Dear Friends and Supporters,
As you and your loved ones celebrate the season, all of us at the Land Trust celebrate you and the phenomenal community support that we are privileged to receive. 2018 has been one of the most productive years in the Land Trust’s history, and the accomplishments would not have been possible without you.
The year started off with the game-changing $4 million challenge grant from The Anschutz Foundation. With a $1 million anonymous matching gift coming in immediately after the challenge was announced, and another pledge totaling almost a second million, we launched the first phase of
The Canopy Campaign
at our Live Oak Society Reception on March 16. Within six weeks, this generous community enabled us to meet the entire multi-million challenge and has helped us to raise $9 million in capital funds this year. In 2019, we will launch the next phase of
Canopy
, raising funds that will become part of a “war chest” for future acquisitions and for the perpetual management of the properties we own.
In addition, this year we were able to protect and preserve iconic properties along Frederica Road and wilderness areas on the north-end of the island. To date, we have more than 1,000 acres in our trust, land that we work daily to maintain at the highest standards.
Once again, thank you for your generous support in 2018 and for playing such an important role in building a culture of conservation on St. Simons. We look forward to partnering with you in the New Year!
David H. Pope
Executive Director
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$25,000 Challenge MATCHED
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On December 19th, a long-time, generous supporter walked through our doors and pledged to donate $25,000 if we matched his gift before the end of the year. That evening, we launched a
$25,000 Year-End Challenge Campaign
. You not only MATCHED that challenge, you
SURPASSED IT
. You doubled the challenger's pledge and enabled us to raise more than $50,000.
This anonymous donor's commitment to preserving the best of St. Simons, and the immediate matching support from this community, is truly humbling.
From all of us at the Land Trust, we send a heartfelt
THANK YOU
!
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Celebration of Mildred Huie
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The Land Trust joyfully dedicated the former Mildred Huie Museum property on Frederica Road as island greenspace on December 6th and celebrated the remarkable lives and work of the late Mrs. Huie and her daughter Millie Wilcox (pictured above).
Surrounded by many of her closest friends and family – some of whom traveled from other cities and states – Millie Wilcox was honored with a champagne toast and the unveiling of a bronze plaque dedicating the site as a landmark on the island. Both women were accomplished artists who made lasting contributions to the artistic and cultural life of the St. Simons community.
Thank you, Millie, for giving us a reason to celebrate!
To read more, click
HERE
.
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Land Trust volunteers take on a wide variety of tasks throughout the year, including cleaning up storm debris, planting native species, checking on properties, guiding tours, and months-long work for the annual Oyster Roast.
We are grateful for the dedication and support of so many!
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Oyster Roast Volunteers
are hard at work preparing for our biggest event of the year. Get ready to have these smiling faces cooking up a storm for the 19th Annual
Oyster Roast on January 19, 2019.
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Dedicated
Property Volunteers
spent a December morning trail trimming out at Cannon's Point Preserve. Thank you to our Preserve Manager, Stephanie Knox, for grabbing a photo of the crew after all of their hard work!
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Click
HERE
to become a Land Trust volunteer.
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In 2019, SSLT will be working to increase the public's awareness of the incredible research being done at Cannon's Point Preserve and the need for maritime forest restoration along the east coast.
We are partnering with a daily environmental newsletter,
to tell our story
to a broader audience.
ODP is an email newsletter with
the
"Earth's biggest stories
delivered to your inbox."
Click
HERE
to read a recent mention in Our Daily Planet of work being conducted at Jekyll Island's
Georgia Sea Turtle Center.
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Bayou 2
, a team of seven Southern Region AmeriCorps members arrived in Coastal Georgia on Thanksgiving Eve and worked for nearly three weeks creating new trails on Land Trust properties.
This project was made possible through our ongoing partnership with the
Georgia Department of
Natural Resources.
Sincerest thanks to the DNR, the "Sensational Seven" of Bayou 2, the AmeriCorps organization, and Land Trust "Supporter Extraordinaire" Susan Shipman. Their collaborative weed-whacking, chainsawing, machete-wielding efforts have created new hiking and biking trails for the island.
Learn more about
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The
Farm Bill
, which is reauthorized every five years by Congress, is the
single largest source of federal funding for conservation
.
Thank you to Georgia Senators Isakson and Perdue for
voting YES
to approve the bill.
To read more about how the Farm Bill agreement benefits land conservation, please click
HERE
.
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The
American Heart Association
recently released a five-year, first-of-its-kind study that indicates people who live in neighborhoods with "
more greenspaces
may have better blood vessel strength and
lower levels of stress
, and a lower risk" of heart attacks and strokes.
To read more about the study's
conclusions on the benefits
of living in areas with dense foliage and greenspace,
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"Species of Concern"
This is an informal term that refers to species that may be in need of monitoring and conservation actions.
Steps taken to protect "species of concern" vary greatly depending on overall health of the plant or animal and the severity of threats.
Cannon's Point Preserve is home to a Georgia species of concern, the northern yellow bat (
Lasiurus intermedius
). This year, the GA DNR identified three of these bats at CPP and banded them to aid in further studies of their future health.
Read more about
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With less than 500 individuals remaining worldwide, right whales, Georgia's state marine mammal, are
highly endangered
.
During the winter of 2017,
no new calves were documented.
Female right whales give birth to only one calf a year, making the calves' survival critical to population stabilization and growth.
The good news, according to Clay George, a marine mammal biologist with the GA DNR, is that this year a team of researches "found the first right whales of the season, two big females, one of which has had three calves [in her lifetime], so, hopefully we’ll be looking at a good calving season this year.”
Read more about
Georgia's right whales
HERE
.
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1% for St. Simons NEW Businesses
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We are thrilled to announce two new
1% for St. Simons
business partners,
Southern Finds
and
The Gallery on Newcastle
.
Thank you
for supporting our community through your participation in the 1% program!
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To learn more about this program and how you can participate, please click
HERE
.
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Sincerest thanks to
Elegant Island Living
for featuring the Land Trust's
19th Annual Oyster Roast
and the 1-year anniversary of our
1% for St. Simons
program.
Click on the links below to read the full articles.
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Support Us Through AmazonSmile
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Although the holiday shopping season is over, you can still support the Land Trust with your year-round purchases on AmazonSmile!
Amazon
donates 0.5%
of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile* purchases
to the charitable organization
of your choice.
choose the Land Trust
and watch your shopping dollars
turn into
protected and connected
lands and waterways
on St. Simons!
*Note: You must shop through AmazonSmile for the Land Trust to receive donations.
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Village Inn and Pub's
Oyster Roast Special
!
Do you have family or friends
coming into town for the
Land Trust's
19th Annual Oyster Roast
?
From
January 13-26
,
1% for St. Simons partner
Village Inn and Pub
will be
discounting room rates
for all visitors in town for the event!
All rooms will be
$110/night from Sunday-Thursday
and
$130/night on Friday and Saturday
.
To make the deal even sweeter, deluxe continental breakfast is included and the
amenity fee is waived.
Click
HERE
to book your room today!
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If you're wondering why there are so many work trucks, building materials, and construction crews at 1810 Frederica Road these days, it's because we have started renovations of this iconic building and turning the property into protected public greenspace.
For a number of years, a dollar store had been proposed for the site. But heeding the community's concerns about commercial creep and congestion along Frederica Road, the Land Trust purchased the property in March 2018 with support from The Anschutz Foundation. As part of the grant agreement with the Foundation, funds were restricted to renovate the existing building for Land Trust's offices or for demotion of the structure. We chose renovation and preservation!
We look forward to moving to 1810 over the summer. At our new offices, we will have space for educational programming, lectures, community gatherings, volunteer training, and meetings with our partners, supporters, and board members. We remain grateful to The Anschutz Foundation for protecting this important property and its majestic live oaks and for creating a park-like setting that the entire island can enjoy.
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With only a few days left to make
tax-deductible contributions in 2018,
here is a friendly reminder to
renew your annual Land Trust
membership or
fulfill outstanding pledge payments
.
And one more reminder:
if you're
over 70 years of age, there is a required annual distribution of funds
from your IRA
to prevent those monies from being counted as taxable income.
Consider transferring the distribution to the Land Trust instead.
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If you have considered the Land Trust as the beneficiary of a
Legacy Gift,
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January 19
: 19th Annual Oyster Roast. Purchase your tickets
HERE
.
January 22
: Information Session on Rising Sea Level Predictions for Glynn County presented by the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation. RSVP
HERE
.
January 30-February 1:
Coastal Culture and Nature on Little St. Simons Island. Register
HERE
.
March 8-10:
Little St. Simons Island and Benjamin Galland Photography Workshop. Register
HERE
.
March 16
:
Live Oak Society
Reception at The Cloister. (Invitations will be mailed to Live Oak Society members in January, but please save the date now!)
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