A "Month of Mondays" is how so much of 2020 has felt. But the hot, humid days of August have brought so many pleasant surprises that one of our staff members called it the "Month of Joy." First and foremost we are overjoyed by the number of people who have responded to our request to renew their memberships early this year. Receiving renewals now rather than in November or December, when the majority of our membership contributions normally are made, has been extremely helpful as we manage operational costs and plan for the future during a challenging year.

Another highlight was notification this month of re-accreditation from the national Land Trust Alliance. It cannot be overstated how much work goes into this multi-phased, nearly 24-month application process or how truly joyful the SSLT staff was on the day we learned the Trust had been accredited for another five-year cycle. While this was an arduous undertaking, it was an important and educational one. And we are better for it!

We were equally excited when we closed on a three-acre parcel of environmentally significant land that fronts Kings Way near a major entryway to St. Simons. Through the generosity of an anonymous donor and a partnership with residents of the Kings Point neighborhood, we were able to acquire and protect forever another important greenspace on the island.

There are a number of other positive moments recounted in this newsletter. They provided us with a sense of renewed purpose, optimism, encouragement, and -- yes -- even joy in a year of Mondays. Thank you so much for your continued partnership and generous support.

Emily Ellison

SSLT Executive Director

As the St. Simons Land Trust renewed its commitment to a mission of land conservation in its 20th Anniversary Year, we learned this month that our accreditation with the national Land Trust Alliance has also been renewed.

To receive re-accreditation, the Land Trust went through a multi-phased, comprehensive third-party evaluation, providing thorough and extensive documentation over a nearly two-year period. The accreditation was awarded by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent arm of the Alliance that was created in 2006 to recognize the work of strong land trusts and to foster public engagement in long-term land protection.

Read more HERE.

Last week the Land Trust announced that it had acquired 3.059 acres of thickly forested, marsh-front property along one of the major entrances to the island – Kings Way. This purchase was made possible by the generosity of an anonymous donor and with the partnership of the Kings Point Property Owners Association.

To read more about the partnership and the ecological values of the land, please click HERE.

The Land Trust's first-ever Little Lending Library has been installed and is ready for your visit! Thanks to an incredibly generous supporter who funded this project, the SSLT Library - built with salvaged materials from the renovation of our office - is a place to find books about St. Simons Island and Coastal Georgia, its rich history and its breathtaking natural environment, as well as field guides, children’s books, novels, cookbooks, and other fun reading materials.

The day after the library was installed, nearly all the books we had stocked it with were gone and had been replaced with different volumes. We hope you will stop by soon, "check-out" a book of your choice, and once you've finished reading, return the book or replace it with another you think people will enjoy. Be sure to take a "selfie" and tag us on social media @stsimonslandtrust when you visit. No library card is required! Just curiosity and community spirit. And if you want to donate more books to our Land Trust LLL, you can drop them off at our front door or add them to the "stacks" inside the library. Thank you!

Recently, the Land Trust was given the opportunity to partner with Flutemaker Ministries, a 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to helping impoverished children with special needs and their families in Nicaragua. The organization's President, Erik Sampson, is a world-renowned flutemaker and musician who specializes in bamboo flutes. Selling these instruments allows him to financially contribute to the many projects his ministry supports.

While visiting St. Simons Island recently, Erik enjoyed many Land Trust properties, and he especially loved hiking the John Gilbert Nature Trail. During one of his hikes, Erik noticed a small grove of bamboo growing at the John Gilbert Park. With flute making in mind, he contacted the Land Trust about harvesting some of the bamboo (a species nonnative to coastal Georgia) for his next batch of instruments that would benefit Flutemaker Ministries.

Because the bamboo is not ecologically important to the surrounding habitat, accompanied by the Land Trust’s Stewardship Director, Erik carefully cut 10 stalks of bamboo from the grove. These stalks will enable him to make 80 new flutes, all of which will positively impact children and families in Nicaragua.

Thank you, Erik, for the work you do, for the beautiful instruments you make, and for allowing the Land Trust to play a small part in your work.

To ensure maximum safety of all CPP volunteers, docents, visitors, and SSLT staff, Cannon’s Point Preserve will remain closed until further notice. We will continue to monitor the situation daily and follow guidelines from the Glynn County Public Health System and other local, state, and national authorities. During this time, we hope you will visit other Land Trust properties that do not require staffing and where you can hike, bike, and explore on your own.

Although public access is not allowed at Cannon's Point Preserve at this time, the Preserve is still a site for important research including surveys by the Butterflies of the Atlantic Flyway Alliance (BAFA). Once a week during butterfly migration, volunteers with BAFA safely assist the Preserve Manager with socially-distanced counts in several different portions of the southern area of the Preserve. Species such as the gulf fritillary, monarch, and cloudless sulphur are documented on native pollinator plants such as sea ox-eye daisy, baccharis, and frog fruit. Learn more HERE.

The Land Trust has launched a new web-based volunteer communication tool called Better Impact that replaces a platform previously used.

Better Impact will allow volunteers to sign up for shifts, view their schedules, log their hours, and contact the Land Trust when needed.

With this new program, we look forward to keeping our volunteers better informed and involved and letting them know how truly grateful we are for their dedication and hard work. So many of the land conservation successes on St. Simons and the ongoing maintenance of Land Trust properties are the results of the expertise and countless hours of service by our volunteers.

1% for St. Simons contributions are raised by participating businesses collecting a voluntary 1% donation from their customers' receipts/invoices or from program partners providing in-kind services to the Land Trust.

All 1% donations are turned into protected acres!

70 environmentally-significant acres at Oatland North and helping to create a wilderness corridor on the island's north end. Learn more HERE.

Join us every Wednesday as we show extra support to our preservation partners

and encourage members and followers to

Below is a sneak peek of the Land Trust's third 1% Wednesday grouping

which will highlight our dedicated partners who serve BREAKFAST, including:

Cafe Frederica,

Certified Burgers & Beverage,

The Local Brew, and

Be sure to also follow our upcoming #OnePercentWednesday posts on social media!

Thank you to all participating businesses, their teams, and their patrons!

If you've driven past the Old Stables Corner over the last few weeks, you might have noticed a few boards missing from the fence surrounding the property.

Installed 10 years ago, the wooden fence has weathered many storms, including a recent thunderstorm that brought down one of the property's trees. That giant tree in turn took out sections of the fence. Thanks for your patience as we work on putting things back in order.

The preservation of threatened maritime forest, marshlands, streams,

rare plants and animals and important habitat

on St. Simons Island would not be possible without generous contributions

from community members and supporters like you.

Because undeveloped tracts of land are increasingly rare,

and because our work continues in spite of pandemics and economic downturns,

we hope that if you are not a Land Trust member you will consider

joining our membership TODAY.

And if you are a member who hasn’t made your membership contribution recently,

we hope that you will renew your gift NOW rather than later in the year.

Your early renewal or pledge will help significantly in our efforts to plan prudently

and to make critical financial decisions during the coming months.

From all of us at the Land Trust Team,

Note: Memberships can be paid monthly or quarterly with direct, online payments.