Harry Dodson
When Wilderness Society member Harry Dodson decided to pursue a career in landscape architecture, it was almost like a spiritual calling. “Right after college I was on a trip to the White Mountains in New Hampshire and I was so struck by the beauty and peacefulness of the landscape,” Harry recalled. “It was a flash realization, but I decided then to work in a field related to parks and bringing nature into the city.”
Harry worked in land use planning and design for more than 25 years, founding his own award-winning firm in 1986. He also set up the Franklin Land Trust in Massachusetts, which preserves 40,000 acres of land. “I believe we have a spiritual link to nature and wild places because we are connecting to the way humans related to the land for hundreds of thousands of years,” Harry said. “Reconnecting with awe and inspiration, and taking a break from our hectic lifestyle, is very inspiring.”
Harry grew up loving the wilderness from a young age thanks to many hiking and fishing trips with his father. “One of my earliest memories is camping near Wyoming’s Green River Lakes in the Bridger Wilderness. It was unspoiled and beautiful, with stunning glacial areas.
Unfortunately, when I was there 6 years ago, one glacier I remember well had receded about a quarter mile from the lake. It was a drastic change, and showed just how fragile wilderness areas are.”
To help preserve the wilderness he holds dear, Harry has been a member of The Wilderness Society for decades and has included a gift to the Society in his will. He has also created a deferred charitable gift annuity with the Society, which will make payments to him for life beginning at a future date he chooses.
“The gift annuity will provide a guaranteed source of income for the rest of my life from an organization I trust,” Harry explained. “My main reason for the gift, though, is to support the Society’s vital efforts to preserve and protect wild places and the whole concept of wilderness.”
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