…that’s the slogan for the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy’s $71 million fundraising effort titled, A Campaign for Generations.
Today, Glen Chown, the GTRLC’s Executive Director, introduced the campaign to Rotary Club members at Visions at CenterPointe—the exact location where Rotary formed the idea of a regional conservancy 27 years ago.
It was in 1991 that Rotary Charities provided a $100,000 initial startup grant that launched the conservancy.
To say the GTRLC has accomplished a lot since then is an understatement. Over that 27-year span, Conservancy staff, volunteers and supporters have:
- Protected 41,000 acres of land in the five-county region, including 125 miles of shoreline on rivers, lakes and streams;
- Created 35 preserves and 27 natural areas for public use;
- And, raised $205,000,000 in private and public funding for land protection.
CLICK HERE to view the informative powerpoint presentation.
The GTRLC does all this through a variety of methods: they help landowners restrict development through conservation easements, they acquire land through donation or direct purchase, they help municipalities acquire land, and they offer technical assistance to help groups and agencies develop their own tools for preserving land.
The goal for the Campaign for Generations is to raise $71 million, which will allow the Conservancy to protect and additional 2000 acres of farmland, construct four universally accessible trails and water access points, and further ensure the stewardship of the acres of land it already protects.
To learn more about the campaign, check out this cool video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2q9WoSUyf8&t=1
Thanks for the very interesting and passionate presentation, Glen! Keep up the great work!
Rotarian Art Burkowski with guest speaker Glen Chown