There are two things that interest me: the relationship of people to each other and the relationship of people to the land.
- Aldo Leopold
Conservation of our natural resources thrives when people feel deep, personal connections to the natural world. Those connections are most powerfully explored and illustrated not through the recitation of facts, figures, and stats, but through communal sharing of stories and memories of our experiences in nature.
Common Ground allowed participants to conduct and record short interviews with people they love, care about, and respect, interviews focused on concrete experiences and memories that help participants explain their love for and connection to the natural world. Common Ground brought together people of all generations, ages, backgrounds, knowledge bases, places of residence, and political persuasions to give voice in their own words to the important role that the natural world plays in their lives. The project aimed to help people not only acknowledge their own connections to the natural world, but also build relationships with others who feel the same. We hope to show that—despite perceived differences—our common (though unique) experiences in nature are fertile ground for building relationships and coming together to work toward a collective goal: the protection of our natural resources.
Explore the stories collected as part of the Common Ground project between 2019 and 2021 by clicking on the "Common Ground Audio Library" button.
