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A simpler, more fulfilling lifestyle

“Perhaps you yearn for a more unencumbered lifestyle that allows you to focus on what you
want to experience and accomplish.”
This was the opening line of a marketing email I recently received. Like most marketing emails, I
don’t know how I got on this list. But those marketers got their targeting right…they were
pitching a new “active adult” community, noting that such communities have emerged to offer a
“simpler, more fulfilling” lifestyle.

How did this marketing message define this promised lifestyle? Here’s a list of features drawn
from the appeal:
– a socially engaged, maintenance-free lifestyle
– easy access to exciting dining, shopping, and entertainment
– walkable social setting
– resort-style amenities, convenient services and opportunities for social engagement
– an active and social lifestyle by organizing events, clubs, and activities that foster social
engagement
– an outdoor social deck with green space, a grilling area, a bocce court and outdoor
entertainment space
– a private dining area, on-site gym, concierge, activities director and lifestyle
programming

Admittedly, the plans for the Rachel Carson EcoVillage don’t include a bocce court (yet!), on-site
gym or concierge…and many of our “resort-style” amenities will be provided by Mother Nature
herself, given our wooded setting. But I’m struck by how the developers of this advertised
lifestyle community are creating many of the same features that we will enjoy at our new
Providence Heights location.
There are important differences too. We’ll have a shared dining area in our Common House that
allows for group meals and activities. Instead of an activities director, we’ll all work together to
develop “lifestyle” programming. Many of our founders are looking forward to working together
on a community garden. We’ll also work together to make shared decisions and meet the needs
of the community. Plus, as an EcoVillage, we’ll share a mission to live more lightly upon this
Earth.
The most significant difference is that instead of buying into a lifestyle community, we are
creating our own. And all of us who are moving to RCE are seeking more than social
engagement, we’re seeking a true community…one united by a shared sense of purpose and
desire to make a positive difference.

Creating that community will take work—and of course, at times it will be challenging too. To
me, this epitomizes what it really means to have an “active adult” lifestyle, one that is both
fulfilling and meaningful—and doesn’t require a concierge!

-Betsy H., Founding Member & future resident of RCE, January 18, 2024

The Mystery of Marcescence: What does Nature Know?
One of my favorite sights on a winter walk is a young beech tree with its pale creamsicle leaves
almost glowing in the largely monochrome forest.

Such trees are displaying marcescence, the somewhat mysterious phenomenon in which Autumn leaves don’t fall. In cultures across northern temperate zones both deciduous and evergreen trees are familiar and symbolic. With a few exceptions, deciduous trees drop their colorful leaves and give us the name of the season, while evergreens keep their green needles, signaling life through the cold and short days of winter. They drop their needles too, but gradually and continuously rather than all at once. The two distinct patterns are so familiar as to seem inevitable, but they point to the intelligence and adaptability of nature.

But a few deciduous trees, especially beeches and oaks, try a middle way, and hold onto their dried leaves through the winter. It’s especially common on young trees and sometimes on the lower branches of mature trees. Some research has shown that when they do drop, marcescent leaves do so in a short interval around the spring equinox. Deciduous trees shed their leaves to survive through the winter by conserving resources through the process of abscission (“cutting away”) that allows the leaves to drop without damaging the branch. First the tree reabsorbs and stores the nutrients contained in the chlorophyll that gives leaves their summer green color. This allows the reds, yellows, and oranges of Autumn to show. Then it creates two layers of specialized cells to seal the branch and separate the leaf stem from it, letting it drop.

Given the protective value of leaf drop and its fundamental place in the change of seasons, why don’t marcescent trees do this? What is the purpose of keeping those leaves? What does
Nature know here? There are several theories about why marcescence happens, but not much formal or conclusive
research, and it seems likely that it may depend on local conditions, environmental factors, and individual species traits.

One common explanation is that by holding onto unpalatable leaves, the trees protect new
buds from deer and other herbivores. Other explanations have to do with nutrients: keeping
the leaves may allow more time for nutrient reabsorption and photosynthesis; and dropping
them later, close to the tree, may positively impact decomposition and nutrient availability in the soil to support spring growth; retained leaves may catch snow and hold water like mulch; or they may provide habitat for birds and small animals that will fertilize the soil with their wastes.

All of these seem like good strategies for a young tree. And maybe they are true. All those possibilities certainly point to the creative power of nature to persist and adapt. But I sometimes like to think of that young beech as a just a spunky, contrarian spirit with a desire to
stand out in a winter crowd.

– Julie Burch, Founding member and future resident of RCE, January 13, 2024