(July 28, 2016) The Lower Shore Land Trust waited until moving day to announce it had uprooted operations and settled in at its new office on Snow Hill Road next to Sturgis Park and across from the Pocomoke River Kayak Company.
“The timing couldn’t be better. Snow Hill is ramping up its effort to position itself as the outdoor recreation hub of the Eastern Shore, and it’s really exciting to create more opportunities to use these areas,” Executive Director Kate Patton said. “We know Snow Hill wants to act as a gateway to these activities and we want to build our own capacity to meet those needs.”
The nonprofit’s mission is to build a future where the lower shore’s towns are the centerpieces of rural communities surrounded by thriving natural and working lands and healthy waterways.
To cement that position, Patton said the trust is positioning itself to pursue accreditation by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission — similar to what the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the American Alliance of Museums does for those types of facilities.
To do that, the trust is required to defend all of its conservation easements, meet fundraising goals and maintain in perpetuity the values that guide it.
“These are basic guidelines and thresholds,” Patton said. “But it’s a rigorous process.”
As properties change hands, sometimes issues arise, Patton said. New property owners aren’t always familiar with certain rules governing the use of land they’d purchased, or owners of an adjacent property aren’t made aware of certain restrictions based on awarded conservation easements, leading to encroachment upon protected areas.
“Whatever resource we’re protecting: open space, water quality — a lot can happen if you’re not paying attention,” she said. “We have Philadelphia to our north, and both Baltimore and Washington D.C. to the west, so we need to ensure we have resiliency and local lands remain unfragmented. These areas are the breadbasket of this region.”
The move also represents a tonal shift for the organization.
“In the past, we haven’t been a walk-in organization. We’ve done outreach and put rain gardens in Berlin and Snow Hill and done workshops,” she said. “The aim of the new office is to create more of a resource and heritage center, like a miniature visitor’s center for the land of outdoors and adventure we’re trying to create.”
This isn’t an overnight process, she said, but it’s also one that just started.
“I’m still knee deep in boxes,” she said.
Months ago, Patton said, the board of directors quietly launched a capital campaign to fund the building purchase and the new programs the trust intends to provide. Through donations it has met about half of the $300,000 goal, due in no small part to Board President Hugh Cropper’s contributions of time and money to the cause, she said.
Patton said she plans a formal ribbon cutting, but for now she said the office would remain open for First Fridays, including the one scheduled for next week, and would remain open for events like Blessing of the Combines, also next week.
“We want to be open, available and a good neighbor. We want to participate,” she said.
“The timing couldn’t be better. Snow Hill is ramping up its effort to position itself as the outdoor recreation hub of the Eastern Shore, and it’s really exciting to create more opportunities to use these areas,” Executive Director Kate Patton said. “We know Snow Hill wants to act as a gateway to these activities and we want to build our own capacity to meet those needs.”
The nonprofit’s mission is to build a future where the lower shore’s towns are the centerpieces of rural communities surrounded by thriving natural and working lands and healthy waterways.
To cement that position, Patton said the trust is positioning itself to pursue accreditation by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission — similar to what the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the American Alliance of Museums does for those types of facilities.
To do that, the trust is required to defend all of its conservation easements, meet fundraising goals and maintain in perpetuity the values that guide it.
“These are basic guidelines and thresholds,” Patton said. “But it’s a rigorous process.”
As properties change hands, sometimes issues arise, Patton said. New property owners aren’t always familiar with certain rules governing the use of land they’d purchased, or owners of an adjacent property aren’t made aware of certain restrictions based on awarded conservation easements, leading to encroachment upon protected areas.
“Whatever resource we’re protecting: open space, water quality — a lot can happen if you’re not paying attention,” she said. “We have Philadelphia to our north, and both Baltimore and Washington D.C. to the west, so we need to ensure we have resiliency and local lands remain unfragmented. These areas are the breadbasket of this region.”
The move also represents a tonal shift for the organization.
“In the past, we haven’t been a walk-in organization. We’ve done outreach and put rain gardens in Berlin and Snow Hill and done workshops,” she said. “The aim of the new office is to create more of a resource and heritage center, like a miniature visitor’s center for the land of outdoors and adventure we’re trying to create.”
This isn’t an overnight process, she said, but it’s also one that just started.
“I’m still knee deep in boxes,” she said.
Months ago, Patton said, the board of directors quietly launched a capital campaign to fund the building purchase and the new programs the trust intends to provide. Through donations it has met about half of the $300,000 goal, due in no small part to Board President Hugh Cropper’s contributions of time and money to the cause, she said.
Patton said she plans a formal ribbon cutting, but for now she said the office would remain open for First Fridays, including the one scheduled for next week, and would remain open for events like Blessing of the Combines, also next week.
“We want to be open, available and a good neighbor. We want to participate,” she said.