To the Editor:

Protected open space is a priceless resource to nourish and restore the human spirit.

Not long ago I lived in a subdivision that could be described as a builder’s bombing run — miles of cookie cutter houses on postage-stamp lots. I was a misplaced Thoreau who yearned for “pasture enough for my imagination.”

Little did I realize when my address changed to the Great Road in Princeton, I would be the beneficiary of D&R Greenway’s stellar efforts to serve the public interest by preserving Coventry Farm, the 160-acre jewel of Princeton.

I frequently walk to downtown Princeton, never missing an opportunity to admire the joy-giving, pastoral views over Coventry Farm. Ladybird Johnson’s speech at Yale in ’67 speaks to the cherished and enduring value of protected open spaces: “The environment after all is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share. It is not only a mirror of ourselves, but a focusing lens on what we can become.”

I’m grateful to live in a town that strives to be a good steward of the environment. The prophet Isaiah provides an exalted view of caring for our earth: “Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains…”

Steve Drake
Great Road