My twelve-year-old sniffles and dabs his eyes with his shirt. We are once again, over dinner, talking about climate change. My son reads a lot. Normally, that would be a good thing. When it comes to the news this year, though, whether the subject is climate change, the pandemic, systemic racism, or some other ill, reading can lead to despair.

“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic,” said Congressman John Lewis. The news can be a vast sea. But, I try to tell my son, it has edges too, it has a coast. “Bad news is what you’re seeing, but it’s not all there is. Good news doesn’t sell, so you don’t hear about it nearly as much, but it’s always there over the horizon.” In the face of this year’s myriad challenges, there is still always hope, if we but choose to see it.

Amidst the bad news here at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm, there is also good: Visitor numbers are down, but we have seen nature flourish on our coast this spring. Our staff is mostly working at home and apart, yet our research efforts and online lectures have expanded. We were forced to cancel our summer fundraisers and curtail many programs, but we have a “rainy days” fund, built up over many years, to get us through this pandemic. (Let us hope it doesn’t have to be a “rainy years” fund…)

It’s not going to be an easy year, but we remain hopeful and optimistic. We do know that we won’t emerge as a strong place on the other side of all this without your help. To meet the challenges of the coming year, we humbly ask you to make a contribution to Laudholm Trust this summer. Your donation will support the Wells Reserve’s continuing work in research, education, and conservation. We’re honored to be your reserve, your place of peace and beauty, science and wonder, on the coast of good news.

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