Mission, Vision, Values

Our Mission

Working Landscapes is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to build more healthy and sustainable lives and livelihoods in the Warren County, NC region through stewardship of our natural and cultural assets.

Our Vision

We envision a Warren County region with a resilient economy in which citizens recognize, create and sustain opportunities to build on local assets and in which healthy farms, forests and waterways are interconnected with vibrant towns.

Our Values

Possibility-based
In a challenge to deficit-based thinking, we seek to identify, celebrate, and build on local assets, generating internally-driven instead of externally-dependent solutions, in order to build a resilient economy.

Inclusive
Using participatory, deliberative methods, we work to establish collaborations among diverse stakeholders in the issues we address, including those who may not have worked together historically.

Landscape-oriented
In order to take on systemic problems, we consider entire landscapes—interwoven, heterogeneous expanses that encompass farmland, forests, human settlement, and waterways.

Inquiry driven
Our work is guided by systematic, mixed-method investigation of complex problems.

Creative
Our approach to problem-solving relies on considering the full universe of ways to address the problem, rather than placing artificial limits on our thinking.

Documentary
We recognize the importance of storytelling, so we seek to document and share our story and our community’s stories.

Educational
We seek to educate ourselves and others through our work, and we seek to enrich educational institutions.

Entrepreneurial
Whenever possible, we seek to develop solutions that move markets towards more just and equitable practices.  We are also excited to begin experimenting with cooperative models that share the new value we are working to create.