Ventura Hillsides

* As a longtime and probably permanent resident of midtown Ventura, I am deeply concerned about the fate of our hillsides.

We have so little natural beauty in public areas. The hillsides and the ocean are our greatest natural assets. The decaying roads, the lack of beautiful trees and wild areas, the ubiquitous utility wires, the concrete box buildings and bleak business corridors are such an assault on my perceptions that I can hardly bear it.

What is most soothing, what nourishes my soul and restores my perception to wholeness, is the natural beauty of the hills. Aside from ecological concerns for wildlife, sustainability issues, water shortages and the carrying capacity of the Earth, natural beauty is an essential priority. It is as fundamental to our well-being as oxygen.

We are fortunate in Ventura to have been hemmed in by the hillsides, preventing the typical American plague of endless concrete shopping centers and monotonous sprawling tracts.

If we are going to tamper with the natural order, I would like to see a redwood forest up there as well-protected as the conservancy in San Francisco created by John Muir. We could each bring as many trees as we could afford and plant them ourselves. Or we could get trees and funds through the national ReLeaf project or the Nature Conservancy.

We could scatter poppy seeds all over the hillsides and have a brilliant display of color every spring. We could have a winding trail through the forest that leads to a spectacular ocean view.

Whatever direction future decisions take, I pray that preserving and enhancing the Earth’s natural beauty will be our essential priority. We have been very shortsighted and careless, destroying whole ecosystems and stripping away the very beauty that sustains us. We have an opportunity right now to correct our course and make wise decisions.

We will not be alone in deciding the fate of our hills. Nature ultimately demands a sustainable strategy.

NICKI ALEXANDER

Ventura