Open gallery
Margaret Kirkpatrick ’82
Member, Board of Directors, Nature Conservancy, Oregon Chapter
My vision is a global understanding that the diversity of life depends on a healthy planet, and that we live according to that truth. The Nature Conservancy’s mission is “to conserve the land, air, and water on which all life depends.” We will succeed only if people around the world collaboratively embrace and implement measures, based on the best science available, to halt the warming of the planet and adapt to the changes that are now inevitable. Our country’s debate is highly politicized in red/blue, and urban/rural narratives. Science shows, however, that natural climate solutions—based on conservation, restoration, and management of forests, grasslands, and wetlands—can deliver up to one-third of the emission reductions we need while providing long-term benefits to rural communities. I am striving for the implementation of these solutions so that our world can sustain all life, surrounded by beauty.