Dear Friends,
Oh, glorious Spring! The signs of growth and rejuvenation are everywhere. The noisy wrens and mockingbirds wake me before the sun rises, the air is filled with the scent of blooms and the earth thawing, and with the celebration of Arbor Day, the trees are putting on their glorious displays of flowers and new leaves. Hatches of stone and may flies, midges and other bugs emerge from the water, providing food for the swallows skimming across the river and the fish jumping from the depths. The return of spring each year is truly a reminder that hope springs eternal! Spring is joy!
People are out on our nature preserves, looking for, and finding this joy! More people are searching for places to hike on our website than this time last year, when so many of us were in lockdown. While we love that more people are searching for the benefits that come with spending time in nature, this influx of traffic also creates unique challenges on our preserves, which is why your support continues to be so critical.
We are stepping up our stewardship efforts to keep our preserves ready to receive visitors, while also ensuring their vital habitats are protected. We are poised over the next few years to nearly double our land holdings and provide you with 30% more trails to get out and enjoy that critical connection to nature.
Last spring, we asked you to help with the increased challenges of crowd and parking control, litter, and over-use damage on our trails – and you stepped up. This year, we need to raise $40,000 between Earth Day, April 22 and Arbor Day, April 30 to ensure that we can continue to protect and restore our natural lands!
And so, today, we ask you to become a member with your gift, joining a community of nature lovers who value the connections found in nature when we keep our lands wild and our trails open.
Thank you for being an active part of this complex, interconnected, wondrous world we share.
With gratitude,
Phil Wenger
President
P.S. We had a generous donor offer a gift of $10,000 to match any donations that come in by midnight on Arbor Day! Double your impact to help keep our community connected to nature so we can all find rejuvenation this spring!
Photo of a Sweetbay Magnolia by Carol Foil
Header Photo by Michelle Johnsen of a bee on a Virginia Bluebell at Shenks Ferry Wildflower Preserve
