A vivid portrait of the Valleys Planning Council, a citizen-led non-profit organization, and the brilliant work of Ian Harg, a talented landscape architect. McHarg, along with a team of consultants, penned a landmark land preservation plan back in the early 1960s. The Plan for the Valleys was one of the first land planning documents to use ecology as the central theme. Vintage footage highlights the entertaining McHarg, as well as interviews with a variety of characters involved in the organization over five decades. The film skillfully and beautifully documents the success of smart growth: a stunning, rural countryside that supports outstanding agricultural and equine industries that pay enormous dividends to current and future generations in terms of both a healthy economy and healthy environment. The film also serves as a wonderful testament to citizen action and visionary planning.
