Leadership Council Unites Over Nature, Hope, Chowder at Fall Supper
Wildlands President Karen Grey addresses the Leadership Council at the 2025 fall supper.
By Thomas Patti, Communications Coordinator
In late October, nearly 100 of Southeastern Massachusetts’ most influential conservation champions gathered at Davis-Douglas Farm in Plymouth to celebrate the work Wildlands Trust has accomplished in the past year. Wildlands hosts the Leadership Council fall supper each year to thank and unite the generous individuals who provide upper-level donor support to our mission.
It was a gorgeous autumn evening for the event. Under a tent outside the Community Conservation Barn, Leadership Council members were treated to an artisan charcuterie board, a raw oyster bar hosted by Island Creek Oysters, wine and beer from Pioppi’s Package Store, and handcrafted chocolates donated by Stuzzi Café & Sweet Shop. Inside the barn, attendees were served clam and corn chowder, and for dessert, apple and pumpkin pie. Each attendee also received a gift bag of fresh cranberries donated by the Gilmore Cranberry Company, along with a Wildlands Trust ceramic coaster.
Leadership Council members enjoy the charcuterie board at the fall supper.
Yet the highlight of the evening was neither the food tasted nor gifts bestowed, but the stories told and the company shared. Two guest speakers, invited and introduced by Wildlands President Karen Grey, commended Wildlands’ unassuming yet vital work at a critical moment in local and global environmental history.
“It is an honor of my job to know so many of you and to understand the different ways each of you helps to advance our mission. You are essential partners in our work to protect land across the region, and we could not do it without you .”
First, conservation photographer Jerry Monkman reflected on his 30-year career, capturing the places and people at the heart of New England’s natural heritage. As owner of EcoPhotography and Reel Quest Films, Monkman has provided Wildlands with breathtaking photo and video content for almost two decades. To open his remarks, Monkman noted that amid a chaotic upbringing, it was his ability to roam the forests, fields, and rivers near his northern Illinois childhood home that kept him healthy and whole. Years later, when a cancer diagnosis put his adventurous career on hold, it was the nature of his own backyard in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, that saved him again. Monkman has been cancer free for over 10 years.
Jerry Monkman and his wife, Marcy.
“Having easy access to open space close to home, where I could go within a few minutes while I was sick and just spend an hour listening to the surf or meditating in the woods, I really believe had a strong impact on my recovery,” Monkman said. "I came to believe that easy access to open space is a basic human right, and we should all think of it that way.”
Monkman then recounted his mutually beneficial relationship with Wildlands.
“I just love working with Wildlands Trust,” he said. “They're awesome, fun people to work with. I've worked with environmental organizations from small land trusts all the way up to some of the biggest international organizations in the world. And I've got to say, Wildlands Trust is definitely one of the better-run organizations. They know how to get stuff done.”
Monkman then debuted his latest project for Wildlands, a promotional film narrated by President Grey centering on the theme, Saving Land for Everyone, Forever. Watch the film here.
Mass Audubon President David O’Neill addresses the Leadership Council.
The final speaker of the night was David O’Neill, President of Mass Audubon. “This is what community looks like,” he marveled at the start of his address, scanning the packed room. Amid turmoil and uncertainty at the federal level, O’Neill emphasized the importance of investing in local, tangible improvements to social and environmental well-being.
“Focusing on the negative is too easy,” O’Neill said. “I'm like, ‘Look, what can we do about this? What is in our agency to make a difference today?’ It's the work that's happening in communities all across the country to do great things as a bulwark against what's happening in D.C. What Wildlands Trust is doing each and every day is what we all have to do. And we have to magnify that more than we've ever done before.”
O’Neill concluded by highlighting the Nature for Massachusetts campaign, which is advocating for the state to dedicate $100 million of existing tax revenue each year to advance land and water conservation, outdoor recreation, and climate resiliency. Spearheading the effort is the Nature for Massachusetts Coalition, a group of over 50 environmental organizations, including Mass Audubon and Wildlands Trust.
The Leadership Council enjoys light refreshments and good company under a tent outside the barn.
“Nature is a unifying force,” O’Neill added. “It should not be a political issue. It should be something that brings us together, and it does each and every day. And we need more of it. We need to protect it, and in places that don't have it, we need to offer it.”
Through laughter, stories, handshakes, and hugs, the unifying force of nature was on full display at last month’s fall supper. We extend our deepest gratitude to the generous members of the Leadership Council, who make our work possible.
Wildlands hosts two Leadership Council appreciation events each year, the fall supper and a spring preserve tour. Learn more and join the Leadership Council at wildlandstrust.org/leadership-council.