Why America Needs More Conservation Communities

Technology and industry continue to grow and change the world, but this progress often affects the world around it, which impacts nature and humankind. It plays a part in rising temperatures, endangered species, and decreasing grasslands, and conscious conservation efforts are the best way to combat these problems.

Conservation efforts are vital to protecting nature and the future of the planet, and these efforts come in many different forms. It can be as simple as going green and trying to recycle, or it can be something much grander, such as the “America the Beautiful” campaign, which wants to restore and conserve 30% of America’s lands and waters.

The campaign seeks to make significant changes by 2030, restoring ecosystems and putting measures in place to protect them in the future. And it is all being done with a localized approach, where local experts will be a part of the efforts.

Clearly, it is something important that a lot of people care about, but it is not always the easiest thing to do, especially in and around cities where people live. Humans have complex needs, and convenience often trumps everything else. That is where conservation communities show incredible value.

Conservation communities are a combination between real estate and conservation, which provides beautiful protected landscapes with the necessary convenience and thoughtfulness to make living comfortable. Such communities strike a delicate balance between human settlement and protected wildlife and tend to make a big difference in local greenery.

In fact, while conservative communities provide a beautiful place to live, their primary goal is to save large parcels of land from ecological degradation. They are tailored to different regions and protect various ecosystems depending on the development plans and using low-impact infrastructure.

An example of a conservation community is Lagoon Valley, the Bay Area’s first conservation community. The community recently announced the homebuilders responsible for making the community’s plans a reality after 20 years of designing and planning.

Lagoon Valley is focusing on sustainable design principles, in line with what conservation communities strive to achieve. These sustainable practices will be part of every facet of the homes built on the land, ensuring they are low-impact while also being generational homes for those who buy them.

Lagoon Valley even seeks to exceed the standard set by the Greenbelt Alliance, which is a Bay Area organization dedicated to protecting important open space lands.

The homes in Lagoon Valley are a short walk away from many conveniences, including neighborhood shops, restaurants, and workplaces in the 750,000-square-foot Ascend Business Village. It is all surrounded by open space and recreational areas, with three-quarters of the 2,400 acres to be dedicated to open space.

Included in the open area are a 400-acre public park, a 71-acre wetland preserve, and 1,300 acres for hiking and mountain biking trails. The space will go hand-in-hand with the sustainability practices that strive to be eco-friendly and meet energy-saving mandates.

The overall goal of conservation communities like these is to sit communities within nature, integrating them to preserve and protect the areas around them. Moreover, it is not limited to residential areas like Lagoon Valley.

Other types of conservation development include private clubs and small-scale industrial activity constructed to ensure the protection or ecological restoration of an area.

Overall, conservation communities offer a way for residential and other areas to be designed and built in a way that is low-impact and actually helps rebuild and protect ecological systems. Energy, land, and other resources are used more efficiently, renewable energy is in abundance, and pollution is reduced to protect wildlife.

These are things that America desperately needs, especially as it enacts its “America the Beautiful” campaign, which seeks to take a more local approach. After all, it doesn’t get more local than creating a community dedicated to building and living in a way that promotes conservation every day. And if it can be done in a way that is diverse and suited for anyone and everyone, that’s even better.