Derek Rodgers - Towson, MD
It's easy to forget about the quiet places.  They don't make a stir.  They don't ring or vibrate or screech. 

My father's land, resting on the Corrotoman River at Drum Point, Virginia, is such a place.  When I can manage to escape there for a day or two, I bring my noisy contraptions along, but always end up lying on my back, relishing silence.  A pileated woodpecker might occasionally battle the osprey for audioking of the shallow cove I chill my feet in, but the sounds of jumping fish, of snapping turtles crawling in the muck, these things welcome me, rather than alarm or inform me.  Becoming an environmentalist was easy for me, because I've always had this spot to dream about as the TV talks me to sleep.     
 

Christina Most - Baldwin, MD
My inspiration: As a child I became increasingly aware of the disappearing natural landscape where I grew up.

My sister and I spent most of our time playing in the woods. I began to notice the disappearance of specific species and patches of natural vegetation. As I grew older, I learned that developers acquired parcels of land and did little to no reforestation because the law is not stringent enough. Because of this common practice, forest fragmentation, and agricultural use of pesticides, the habitats around me are lessening. The more time I spend on this earth, the more I know that we need to lessen human impact on ecosystems.

Lori A. Crockett - Petersburg, VA
When I was little there was a log cabin across the street that people said a hermit lived in. I have never forgotten the mystery --- the wildness of the place, the rampant growth of trees and flowers, the unspoiled nature of it all. I have wanted to live like that ever since.

Another influence was my great aunt who took me and my sisters to parks often when we were growing up. I loved to be among the trees and sunshine and nature. And then there is my mother. She has always had gardens full of flowers and birds. Gardens are where I have been happiest always. When I moved into the home I live in now, I started taking over the yard piece by piece, eliminating the grass and putting in ponds, raised beds and rose gardens. I built an arbor out of old chimney blocks and have roses and pink honeysuckle climbing over it. My yard is a Certified Wildlife Habitat and I am so proud of it. I love the outdoors and everything about it. What more can I say?

Virginia Werkmeister  I wish I knew what has made me an environmentalist... if I am one.  I'm not sure I completely fit that label.  I just know that I have a great love of animals and see them as unspoiled, innocent beings on this planet where people who are supposed to care for them seem, instead, to just make life miserable for them.  Animals are on this planet as part of a food chain which means they are accessible to humans as a food source, beasts of burden, and etc.  But this in no way should include cruelty or abusive treatment.  It certainly should not include ruining their habitats, causing misery and extinction.  Nature Conservancy is the only conservation organization that I support, because they do try to work closely with people who depend on the areas they conserve.

The opinions expressed in "Your Story" are the author's. They should not be construed as the position of The Nature Conservancy.

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © David Dadurka/TNC (Choptank Wetlands); Photo ©  Christina Most (Trees); Photo © Derek Rodgers (Drum Point, Maryland); Photo © Christina Most (Sunset); Photo © Lori A. Crockett (Lori's garden and cat); Photo © David Dadurka/TNC (Nassawango Creek, Maryland).