Save Our Lands, Save Our Towns will be the September Program of the Cypress Group of the Sierra Club, Monday, September 13, 2010, 7:30 pm,

at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greenville, 131 Oakmont Drive. 

The growth of Eastern North Carolina’s cities and towns concerns many private citizens and civic leaders, especially those with an enlightened environmental perspective. This program will feature a public television documentary describing small-town newsman and Pulitzer Prize- winner Tom Hylton’s exploration of how America can save its cities, towns, and countryside. Save Our Land, Save Our Towns taps into the fact that “a growing number of Americans have grown disgusted with a throw-away culture that allows once-magnificent cities and towns to wither away while treasured landscapes are ruined by feckless development.” A poll by the Pew Center for Civic Journalism recently found that sprawl ranks with crime, taxes, and education as the top domestic concern of citizens across the country.

The film will be introduced by Dr. Calvin Mercer, a member of Greenville’s City Council, ECU Religious Studies Professor, and a strong advocate for smart growth. “Many think sprawl is inevitable, but it’s not,” he says. “One of the things I’ve worked the hardest on is making sure our city grows in quality as well as size by following sound planning principles in order to build a city of excellence.” He describes the film as “engaging and personal – a voyage of discovery, rather than a mere recitation of facts, with moments of revelation, humor and emotion.” 

This documentary has also been described as “a story of hope” offering “logical reasons why America’s towns can be rebuilt and its countryside preserved from strip malls and subdivisions.” Filmed in Pennsylvania, England, Oregon, and North Carolina, it follows Hylton’s “quest to discover why America’s towns have declined and what we can do to revive them. His journey includes recollections of the idyllic towns of his youth, a visit to devastated inner city neighborhoods, and a look at once-verdant farmland that has been lost to development.” 

Following the film Dr. Mercer will lead an open discussion, along with Dr. Vince Bellis, Professor Emeritus of Biology at ECU, who is actively engaged in civic planning and environmental issues, and Tony Noel, a smart growth advocate and former newspaper editor.

All programs and activities of the Cypress Group are open to the public. You do not have to be a member to attend. For more information contact malsentzer@gotricounty.com