Each year I tote up my Farm Share sales to determine my donations to organizations that support farmland conservation. This year I’ll be dividing $800 in cash donations to the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy, the American Farmland Trust, the Agricultural Stewardship Association, and the Capital Roots food hub. When you add in donated paintings and commissions, I’m thrilled to report that my artwork has generated $1,600 for social causes.
Recently I was able to use my work to help put the brakes on a solar installation that would have destroyed this beautiful landscape in western Guilderland. With luck the landowner will accept a land swap and site the worthy project in a more discreet location. Given the drama that continues to unfold in national politics, these small victories seem, sometimes, small. However, once the landscape is turned into sprawl, it is destroyed forever. It’s up to each of us to do what we can to preserve our physical — and civic — environment. Some things can’t be undone.