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IMAGINE ALMOST 900 ACRES of land — roughly the size of Central Park — left untouched and unspoiled by human activity. Then imagine back to the 1940’s when you decide to purchase this land, to “learn what it needs” and then proceed to manage it.
Margaret Lloyd, a longtime FIONS member and friend to many, imagined all this and recently took it one step further. She donated this parcel of land called Hardscramble Connections located in Camden, S.C. to Clemson University so that it could serve as an illustration of what caring for the land means, and of the effect that the absence of our actions has on nature.
“It became more and more clear that people were not connecting what they do with the effect it has on nature,” Margaret explained. This is why she specified that the land be untouched in perpetuity. “People think they own nature. They feel they can do what they want and there would be no problem.”
But this piece of land will serve as an illustration that people cannot separate their actions from nature, that rather we are all a part of nature. And by leaving this parcel untouched, future generations can see “how nature behaves without us pushing it around.”
Margaret, who recently celebrated her 90th birthday, chose Clemson because it is the agricultural university of South Carolina and because, in her opinion, Clemson is interested in everything to do with wildlife. She will be honored there in September for her very generous land donation.
Margaret has been a member of FIONS for “quite a few” years. She has supported many of our organization's events and is a frequent attendee of our fundraising salons.
FIONS is proud to call Margaret a member and extends our heartfelt thanks to her for embodying our mission statement - to explore the meaning of consciousness in its many forms. After all, Margaret states, “If you are not conscious, you are not good at anything!”
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