Visioning: Preservation, protection, planning

Dear Sarah:

Thank you for your words in this space in the 6/17/05 edition of The River Reporter. You challenged your elders to make every effort to protect and preserve the environment of the Upper Delaware River Basin. Be advised that there are numerous people who share your concerns. They are and have been working tirelessly to do just what you suggest: Preserve, Protect and Plan.

The sponsors of visioning initiative have assembled yea-sayers and nay-sayers all over the river basin, at community meetings, educational forums and pot-luck suppers. Their goal is to learn how best to protect, preserve and plan for the future of this garden spot we call home. They have been assembling information, conducting surveys and coordinating their efforts with local groups, government and general citizenry. They have been tireless, persistent and persevering in their efforts to glean as much information as is possible. This task, as you might imagine, in painstaking but it is taking root. It is starting to bear fruit. Developers, communities, people are listening and writing, just as you did. And you, Sarah, are now part of this process.

Sarah, you and I and many more people must involve ourselves in this process if it is to have the effect it must. I would encourage you to prevail on your elders (young and old) to be involved in this visioning process, if only to make the effort to try to Preserve, Protect and Plan. Certainly, it’s not easy, but then, nothing worthwhile is easy. The preservation, protection and planning for the Upper Delaware is not easy – but it is worthwhile.

Sarah, I am involved in my local community. I’m presently making an effort to eliminate the “tired blood” that is currently in force. It’s not an easy task but I’m making the effort. Preservation, protection and planning are essential parts of my effort, as is visioning. I trust that one day, when you have achieved the “franchise,” you will be as vocal as you were at the age of 10.

Encourage your elders to attend governmental, environmental and cultural meetings. Initially, most of us are reluctant to do so. We think, ‘We’re inexperienced; we won’t know what to say; we won’t know anybody; we’re not knowledgeable on the subject; we’d be out of place.’” And there’s the fallacy! We must attend meetings; we must listen to the palaver; it’s how we become part and parcel of the process. And we must become part of the process, or we will have no voice in that process.

So, Sarah, as you grow and mature, stay curious; ask ‘Why?” Get an answer; be a dreamer; keep visioning. When you achieve your ‘franchise,’ Sarah, use it judiciously, every chance you get.

Sincerely,

Edward J. Kennedy

[Ed Kennedy is a septuagenarian involved in his Palmyra (W) Pa. community. He is a member of the township planning commission and is secretary on the board of the Hawley Area Authority. He is a candidate for township supervisor in the November 2005 election.]

[This column is part of an initiative to encourage citizens to take an active role in the future of the Upper Delaware River Valley. To contribute to this column contact editor@riverreporter.com. For more about the Visioning the Upper Delaware Valley initiative and for a complete archive of visioning statements, go to www.upperdelaware.com.]