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Day 3: On Saturday morning I sat in the comfort of the conference room and ended up taking one agonizing step after another towards the top of Mount Everest with Peggy Foster. In her pursuit to explore her human limitations, she has climbed the highest peaks on six continents and set her sights on the seventh- Mount Everest. After dazzling us with breath-taking photos of each of her conquests, Peggy led us up the slopes of the highest mountain to the ‘Edge of the Earth’. With a spellbinding narrative, accompanied by photos, video clips, and sound-bytes, she conveyed how a physical, mental and spiritual bond develops with fellow-climbers, with the local Sherpa, with the starkly beautiful environment, and with the forces of nature in the Pursuit of the Impossible.
As Peggy climbed the mountain in virtual reality, we experienced the camaraderie among the climbers, the bitter cold, the howling winds, the struggle to breathe at high elevations, the mysterious heartbeat of the mountain, the constant fear, the sheer exhaustion and death. 300 meters short of the summit, Peggy had to make a decision- to climb to the top of Mount Everest and die during descent, or to turn around and live. She chose to live. She had reached her absolute limit. Back in the Sherpa village a little girl came up to Peggy, tugged at her and motioned to her own eyes and then to Peggy’s eyes. Peggy could not understand what the little girl wanted. No, she did not want a candy - No, it was not a fascination with Peggy’s blue eyes. Finally, someone came to translate the little girl’s wish- she wanted Peggy’s courage when she grew up.
It was an inspirational journey. And yes, Peter Banks and I had come to learn more about the ins and outs of Land Trusts and building solid foundations for Land Conservation at this conference. We did attend a full slate of the more technical workshops and we did pick up pointers on such issues as Conservation Easement Agreements (CEAs) with owners of ecologically valuable lands, funding for the acquisition of critical lands, effective land-stewardship planning, tax implications, the systematic monitoring and enforcement of CEAs, and more. In the true spirit of the conference Theme, “Solid Foundations: Together We Can!”, Peter Banks, of LWI Fungi-Foray fame, delegated the task of writing the formal Conference Field Report for the LWI Land Trust Committee to me- ‘Together’ we did.
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EnviroKlaus
Klaus Keunecke: A volunteer for nature, an LWI Member, a Bullfrog Power Customer.
Websites to visit: www.olta.ca, www.wholecommunities.org, www.yurtinfo.org
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