Most of our readers chose to make Hilton Head Island their ZIP code …. or did it choose them?
Sure there are a few rational reasons like the climate, reasonable taxes and low crime rates, but the same qualities are true for many other small towns. Yet there is something in our subconscious that brought us here and attracted people from across the U.S. and the world.
When Charles Fraser first conceived Sea Pines, he thought green before the word green stood for sustainable and not just the color of grass. His vision was to incorporate the beauty of nature into the everyday life experience of its inhabitants and create a human-scaled community in harmony with its environment. He would say, “Respect the things that were here before we came.” In doing so he laid the foundation of what makes our island so unique.
While the town of Hilton Head Island might appear green on the outside, the truth is that we are not as sustainable as we could be. “Don’t let the low-hanging tree branches fool you — there is a lot that can and should be done to preserve the reason why we came here in the first place.”
As a starting point, the local notfor- profit organization “Experience Green” committed to conduct a baseline assessment for our region that will provide quantitative data to help develop a long-term plan and define what measures are best-suited to transform our environmentally sensitive community to become a truly sustainable place to play, live and retire.
I’m asking you to join me and the individuals and companies that have already made a monetary contributions (listed at right) to help fund this effort. I will promise you a few things in return: A copy of the plan, an invitation to a meeting to discuss the outcome of the study, and a voice in generating the long-term sustainability plan.
I think we owe it to Charles, ourselves and the generations that will follow us to conduct this study, so that we have an objective way to judge where we are today and come up with a plan of how to preserve our quality of life for the long-term. It’s the right thing to do and we need your help.
Onwards!
Sound off
Please send your comments to mfrey@freymedia.com. I would like to get your feedback on this idea.
