Dear Neighbor,
These lands are your lands. And that’s the reason we are writing to you today.
Your support helps us maintain and actively manage woodlands and wetlands, quiet ponds and bucolic meadows — all protected forever for you and future generations to enjoy.
This year, as we turn toward the next generation of landsavers, we thank all of those friends who helped establish the rural character, scenic vistas and unspoiled lands that make Redding the treasure it is today. Your generosity is essential to our land-keeping mission.
And we warmly welcome new members, especially during this Sestercentennial year marking Redding’s 250th Anniversary. To keep our wildlife habitats and preserves healthy, we ask for your vital support.
If you’ve ever wondered, ‘does my support of the Land Trust matter?’ Let us assure you, it matters a great deal. Your gift means we can:
•Clear trails after major storms and blaze new ones.
•Keep roadside vistas from disappearing along our many scenic roads.
•Mow meadows annually to support wildlife habitats as they dwindle elsewhere.
•Protect our clean water as it percolates down and into our wells.
•Provide small, medium and large sanctuaries to escape an electronic world and enjoy the birds, mammals, amphibians, butterflies, plants, and trees that live nearby.
•Address encroachments on our lands to fulfill the original land donor’s vision.
•Assist with donations of land and purchase critical parcels as necessary.
•Encourage future ecologists with the recently named Mary Anne Guitar Scholarship for Environmental Education awarded each year at Joel Barlow High School.
We work for you, the people of Redding, for whom these amazing green spaces have been preserved. We are your landkeepers, managing more than 1,800 protected acres and we thank you for sharing and defining our mission for over 50 years.
In 1965, Mary Anne Guitar helped to found the Redding Land Trust. This year, in August, the Town, family, friends and Trustees gathered to celebrate her life. We are pleased to share with you the news that Mary Anne has bequeathed four acres of her idyllic woodland and pond to the Trust. Furthermore, Redding Land Trust and the Redding Conservation Commission have named the jointly held, 31-acre mixed forest at 18 Hill Road in honor of Mary Anne Guitar. In 2018, this land of historic importance in the heart of Redding will be dedicated as The Mary Anne Guitar Preserve. Mary Anne’s generosity and leadership led the way for a “clean and green” Redding and it is our continued partnerships within our community — with our members, the Trail Tenders, the Town of Redding and many others — that keep her vision a reality to benefit all.
We ask that you join us by contributing online at www.reddingctlandtrust.org. We are grateful for your fully tax deductible gift of support. You are also invited to attend our Annual Meeting in April, to learn more about Land Trust properties and our special events.
And we ask just one more thing…
Delight in our shared legacy — explore and expand your personal horizons with family and friends on protected lands by taking leisurely trail walks, by observing a meadow’s unique ecosystem, or by listening to the sounds of a cascading stream. We are stewards of Redding land that will be here for future generations. But for today and tomorrow, these lands are your lands. Enjoy!
With Gratitude,
Silvia Erskine and Gordon Loery
Co-Presidents
Redding Land Trust, Inc.
