In regards to environmental care, while this is a very beautiful place and wildlife numbers are high and very diverse, I think we have to watch the plants we introduce. We are permaculturists and would like to encourage diversity, but we have to be aware that most of the food plants we use are not indigenous to the area or even the continent. Most of the food plants are introduced. We have to make sure that plants that have any potential to be assets do not become problems. We have an internal newsletter, which I think helps, but I don't think we are the best communicators on the planet.
Distances are a main issue.
I don't think we are lazier than other people, but we need to overcome our tendency to use the car. We have to make sure that our pathways are improved, not only by shortening distance but also by providing shade. We are making improvements in food production every year, but we are a long way from being self-reliant. We have lots of social activities, but they seem to be centred on the clusters or individual families, groups of friends, and maybe what we need most is a community hall big enough for all of us to meet. We haven't, at the moment, a building big enough for all of us to sit down together and have a meal.