What’s New at Wildlands
Why do you support land conservation?
By Thomas Patti, Communications Coordinator
In June, our Solstice Celebration brought together conservation champions from across Southeastern Massachusetts for a day of art, music, food, hikes, and much more at Davis-Douglas Farm in Plymouth. Over 150 of us joined our voices to send a resounding message that nature is vital to the future of our region.
Our voices are louder together, but they are not all the same. Since land conservation has so many benefits, ranging from ecological to economic to spiritual, it perhaps comes as little surprise that there are almost as many reasons to support our work as there are people who support it.
To better serve our community, we wanted to know why people donate their money, time, and passion to our mission. So, we asked. During the Solstice Celebration, a station inside the Community Conservation Barn invited attendees to decorate small banners by completing the statement, “I support land conservation because…” We strung up their responses on a wall inside the barn to create a living tapestry, symbolizing our community’s diverse motivations to realize our shared vision.
Explore some of these motivations in the photo gallery below. Click on each photo to view the full caption.
Why do you support land conservation? Tell us in the comments or add a banner to our tapestry the next time you visit Davis-Douglas Farm!
Thank you to all who support our mission to keep Southeastern Massachusetts a remarkable place to live, work, and play. Your generosity makes our work possible. Feeling inspired? Join our community at wildlandstrust.org/membership.
Solstice Celebration Unites Regional Conservation Community
Drumming with Pride at the Solstice Celebration.
On the longest day of the year, the future of Southeastern Massachusetts got a little bit brighter.
Our Solstice Celebration on June 21 was a resounding success, made possible by the dedication of our community and the generosity of our sponsors. Together, we raised nearly $8,000 for our work to save land, for everyone, forever. Above all, we strengthened regional support for land conservation through a day of unity and fun. About 150 attendees chose to spend the first sunny Saturday in weeks with us, making one thing clear: the lands, waters, and wildlife of Southeastern Massachusetts will be in good hands for many solstices to come.
Sunny skies set the perfect backdrop for our busy schedule of events. Local poet Tzynya Pinchback kicked off the day with a captivating poetry reading, introducing listeners to her work as our Writing the Land poet for D.W. Field Park in Brockton. Then, a performance from Drumming with Pride got community members bobbing their heads and tapping their feet on the Davis-Douglas Farm lawn. A guided hike took nature lovers to the Beech Tree Clearing across the road at Emery Preserve. At the craft zone, artists of all ages experimented with cyanotype photography, nature stamping, fairy houses, gnome homes, and chalk art on the Community Conservation Barn patio. Various raffle prizes enticed visitors inside the barn. There, visitors also designed appreciation banners, sharing their reasons for supporting land conservation. Throughout the day, Larry Nelson of 95.9 WATD hosted a live broadcast of the event, including interviews with Wildlands staff members. Food from the Filling Station food truck and drinks from Second Wind Brewing Company offered delicious lunch options for all.
Click through the photo gallery below for more sights from the Solstice Celebration.
With the event, Wildlands hoped to unite existing members and welcome new members to our community. In addition to providing crucial financial support to our work, members demonstrate public buy-in to our work, helping us secure funding and partnerships to maximize our impact. Indeed, several new members joined Wildlands at the Solstice Celebration, helping us reach our spring membership drive goal! Thank you to all who lend their support to our mission. To become a member, visit wildlandstrust.org/membership.
Before the event, Wildlands President Karen Grey and Donor Relations Manager Rob Kluin spoke with WATD about the event, as well as about Wildlands Trust more generally and how people can support our work. Take a listen:
Thank you for making our Solstice Celebration an event we won’t soon forget!
We extend our sincere gratitude to the many local businesses that generously donated prizes to our raffles. Finally, a huge thank you to our event sponsors:
Presenting Sponsor
Tufankjian Honda of Plymouth
Supporting Sponsor
95.9 WATD
Tiny & Sons Auto Glass
Rockland Trust
Community Sponsors
Rotary Club of Plymouth, MA
Morrison’s Power Equipment
Friends
Merrill Engineers and Land Surveyors
Gary D. Richmond
Richmond’s Inc.