Common Ground Newsletter - Tinicum Conservancy

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TC Newsletter-Spring '13-4-23-Replaced map and seal:TC Newesletter-Spring '13 4/23/13 6:29 PM Page 2 Message from the President BOARD OF TRUSTEES Boyce Budd, President Tom Casola, Vice President Ellen Chapman, Treasurer Richard S. Bowles III Karen Budd Bill Cahill Betsi Campbell Jeff Keller Stuart Louden Chuck Scholer Hellyn Sher OFFICE STAFF Jim Engel, Executive Director Kelly Germann, Resource Protection Mgr. Maria Fell, Administrative Assistant NEWSLETTER Kris Becker Tom Casola Hellyn Sher Tinicum Conservancy 965 River Road P.O. Box 206 Erwinna, PA 18920 610 294-1077 610 294-2906 (fax) tinicumconserv@epix.net www.tinicumconservancy.org The Tinicum Conservancy is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. Donations are tax deductible as allowed by law. Dear Members and Friends, The volunteers and staff of the Conservancy are delighted and gratified by the Tinicum community’s enthusiastic response to our recent capital campaign, The Forever Fund. Some 140 individuals and families donated a total of $270,000—surpassing our goal. This outpouring of support indicates that the Tinicum community understands both parts of our mission, namely to preserve the land with conservation easements and then to steward those easements through the years—to protect our irreplaceable resources for the benefit of the entire community. Doing so, as I see it, provides three long-term benefits for all who live and all who will live in this area: • First, a strong land conservation program prevents inappropriate development. Examples are those scattered clusters of homes built where no infrastructure exists, which strain local water resources, and burden existing home owners with additional taxes to pay for new infrastructure. • Second, a strong program not only preserves farms, but can encourage farming and beneficial agricultural uses. Everywhere in the country, the market for locally grown food is expanding dramatically. Can we count on buying food grown in California and trucked 2,500 miles for the foreseeable future? Why would we want to? Shouldn’t it be an imperative to protect our best agricultural soils and existing farms as invaluable and renewable components of our local foodshed? • Third, a strong program protects our most important natural resource – water. All life depends on a plenteous supply of clean water. We hear daily of water crises all over the world including in our own country. Protection of this invaluable resource is a public policy imperative and that means watersheds, riparian land along watercourses, and heavily forested areas which form natural sponges for water collection. So every time another conservation easement is placed on one of our farms (over forty of our farms are already protected), on open land which has lots of road access but no proximity to existing infrastructure, or on land bordering one of our watercourses or heavily forested uplands, you and those who will follow are receiving a direct benefit. Thank you for your generosity. Your investment in the Tinicum Conservancy and unwavering commitment to conservation inspire all of us who serve this organization. 2 TINICUMCONSERVANCY.ORG Spring 2013
TC Newsletter-Spring '13-4-23-Replaced map and seal:TC Newesletter-Spring '13 4/23/13 6:29 PM Page 3 Vital Volunteers Into our third decade, Tinicum Conservancy remains a volunteer-centric organization. We have fantastic volunteers who get our mailings out, make our public events run smoothly, and monitor 4400+ acres of conserved land. And, as you will read at right, we have a fantastic volunteer who lightens the load around our office. We are grateful to all the volunteers, but right NOW, we could especially use more folks doing what Marge Copenhaver does. If you have an afternoon a week, or one day a month (or one anything a month!), our small office staff would love to have your help with: General office work. Want to learn more about land conservation? Make your own hours helping to: • Conduct conservation-related research • Assemble landowner information packets • Assist with filing and data entry Like looking at gorgeous photos of Tinicum? We always have pictures of conserved properties that need to be scanned and catalogued. And also…Calling All Container Gardeners! We are the lucky recipients of some donated planters to be set outside the TC office. Now we just need someone to donate plants (shadeloving) and time to fill them. Wish List - Hand tools (screwdrivers, hammers, etc.) - Dustbuster or small vacuum - Cordless drill - Picture-rail moulding Special Thanks: Margaret Copenhaver “I love volunteering for the Tinicum Conservancy,” says Marge Copenhaver, volunteer par excellence, who gives one day a month of her precious time in the Conservancy office. “I admire what Tinicum Conservancy is doing. I’m learning something about land protection and how a land trust works. I really like the people and how appreciative they are. Plus, I get to see how the organization interacts with its members and donors. This is the kind of work I’m good at and enjoy doing. And I feel that I am doing something for a worthwhile cause.” Marge and her husband, Tom, live in New Hope but have a house on Bridge Five in Tinicum. They have been members of the Conservancy for over ten years, having joined just after they purchased their home in Tinicum. Like so many people, they want to see sprawl and uncontrolled development curtailed in Bucks County. Since 1994 Marge has worked independently as a statistician for Janssen Co., part of Johnson and Johnson. She is involved in data collection for clinical trials and studies on humans, analyzing data for accuracy and writing clinical reports. As soon as she started cutting back on work, Marge decided to volunteer. Initially, she worked for Habitat for Humanity, but claims that she was “inept” at it. Then she read in Common Ground that volunteers were needed to help with TC office work. Marge figured that, as a “detail oriented” and “somewhat compulsive” person, she might be useful. So began a wonderful relationship, certainly a real asset for the Conservancy and a satisfying undertaking for Marge. She helps Administrative Assistant Maria Fell with data entry and mailings. For Kelly Germann she combs the conservation easement files, scans pictures, and keeps a spreadsheet for monitoring reports. Both Maria and Kelly made “training” a breeze; so while Marge reports that she’s learning a lot at the office, it was easy to fit right in and immediately make an impact. Marge’s one-day-a-month commitment to the Conservancy “is critical to the fulfillment of our mission,” says Maria. “Simply put, if it wasn’t for Marge and our other regular volunteers, we couldn’t get everything done. And besides the assistance Marge provides, she brightens everyone’s day when she is here.” Marge loves to walk along the canal towpath with her dog and loves the Delaware River. Her enthusiasm for her volunteer work is contagious. “I hope I can do more in the future,” she says. Good news for the Tinicum Conservancy! - Karen Budd Spring 2013 TINICUMCONSERVANCY.ORG 3
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Common Ground Newsletter - Tinicum Conservancy

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