We are only custodians
- Claire Barrett
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
A solar eclipse, 64 years and a reminder that we're only custodians for a while.
Today, members of the Vital team had the opportunity to watch the partial solar eclipse from Carnewas on the north Cornwall coast.
It was an incredible sight.
But while watching the Moon slowly move across the Sun, something else struck us.
The last total solar eclipse visible from mainland Britain was 27 years ago.
The next will be in 2090 - 64 years from now.
And that raises an interesting question for anyone responsible for a school, commercial building or estate:
What will your site look like in 2090?
We're only custodians
Think about the buildings and spaces around you.
Some were built before many of us were born.
Thousands of children may already have passed through a school we're responsible for today. Mature trees may have been planted by people who never got to see them reach their current size.
And many of those places could still be serving their communities 64 years from now.
We don't really own their future.
For a period of time, we're simply their custodians.
Our responsibility is to look after what we've inherited, improve what we can and eventually hand it to somebody else.
Hopefully in better condition than we found it.
The urgent versus the important
Facilities and estates management naturally pulls us towards what's happening today.
A leaking roof.
An overdue inspection.
Overgrown grounds.
A blocked gutter.
Damaged fencing.
A repair that suddenly needs completing before Monday morning.
Those jobs matter.
But constantly responding to today's problems can make it difficult to think about tomorrow.
Good estates management asks another set of questions:
What can we maintain now rather than replace later?
Which small problem could become an expensive one if we ignore it?
What should we improve rather than simply repair?
What could we plant, build or protect today that people will benefit from decades from now?
Think beyond the job sheet
A tree planted this year could still be providing shade in 2090.
A properly maintained roof could avoid years of deterioration to the building beneath it.
Well-managed grounds can mature rather than decline.
Preventative maintenance can extend the useful life of assets and reduce the need for disruptive emergency repairs.
And a school environment continually cared for and improved can influence the experience of generations of children.
Not every improvement produces an immediate return.
Sometimes the people who benefit most from today's decisions haven't even arrived yet.
Leaving somewhere better
At Vital, Transforming Your World isn't just about dramatic transformations.
Sometimes transformation is much less obvious.
It's maintaining something before it fails.
Caring for a landscape so it improves year after year.
Spotting the problem nobody else has noticed yet.
Or simply leaving a site a little better after every visit.
Because whether we're responsible for a place for a day, a year or several decades, eventually somebody else will take our place.
The universe works in billions of years.
Our careers and lifetimes are considerably shorter.
So perhaps our responsibility is quite simple:
Look after what you've inherited.
Improve what you can.
And leave something worthwhile for whoever comes next.
Sometimes looking up gives you a useful perspective on what's happening down here.
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