FY20 Annual Report
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Accelerating the Pace of Conservation Fiscal Year 2020 Annual Report and Progress Made on the 2025 Strategic Action Plan This year, TLC nature preserves have been more important than ever. TLC nature preserves have never been more important to our community, and they are not possible without you, our incredible supporters. You have made this year — which has been hard for so many — better for thousands of people in so many ways. We cannot tell you how many messages we’ve received that share the same sentiment: TLC nature preserves have been absolutely vital during the pandemic. Before COVID-19, in October 2019, TLC conserved its largest land project ever — Brogden Bottomlands, a 1,120-acre tract of land in Johnston County, and helped host the national Land Trust Alliance Rally in Raleigh. Throughout the year, staff hosted dozens of volunteer workdays and environmental education programs. I am proud of TLC staff, board, volunteers, and supporters for the way they have adapted and dealt with these challenging times. Starting at the beginning of this pandemic, we had to postpone (and ultimately cancel) two of our most anticipated events of the year: Wild Ideas for Farms and Forests in March and the Grand Opening of Bailey and Sarah Williamson Preserve in April. Since then, we’ve accomplished so much together. Before March was over, we launched a new webinar series called Conservation Conversations. We’ve been grateful to work with some of our volunteers remotely. We were blown away by everyone’s generosity on our Giving Day on April 22. And we were thrilled to finally open Williamson Preserve to the public in September. This year, TLC has also redoubled our efforts to ensure outdoor spaces are accessible to everyone in the Triangle — a goal that cannot become reality without actively working to end systemic racism, which for centuries has led to ongoing inequities in access to and enjoyment of the outdoors. As part of this work, we have been planning new initiatives to increase Black land ownership. This project is still in its early stages, but we are excited about where it is headed. You’ve helped keep us going this year, and we are still working steadily toward conserving 25,000 acres by 2025. We are also getting closer to our goal of 25 new miles of trail by 2025 — we’ve already built 10.5 new miles! Thank you, always, for your dedication to conserving land and connecting people to nature. Our community has never been more grateful or needed it more. Audited FY20 financials will be available at triangleland.org/ar Sandy Sweitzer, Executive Director Triangle Land Conservancy PS: Don’t forget to vote for TLC Board members online at triangleland.org/vote2020 OUR MISSION TLC strives to create a healthier and more vibrant Triangle region by safeguarding clean water, protecting natural habitats, supporting local farms and food, and connecting people with nature through land protection and stewardship, catalyzing community action, and collaboration. Report on Year 2: Protecting Key Conservation Land Making Progress on the 2025 Strategic Action Plan Accelerating the Pace of Conservation: 25,000 Acres by 2025 20,181 protected through FY20 4,819 to go 1,432 acres conserved this year Conserved ...4.8 miles ...240 acres Built 7 miles 1,432 acres, of stream of farmland of trail at including... Williamson Preserve Photo: Tiffany López, @myraleighnc on Instagram FY 2020 Annual Report | 2 FY20 By the Numbers You helped... Monitor 14,300 Acres Support a 100% Increase in Visitors to TLC Preserves Staff monitored more than 8,100 acres of conservation easements and over 6,200 acres TLC preserves had a record amount of visitors of TLC-owned lands, an increase of more than this year. Traffic to our Nature Preserves web 1,000 from last year. page increased by 172%, and 432 people enrolled in the Hiking Challenge. Bring 2 Farms to Williamson Preserve Contribute 1,860 Volunteer Hours TLC’s Williamson Preserve is our first public While our volunteer activities came to a sudden preserve with active farmers on site. Newbold halt in March, we still had volunteers involved Farms was the first to start their operations at the at TLC’s office and in outdoor education preserve in Nov. 2019, while Leaf & Limb prepared programs, hikes, and workdays before the to launch Project Pando in the fall of 2020. pandemic. We realized more than ever how important our volunteers are! A girl sits in reflection at Frog Pond at Williamson Preserve. Photo: Mavis Gragg A mask at Brumley North in late May. Some board members joined us for a Conservation Conversations webinar in April. FY 2020 Annual Report | 3 Photo: Bill Warren FY20 Highlights and Details Safeguarding Clean Water Connecting People With Nature • Continued to work on ensuring clean water • Built 7 miles of new trails at Williamson for the region through the Jordan Lake Preserve, TLC’s new preserve in eastern One-Water (JLOW) initiative to complete Wake County. the Jordan Lake Watershed Conservation • Planned an additional 8 miles of trail as Strategy, with a focus on the adoption part of a joint trail plan at Williamson of the strategy by local partners and Preserve and the neighboring River Walk developing local sources of funding to property owned by NC State Parks and protect our drinking water resources. managed by the Town of Clayton, as well as • The strategy was developed in FY19 and: 2 miles at the future Brumley East. • Will guide local governments and land • Participation in the TLC Hiking Challenge conservation organizations in their nearly doubled. TLC nature preserves efforts to protect water quality. experienced record traffic because of the • Sets a goal of protecting 35,000 acres in COVID-19 pandemic. the Jordan Lake Watershed over the next • Launched the webinar series Conservation 35 years. Conversations and the Triangle Explorer • More info: triangleland.org/jlow program to encourage kids to spend time learning about the outdoors. FY 2020 Annual Report | 4 FY19 Highlights and Details Protecting Natural Habitats • Partnered with Audubon NC at Horton Grove Nature Preserve as part of Audubon’s Forest Landbird Legacy Program. This program focuses on management practices to benefit bird species in decline due to lack of habitat. TLC increased the suitability of habitat for the targeted species. • Worked with local nonprofit and government organizations to finalize the Eno-New Hope Landscape Conservation Plan. • Continued work on longleaf pine restoration at Williamson Preserve with a second For The Love of the Longleaf event — a volunteer workday hosted by TLC, The Longleaf Alliance, and Appalachian Mountain Brewing Co. Volunteers marked trees that had grown since last year and better spaced out the trees during this year’s planting to ensure a better success rate. • Established the Lee County Conservation Fund. Supporting Local Farms and Food • Protected 240 acres of farmland, an important step toward our goal of protecting 3,000 acres of farmland by 2025. • Brought two farmers to Williamson Preserve: • Newbold Farms LLC brought their first cattle to Williamson Preserve in November 2019. They are farming at the preserve through Wake County’s NextGen Farm project and NC State’s Center for Environmental Farming Systems. • Raleigh-based tree company Leaf & Limb brought Project Pando to Williamson Preserve. This volunteer-run tree farm will eventually provide native trees for free in the Triangle. FY 2020 Annual Report | 5 Staff at Williamson Preserve continued the hard work of trail maintenance and construction to get ready for the opening in September. Our staff has never been more appreciative of our volunteers as we have been this year! We look forward to when we can safely hold in-person group workdays. Photo: Land, Ltd., @landlimited on Instagram FY 2020 Annual Report | 6 We are grateful for everyone who gives time, land, and money to support TLC. The following list recognizes Our Supporters contributions made by our longest standing and most generous donors. For a complete list of FY20 donors please visit triangleland.org/ar. Fiscal Year 2020 Legacy Donors, our donors who made their first gift to us within our first five years (1983-1987), are (July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2020) indicated in bold. Donor-advised funds through Triangle Community Foundation are indicated by TCF. *Wild Ideas Sponsors +TLC Stewards (monthly donors) Land & Easement Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Kent Fiala Jeanne & Robert Chamberlin Donors John F. Dorsey Bert Fisher & Leto Copeley (Vireo Fund Sarah Connette & Marybeth Great Outdoor Provision Co. of TCF) Campeau+ Mary Howes Dale & John Fluke Sherry L. Cooke & Sam Cook Elizabeth Christian Nannerl & Robert Keohane Victoria Gordon David Davis Ella Holding Leaf & Limb Alan & Laurie Hughes Patricia & Eric Decker Olivia Holding Leslie Family Fund of TCF Kari Hamel & Richard H Stanford+ Shelby & Noel Dunivant Lynn Hicks Ranee & Sean Montgomery Lee Ellen & Myles Harmer Stuart T. Dyer Delbridge Narron Murphy’s Naturals, Inc The Kollins Family Beth & Tom Eagen Catherine Phelps Pascal Strom Family Fund of TCF Thomas H. Krakauer Krishna Fisher The Alben F. Bates & Clara G. Bates Erin Magee & Eric Knight+ Janet L. Fleming Bequests Received Foundation Jennifer D’Arcy Maher Gail Freeman & Susan Gidwitz Tori Reynolds Jean & Michael Mankowski+ Amy A. Germuth & Sandra Metz Estate of Pennie Dadelake Blalock Jana & Jason Scislowicz Molly & David Neal Sally & Jeffrey Greaser Estate of Anne Nelson Loeb Universal Leaf North America U.S., Inc Oak Fund of TCF (CKay Briggs & Chris Hitt) Wendy F. Greene & Russell Helms Estate of Oliver H. Orr, Jr. Wind Point Foundation Cynthia & Gregg Pacchiana Donald W. Grigg & Nancy F. Grigg Estate of Andrea Rohrbacher Jean & Joseph Ritok Barbara & James Grizzle Estate of Margaret Ryan Donald H. Robbins Matt Grzebien+ River Society: Kathleen & Todd Shapley-Quinn Carol Gunther-Mohr Heron Circle John B.