1.4 million to 1.265 million
Law #3, The law of color
You become that which you give to the world,
not what you take.
As you sow, so shall
you reap the Bible

The law of Karma
Buddhism, Hinduism

Cause and Effect -
Physics
You cant give away a fight;
you always get a fight back.
Adrenaline: the enemy of creative
and constructive behavior
Working
together
gives rise to
our most
rewarding
and virtuous
behaviors.
Dopamine (energized, aspirational, delighted)
Oxytocin (bonding, trust, nurturing)
Serotonin (happy, calm, creative)
You cant give away a smile; you always get one back.
The sources of
creative and
constructive
behavior.
Nature is a circle not a line
And yet
people
and
businesses
think
linear
Environment
External forces
Receptor -
Perceive
Effector - Action
Integral Membrane Proteins
Relationship
harmony
Architecture of the Organism
Membrane?
Growth Mechanisms? Protection?
Central Nervous System?
Practical applications
Our Headquarters
Local talent and materials. Prudent investor test.
In harmony with its place. Beautiful.
Our Strategy
Intentional Perception
Response Action
Focus on Causes

reciprocal
Nature is a circle not a line
26
How does
this inspire
our work?
Healthy
Habitat or a
Culture for
Thriving Absence of Toxins
Presence of Nutrients
27
From the City to the
Countryside, we
provide our region
with natural places
that
nourish and support
enduring and
prosperous
communities
Natural areas and biodiversity
Prime Soils, Working Lands
Urban revitalization
Removal of Toxins
Urban Revitalization
Remove Toxins, Add Nutrients.
Vancouver and Vienna The epitome of Enduring and
Prosperous. The Common Denominator?
Trees and Parks
The foundational nature of our work
Healthy places are enduring & prosperous
35
A clear fault line begins at upper
16
th
street NW and follows the
Potomac south
37
Improves cognitive and
creative development in children and
replaces medical treatments for ADD
Alleviates dementia, stress and
depression
Healthy
Wealthy and Wise
38
39
Trees reduce home
energy use by 30-50%

Trees reduce the urban
heat-island effect

Lining every U.S. city street
with trees would reduce
U.S. energy costs by $4
billion

Lining every U.S. city street
with trees would absorb 33
million tons of CO2
Trees save energy
40
filter storm water, reduce runoff and
erosion, allow ground water recharge,
prevent sediment and chemicals from
flowing into streams and lakes.
Trees improve water quality
41
Trees ARE
GOOD FOR
BUSINESS!
Trees stimulate economic development, attract and
retain new business, and generate tourism.
Commercial retail areas are more attractive to shoppers
Apartments rent more quickly, tenants stay longer, and
space in wooded settings is more valuable to sell or rent.
42
Cleveland has so FEW trees that city boundaries can be
easily seen on google earth!
Top 5:
Chagrin Falls 77%
Bentleyville 74%
Gates Mills 73%
Moreland Hills 70%
Hunting Valley 70%
Bottom 5:
North Randall 10%
Brook Park 18%
Warrensville Hts 19%
Cleveland 19%
Linndale 20%
Every city could
achieve 70% or
more Tree
Canopy
Cuyahoga County
Tree Canopy by
Municipality
community
45
Wisdom is always the Middle Path.
Not all
grey,
a toxic
wasteland
Not all
Green: a
wilderness
without
people.





Inspired to Dream together
Preserve Essential Enduring Assets
Restore historic towns
Invest in our future
Enduring and Prosperous Communities








Are always the result of
appropriate natural assets
that support life
How does life work? And what lessons
can be drawn for our personal,
business and civic lives?
Action is the insignia of life.
Action is a cycle, a cause and effect
relationship.
Action is a stimulus-response mechanism.
All action is a signal and a response, it is a
cycle not a line.
A state of health results from harmony
between the individual living thing and its
environment.
Growth and Protection

All living things have membranes, which are both physical and
non-physical

The individual living thing receives messages and gives messages
thru the membrane. A membrane can be, literally, the membrane of
a cell, or it might be our skin, and it might be our entire central
nervous system with eyes, ears, etc., or it might be the internet.
The nexus of communication between the individual and the
environment is the membrane, and it is where all the action
happens.

Life itself relies on the ability to avoid toxins and find nutrients.
Our ability to perceive these things correctly is essential, and our
ability to be perceived by others correctly is also essential
sometimes we want others to be drawn to us and at other times we
want others to be encouraged to avoid us (i.e., a criminal).
Harmony
State of health is a symbiotic relationship
between the individual and its
environment.
Relationship is governed by the stimulus-
response switch known as Receptors and
Effectors, the basic protein building blocks
the created the first unit of intelligence
All living things have
Organs of Perception
Eyes, Ears, Skin
All of these make us
aware of our
environment and are
drawn to nutrients
and repulsed by
toxins
How does your
business do this
deliberately?
Organs of Action
Arms
Legs
In a business, this
might be the sales
force or the makers

All of this action is