The best medicine...is walking out your door
Over the last year, many of us made the outdoors our sanctuary and the best “safe” place to socialize with family and friends. Whether going for a walk, picnicking, or launching a canoe, access to the outdoors is essential for the health and well-being of just about everyone.
As noted by Richard Louv, a San Diego journalist who wrote Last Child in the Woods, “Nature is not only nice to have, but it’s a have-to-have for physical health and cognitive function.”
At OLT we live and breathe this statement through our work. Protection of the great outdoors and public access to it, are at the core of OLT’s mission. Our publicly accessible lands, places like Fetterley Forest, Brookwood Point, and Lordsland Preserve, have had more visitors than ever this past year, serving as a retreat from the day-to-day challenges and serious impacts of the COVID pandemic.
Time outdoors restores our spirit. Perhaps best said by Rachel Carson, “There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature—the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”
Rodd AbbyInvesting in land protection and public lands is what we do…
What we’ve learned from the COVID pandemic will influence OLT’s future work as we regionalize and grow our mission to protect private land, provide access to OLT’s public lands, and steward protected land. Our success hinges upon a significant investment of staff time, our loyal volunteers (and there are many!) and the generous financial support of our donors, foundations, and in-kind contributions.
In 2020, we committed over $313,000 of funds in staff and project costs to protect land through active stewardship, land acquisition, maintenance of our Blueway Trail properties, and working with private property owners to permanently protect their land. That’s 65% of our annual budget. Our work focuses on having the greatest impact and leaving a lasting legacy for current and future generations.
This investment in our region is paying off by connecting people to the land and making our communities healthier—we do this for you!
We invite and welcome you to bring your children, parents, or other family members and friend to our Blueway sites. Get out, feel the grass under your feet or the crunch of a gravel trail. Smell flowers, hear the birds sing or the sound of lapping waves. Your spirits will be lifted, we guarantee it.