By Cheryl Heller

People tend to conform to the boundaries that surround them, whether they are state lines or the social norms that shape behavior. But as Peter Senge, a systems scientist and author noted, “All boundaries, national boundaries included, are fundamentally arbitrary. We invent them and then, ironically, we find ourselves trapped within them.”

Boundaries in nature do not limit us, unlike the human-invented, arbitrary boundaries between countries or parties or organizations or residents of one small town versus another. In fact, the edges between natural ecosystems and habitats are often the most ecologically exciting, fecund and generative. This is a dynamic called the “edge effect.”

Last May, leaders from Norfolk’s six conservation organizations, along with a few passionate supporters, gathered at the Norfolk Hub to take a page out of nature’s book, forming the Norfolk Conservation Cooperative. It is a new ecosystem of organizations working together with a goal to support nature.

Just as Norfolk is blessed with abundant natural resources, we are also blessed with strength in the number of organizations devoted to protecting and promoting them. Members of the new collaborative include Aton Forest, Great Mountain Forest, the Norfolk Land Trust, Conservation Commission, Rails to Trails and the Green Team from the Church of Christ Congregational. These groups also have deep, mutually beneficial ties to the Norfolk Library and Norfolk Hub, as well as ongoing support from the Manor House.

The idea began, as all ideas do, with a conversation between a few people; talking about the various properties, programs and areas of focus among the organizations in town. How could efforts be coordinated to become more than the sum of their parts?

For the first meeting, participants were asked to bring three ideas for what they hoped the new group will accomplish: one “doable,” one “exciting” and one “revolutionary.” The ideas, which did not disappoint, filled a wall with sticky-noted options ranked by their potential value to Norfolk, and the resources required for realizing them.  

Among the ideas that will launch the new group’s collaborative efforts are the 2025 Norfolk Forum for Earth Day; Norfolk’s first bioblitz (stay tuned for more information soon, and a date later this spring) and an effort to create a shared mapping platform to enable residents to discover and capture what they love about nature in Norfolk. While ideas like “Invasive-free community” and other ongoing efforts were not identified as the first projects to take on, they remain long-term priorities of the group.

Participants agreed on a shared vision: “Norfolk will be a place that inspires people to connect and live in joyful, healthy, mutually beneficial relationship to nature.” For almost a year now, the group has met monthly to share news and progress on individual organizations’ work and apply its collective wisdom and energy to support people and nature in Norfolk. 

 “The opportunity for Norfolk to become a nature and conservation regional leader and a more attractive destination is real and exciting,” said Billy Gridley, head steward and president of Aton Forest. “Growing cooperation will leverage the strengths of each organization, unleash creativity and magnify our collective impact. This is about more than “getting back to garden. It is about protecting, stewarding, studying and celebrating Nature, to better understand it and ourselves.”

The Norfolk Earth Forum on April 25-27 will be the first event developed and delivered by this new collaborative. It promises to be a true celebration of nature in “Our Glorious Northwest Corner.” The Earth Forum is only the first example of the good that comes from humans acting like nature, adapting, growing, learning and bridging the boundaries between us to make us all stronger.

Editor’s note: Cheryl Heller, PhD, is a designer, writer, educator and facilitator of change. She was invited to help facilitate and galvanize the formation and momentum of the Conservation Collaborative.