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Celebrating Land Trust Day
Friday, June 4, 2010
By: Molly Lester
Four land trusts, Great Outdoor Provision Co. throw conservation party
Four land trusts and the Great Outdoor Provision Co. shared a warm First Friday evening in celebration of the upcoming annual Land Trust Day.
The groups, supporters and other downtown denizens met at Isaac Hunter’s Oak City Tavern, where the conservationists celebrated their successes with beer, slideshows, giveaways and news on how they are continuing to “save the places you love” across North Carolina. The meet-up was held June 4, the night before Land Trust Day, to draw attention to Saturday's events statewide and encourage locals to support land trusts working in their area.
Joining CTNC at the meet-up were the Eno River Association, Triangle Greenways Council and Triangle Land Conservancy. Each group promoted its cause with literature and pictures of protected properties from across the state. Representatives from CTNC, Triangle Greenways Council and Triangle Land Conservancy spoke to the audience about their organization’s history, mission and recent successes.
Chuck Millsaps, GOPC's "Minister of Culture," concluded the presentations with a brief history of the outfitter's longtime support for North Carolina land conservation.
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| Land trust displays provided plenty to talk about |
“I found the meet-up’s location at Isaac Hunter’s Tavern appropriate given that, 200 years ago, our state’s people gathered at the same watering hole to plan the city’s future,” Millsaps said after the meet-up. “We stand on their shoulders to take up this work of city planning and to insure that open-space and access are included.”
Great Outdoor Provision Co., an enthusiastic supporter of North Carolina’s land trusts, gave out water bottles, drawstring bags, stickers, buttons and t-shirts. The retailer also showed highlights of its annual Vote for Land contest, now in its third year. The contest allows local land trusts to nominate a protected property, and GOPC fans vote for their favorite. The winner, announced on Land Trust Day, earns a grant provided by GOPC and some of its suppliers. This year, Patagonia, Merrill, Columbia and Chaco provided the $3,000 prize to North Carolina Coastal Land Trust in honor of its efforts to protect Airlie Gardens.
GOPC also donates a portion of its sales receipts on Land Trust Day to land trusts working in the areas where it has stores. Other retailers have followed this example - notably, Mast General Store and other mountain businesses that support a number of land trusts in the region with a percentage of their earnings.
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