"Think globally, act locally” is a proverb that may have seen its final days.

The scale of environmental challenges facing our planet today demands investments in many of Earth’s corners, and obligates conservationists to look beyond their own backyards and into their neighbors’ as well. 

And while many people may have latched onto this philosophy only recently, it’s one that The Nature Conservancy in Ohio has subscribed to for decades.

Saving the Best...to Last

“Ohio was the first chapter in the Conservancy to allocate funds for projects outside its borders,” says Rebecca Smith, acting state director in Ohio. 

The state’s cross-border fundraising began in 1986, during its “Let’s Save the Best…to Last” campaign, chaired by Lucia Nash, and hasn’t stopped since. 

“Our first international gift was made to Venezuela,” says Smith. “But it wasn’t long before the Chapter adopted more than 10 projects outside of the state.”

Those first few projects included not only international locales, such as Brazil and Guatemala, but also domestic locations like Hawaii and New Mexico.  

In total, Ohioans made a $400,000 commitment to assist conservation efforts outside of the state during the 3-year capital campaign, which ended in 1989. 

Financing Conservation

“Our members have been very supportive of the Chapter’s international work,” said Georgia Welles, chair of the Global Priorities Committee at the time of the campaign, in a 1991 interview. “While we recognize the immense challenges of protecting plant and animal communities in Ohio, we also recognize that our own success is inexorably linked to that of our partner organizations who are trying to protect greater biodiversity with lesser financial resources.”

By 1992, Welles and her fellow Ohio trustees had authorized a Global Priorities Fund line item in the Chapter’s annual budget. 

Today, the Conservancy in Ohio continues to make international giving a priority and, over the course of the years, has developed a strong relationship with Belize in particular. 

“Ohio and Belize share dozens of migratory bird species,” says Andy Dickerson, director of science and stewardship in Ohio.  “By protecting the forests of Belize, for instance, we’re helping to sustain bird populations here in Ohio.  It’s a tangible connection.” 

 “If we’re going to protect the full array of Earth’s habitats, we’ve got to do more than just ‘think globally, act locally,’” says Dickerson.  “We must act globally too.” 

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Deni Porej (Venezuela); Photo © Jessica Sharon/TNC (Belize).