December 2010
Dear
Friends:
We
hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Our best wishes for a happy
holiday season and a great new year!
Our
2010 Annual Year End Appeal to the Community is Underway!
By now,
you will have received our 2010 Annual
Year End Appeal letter, either in your mailbox or
e-mail inbox. Your continued support of the Orange County Land Trust
is so important to us, and even more so this year. We hope you can
consider a gift of any amount to support the work we do. Together,
gifts from people like you in communities throughout the county make
a tremendous difference in our ability to continue to protect
our beautiful lands in Orange County - our working farms, important
wildlife corridors, scenic ridgelines and pristine woodlands and
wetlands.
Many
thanks to longtime supporters Pamela and Barry Breeman of Warwick,
members of our Circle of Leadership and co-chairs of this year’s
Annual Year End Appeal fundraising drive.
Did
you know…..
Nearly
60% of support for the Orange County Land Trust comes from our
individual members and donors.
The remaining 40% is a combination of county
funding, grants, interest from our three endowment funds and
business event sponsorships. We
rely on your generosity to help us do our important work!
-Protect
land in Monroe and Tuxedo
adjacent to Sterling Forest State Park
-Open
community gardens in
Middletown, Newburgh and Port Jervis
-Partner with the County, town governments
and landowners to protect
hundreds of acres of farmland, scenic
areas and wildlife habitat in
OC
-Continue to work on developing
a universal access rail trail
-Maintain
and improve public access to
our nine nature preserves
-Monitor
the 2,400 acres of conservation easements
we hold on private lands
-Hold
educational nature-based outings
for children and adults
Winter scene along
the Wallkill River
The Orange County Land Trust relies on the generosity of its
individual donors to continue to preserve the open spaces, wildlife
habitats and working farms in Orange County. These important
lands beautify our communities, protect our environment and
contribute to our health, our economic viability and our future
sustainability.
Join
us in celebrating the season….
Friday,
December 10, 5:30-7:30 pm: Orange
County Land Trust Annual Holiday Reception
at our office at 10 Mulberry Street in downtown
Middletown. Join us for some great hors d’oeuvres and
refreshments as we recognize our
dedicated volunteers and owners of protected private lands in Orange
County! Enjoy
music by folk/jazz artist and environmentalist John Ebert. A Silent
Auction of local landscape paintings by Wallkill River School of Art
artists will benefit the OCLT.
RSVP: Caroline at (845) 343-0840, x14 or caroline@oclt.org
__________
Our community gardeners have harvested and now winterized their
raised bed garden plots at our three urban gardens in Newburgh,
Middletown and Port Jervis. Many have already registered with us for
the 2011 growing season and are looking forward to another spring
planting! For info on reserving a garden plot at one of these
community gardens, call the OCLT at (845) 343-0840.
__________
The
2011 Orange County Land Trust Calendar is on sale now for just $12
and can be purchased securely online at www.oclt.org,
by calling our office at (845) 343-0840 and at the following local
stores:
The
Exposures Gallery, Sugar Loaf
Newhard’s-The Home Source,
Warwick
The
Warwick Historical Society, Warwick
Soons Orchards, New Hampton
Clearwater’s
Jones Farm Store, Cornwall
Mainframe Gallery, Middletown
Nature’s
Pantry, Newburgh
Roe Orchards, Chester
Pine
View Farm, New Windsor
During the month of December, Mainframe
Gallery owners Rob and Jean Warren will donate $10 to the Land Trust
for every calendar sold in their gallery and frame shop at 513 East
Main Street, Middletown.
__________
Happy Holidays to all!
May the beauty of our open
spaces and rural farmland fill you with a sense of peace this holiday
season and throughout the new year.
For
the Land,
Your
Friends at Orange County Land Trust