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Video Closed Captions

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Narrator:
Open spaces are natural areas

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where development has been set aside. Sometimes known as "green space," an open space could be a forest,

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wetland, park or pond.

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Dedicated nonprofit groups, like Friends of Princeton Open Space,

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are striving to conserve these natural areas in our communities.

Steve Hiltner:
My name is Steve Hiltner. I'm natural resources manager for Friends of Princeton Open Space.

Steve Hiltner:
There's a lot of ecological services rendered through open space.

Steve Hiltner:
Well, a big part of it is clean water. The water that runs off this land is

Steve Hiltner:
essentially going to be our water supply, our drinking water, x-number of weeks later.

Steve Hiltner:
So, it's really important that the water that's running into these streams is clean.

Narrator:
The waters that flow through these lands support a vibrant ecosystem.

Steve Hiltner:
Biodiversity is having as many different species that have evolved in this area,

Steve Hiltner:
and the more different kinds of species you have living in balance with each other,

Steve Hiltner:
the stronger the ecosystem, the more resilient.

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These various species live in balance with one another.

Steve Hiltner:
Of course, you have all the insect life that depends on the native plants, and then the birds depend on

Steve Hiltner:
those insects for survival, so there's this whole food chain that the

Steve Hiltner:
open space provides a basis for.

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But these ecological havens are at risk.

Steve Hiltner:
Through climate change and through habitat loss and so forth, fragmentation of habitat,

Steve Hiltner:
you're essentially removing species one at a time, taking them out of the ecosystem

Steve Hiltner:
and making it ever more unstable and vulnerable.

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Although open spaces are facing ever-greater threats from human development, human action

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can also reverse this trend. We can all conserve open space by getting involved.

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Spread awareness of the value of natural areas. Take a walk, hike, jog or just connect with nature.

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