By Beth Sullivan
Avalonia Land Conservancy is coming to the end of its 50th Anniversary Year. It has been a full year too. There have been celebrations, acquisitions, and new initiatives. In our 50 years Avalonia has evolved into an organization that does more than just protect open space; we engage in environmental advocacy and education, wildlife and watershed protection, community outreach, public recreation, and more. Over this last year we have experienced real growth spurts on many fronts.
We have acquired, or begun the process to acquire, hundreds more acres of amazing land. These landscapes are precious, and by protecting them, we are creating greenways and blue-ways and providing habitat for species that may be threatened if the land was developed. These acres are now available, or will be soon, for all of our members and friends to explore and appreciate. Keep an eye on the website as we introduce each new preserve.
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| We are finishing our first fifty years. |
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| The Ram Point donation started us off in 1968. |
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| The next fifty years will bring the challenges of climate change and rising seas. Photograph by David Young. |
Updated Website
The website itself has
leaped into a new phase with additional information and resources, as
well as introducing interactive mapping for use on our trailed
preserves. With a smart phone and some common sense, you can find
your way around even an untrailed property. With the same phone you
have access to the Hike & Seek program. You and your family can
get more information before you hike and enhance your experience by
looking for, and understanding, some of the natural features along
the way.
We have reached out to
the greater community to increase awareness of Avalonia’s presence
and importance in our area. We have seen many more people
responding to our call to arms-that is, the helping hands on the ends
of the arms for stewardship and volunteering. There are several new
teams created to help organize our willing volunteers and direct the
energies we need to carry out our mission. The website is also the
place to find information about how you can help.
We are collaborating
with other organizations and institutions to combine forces and share
resources. As an organization, we are involved in trying to
understand the impact of climate change on our communities as well as
on our preserves. We have to think about how best to manage our
protected land to withstand the changes that will come over the next
years. We get help from academics, scientists, and business experts.
We seek funding from individuals, groups, and corporations, as well
as grants from institutions and organizations that can help us
further our mission.
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| Collaborations and teams will get the work done. |
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| Technology is now a part of exploration. |
New ways to communicate
We reach out now in
ways we did not even know would exist fifty years ago. Who ever
imagined smart phones, the internet, and all the social media
opportunities and outlets? We still use paper and stamps to send
out a few newsletters, but more and more our communications are done
electronically. People get their updates in snippets or flashes of
information. Long, newsy reports are a thing of the past. Even this
blog is probably too long.
As all this evolution has taken place, it has prompted the need to change the face of our digital-self. Avalonia is introducing a new logo, a digital-friendly design. and one that can be creatively adapted for different purposes. A clean new design, it is one that invokes the colors of nature, the contours of our landscape and the waterways that we value so highly.
Please check out the story of the process that went into this design, here. It is an amazing education itself.
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| Our new logo will lead us into the next fifty years. |
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| We remain committed to preserve and protect the land for the next generations. |
Photographs by Beth
Sullivan unless otherwise indicated.
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