For nearly two centuries, Massachusetts has led the nation with a distinct approach to wild space conservation. Rather than focusing only on pristine wildernesses that are far away, Bay Staters have worked to foster greater biodiversity in the ordinary places where we work, live, and play. This vision led residents of Massachusetts to create the first state parks and the first conservation land trusts in the 1890s. In this presentation, Dan McKanan explores the spiritual roots of their vision, and the ways that vision was enacted on Cape Ann. Sponsored by the Cape Ann Climate Coalition with a grant from NOAA.