As we write this, the New England skies are hazy with wildfire smoke from the west, one of the clear and palpable results of climate change. But the science of climate change has been essentially dismissed by our federal government, nearly undoing the possibility of making it better. Where do we go from here?

In her new book, Mother, Creature, Kin, Chelsea Stenauer-Scudder offers hope: “…We are living in a time of ecological collapse. There is no way around it. But there is, I think, a way through. Perhaps the best we can do is to keep renewing the world and our love for it.” Her essay in this issue, Good Neighbors, describes part of that way through—knowing one’s neighbors, humans and non-humans alike, and working with them to move forward. 

Community. That is the subject of this issue, as David Foster describes in his opening piece. And Jonathan Thompson of the Harvard Forest shares research that dispels some of the myths that conserving land harms the economic vitality of communities while also highlighting inequities in land access.

We know that communities and nature have a two-way relationship—we depend on land and water for our health and well-being, and nature depends on us to be thoughtful and informed as we work together to tackle the challenges of today: achieving access to affordable housing; securing healthy food for all; conserving working forestlands; supporting local economies; protecting wild places; and, yes, adapting to a changing climate. 

In this issue, we share wonderful stories of people working together to make the world a better place. 

Nadine Canter brings us to four communities in Connecticut where people are working together on a most basic solution: planting trees—to offer shade, to cool things down, to “make a place for birds to sing” (Wendell Berry). 

In The Hidden World of Boston’s Food Forests, Hope Kelley describes entering an urban forest haven: “The first thing you notice is the temperature—it feels as though it’s dropped at least 10 degrees, with young trees shading the entire space. You also notice a few yellow and black swallowtail butterflies floating through the air on the breeze.”

In A Shared Commons, Betsy Cook talks about larger forests, protected by and for people: “The process of coming together to create a community forest strengthens social bonds, civic empowerment, and local leadership. Once created, these community forests become a shared backyard for the entire community.”

This shared backyard can be inviting to the wider world of people looking for time outdoors—hikers, skiers, mountain bikers—and this can bring vitality to rural communities, as described by Allaire Diamond in her article about Kingdom Trails, a destination for mountain biking adventurers. But recreation in the woods has some downsides, too, as raised by Nancy Zimny in The Price We Pay to Play.  

We pay a price for so many of the things we do. For decades, Bill McKibben has been writing about climate change: the ultimate price we are all paying for our wanton use of fossil fuels. Today, he calls us to action in Power from the Sun: Hope in a Shattered World, and in his new book, Here Comes the Sun. He describes two tasks before us: “The first task is to play what defense we can against the egregious steps the administration has undertaken. The second task is to play offense in the one place where we’ve got some momentum: clean energy.” McKibben calls communities to gather together in action, to take to the streets, to show up for what we believe in. 

There are many more stories of hope here—two poems, good books to read, inspiring videos, upcoming events, and photos of people working together. 

May you settle into a peaceful autumn, and find joy in the community of life that surrounds you.

With gratitude,
The Editors of From the Ground Up

Brian Donahue, David Foster, Marissa Latshaw (Publisher), Alex Redfield, and Liz Thompson (Managing Editor)