Barber said, “This is our first conference of significant substance about planning issues, particularly with northern Mississippi.”

The uniqueness of this conference was in its inception through city leaders and not the private sector or specific businesses. The leadership demonstrated by Mayor Johnson and his staff and community leaders is a benchmark for progressing sustainable practices, promising realistic and progressive policies, and a model for other communities to follow.

Deputy Planning Officer Shelly Johnson said, “Sustainability is something we have to do now, this should be one of our highest priorities.”

The organizers worked with Mr. A.W. Bouchillon in making the conference possible. Bouchillon is one of the early leaders in planning in the state. “I’m 87 years old and learned a lot,” he said about the new move toward sustainability. "I am so encouraged with the revitalization of Hernando, about saving trees and building improvements," he said.

Hernando is one of the fastest-growing communities in the Mid-South, and is facing challenges of managing that growth while promoting sound historic considerations and environmental guidelines for developers, businesses and homeowners. The city is the county seat of DeSoto County, which is experiencing part of the rapid growth. Hernando was founded 170 years ago, and because of its historic character and high quality of life, the city leaders wish to ensure sustainability as an underlining principal for growth.

Towards this goal Shelly Johnstone invited a number of local and regional experts to speak about sustainability, environmentally balanced development, and energy conservation. Johnstone, a long time advocate for saving trees in the community, asked Dodd Galbreath, Executive Director for the Institute for Sustainable Practice at Lipscomb University in Tennessee, Dr. Roger Kuhns with the engineering firm Black & Veatch, and Dr. Joy Fox Anderson, Area Horticulture Extension Agent, DeSoto County Extension Service to explore these topics.

Dr. Galbreath said, “Sustainability is our goal, and our purpose is to share evidence and information on this transformation that is happening in the world.” He stressed the importance of keeping trees in developing communities by explaining the water cycle from rainfall to groundwater and how trees help manage stormwater run-off. Galbreath said that well designed buildings tend to act like trees, by utilizing green roofs as a tree canopy equivalent. He also gave examples of successful large businesses and communities who have adopted sustainable practices.

Speaking specifically on the protection of trees, Dr. Anderson discussed tree management and preservation in new developments, as many trees are lost due to heavy equipment compacting soil and crushing roots around large trees. “You should not store supplies, clean equipment, park machinery, or dump waste under trees. This could kill the tree,” she said.

Dr. Kuhns presented ecologically balanced stormwater management planning and stream restoration information about one of the large Hernando projects, Hernando West. The project team is working closely with the city’s planning office to input sustainable practices. “We want to manage the rainfall where it falls by using nature’s examples of water management in developed areas,” Kuhns said. “We can apply science and engineering to better manage our water and to improve the ecology of a property. This creates a far superior place to live.” He also said that sustainability could be achieved in communities with the integration of renewable energy.

Mayor Johnson said, “Saving trees, better stormwater management and long- lasting policy are key parts of sustainable practices in our thinking. One of the green things we can do is re-use old buildings.” He said this approach supports historical preservation.

Bob Barber presented compelling information on the lessons learned from short-sighted planning approaches, and the great benefits from long-term planning. “We need to understand what makes the community valuable over the long run,” Barber said. “We are addressing the growing resource limitation, the costs and issues related to energy, community health, a secure natural environment and the ethics of stewardship. The first rule of sustainability is to preserve natural and historic resources,” he said.

Other speakers included Mickey Davis with PMC and Doug Thornton with AERC, who spoke about renewable energy and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building practices to promote sustainability. Mr. Elliott Bickerstaff with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality spoke about the importance of air quality, in particular the new ozone standards.

Mayor Johnson said that the role of the community leaders is to guide sustainable policies, and find ways the citizens can use sustainable practices that are economically feasible. “Good always comes with open discussion,” he said. The Sustainability Conference was an excellent example of open discussion in a growing community.