A Message From Our Executive Director

Connecting to The Land

Campaign

Hello Christy & Tim, Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Dave Winter, Executive Director of Capitol Land Trust. I’ve heard from land trust supporters that you lived at Harmony’s farm for something like thirteen years? Wow! And I understand the initial seed of your solar business germinated there when you brought electricity to your cabin. I’ve appreciated learning more about the history of Harmony’s property and the people who lived on the property during my tenure here. I can imagine how deeply you must care about this land. We do too! As you may be aware, Capitol Land Trust has conserved Harmony’s property and the adjacent Stillman property. Our vision for these properties is to open them to the public as a single preserve called Inspiring Kids Preserve. We envision this to be a place where kids and families can spend time connecting with nature and each other and participate in conservation education programming meant to inspire the next generation of conservation supporters. To achieve this vision, we are currently executing our Connecting to the Land Campaign to raise funds to make the necessary infrastructure improvements at Inspiring Kids Preserve and our Bayshore Preserve near Shelton. Today, I’m reaching out to see if you would consider a gift of $350,000 to the Connecting to the Land Campaign to help transform these landscapes into outdoor learning laboratories. A gift at this level would help complete this transformation and inspire the next generation of conservation leaders. We’d be excited to work with you to explore opportunities to honor Harmony’s legacy in ways that are meaningful to you. This informative website is intended to give you a deeper dive into our campaign, and specifically, our plans for Inspiring Kids Preserve. Please reach out to me personally with any questions. I would love to meet you over Zoom or in person and perhaps host you for a walk and talk at Inspiring Kids Preserve sometime soon!

CLT

About Capitol Land Trust

Capitol Land Trust conserves and forever cares for the lands and waters in the South Puget Sound and Chehalis Basin watersheds. As our communities grow and change, we are working to create a future where local land conservation is valued and prioritized, and our communities work together to preserve our amazing natural landscapes and ecosystems. By caring for these landscapes today, we help ensure they remain vibrant and life-giving for generations to come.

The heart of our work is about connection. We bring people together around a shared love of place. When people feel connected to the land, they protect it. And when we protect it together, both people and nature thrive.

Conservation

Since 1987, Capitol Land Trust has worked with a robust network of partners, donors, and volunteers to conserve over 100 properties comprising more than 6,500 acres and 19 miles of Puget Sound shoreline.

Learn More

Looking Ahead

Community support for access to CLT’s conserved properties has been overwhelmingly positive, and what once seemed like a stretch from our strict land conservation mission has become an integral part of the benefit we provide to the community. Now we want to expand our ability to meet that need. We want to make it possible for students, families, and individuals to have a place to go and learn about and enjoy the natural world that surrounds us.

Current Projects

Over recent years, we have purchased a golf course on Oakland Bay, a tree farm, and an old homestead on Henderson Inlet with the intention of restoring them to functioning environmental landscapes. They are examples of how land management practices can create community benefits. The properties are now what we know as Bayshore and Inspiring Kids Preserves, two “ambassador preserves” that exist in our collective ‘backyard'.

Connecting to the Land Campaign

The Why. We believe nature needs us – and we need nature. We aim to make thoughtful and accessible infrastructure improvements at our Bayshore Preserve near Shelton and our Inspiring Kids Preserve near Olympia. These planned infrastructure improvements will give individuals of all ages and abilities the opportunity to deepen their connection to nature and each other while reaping the physical and emotional benefits of spending time at these wonderful places.

Creating a Path to Nature

Certain places in nature have the power to take your breath away. Sometimes it’s sweeping views of snow-capped mountains over open water. Sometimes it’s a clump of mushrooms found along a trail in the fall. Or a patch of trilliums popping up unexpectedly along your path. Sometimes it’s something not seen at all, like the rich smell of damp moss and cedar, the call of a hawk, or a sudden breeze rustling through brittle winter grasses. Moments like these remind us that we are connected to all living things and the natural world in our daily lives – and how much we need them.

I. Well-being

Research confirms what we all know. That time in nature is good for our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. The rapidly changing nature of our world brings into sharp focus the urgency of connecting people to the land.

II. Learning

Capitol Land Trust uses our preserves as outdoor classrooms to bring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) concepts to life as well as show how habitat restoration and enhancement efforts benefit wildlife and biodiversity. Now we also look to our preserves as tools to support mental health. Today, as many people are feeling isolated, anxious, or despondent, getting outside is more important than ever, particularly for our youth who spend much of their lives online. Faced with the pressures of climate change and population growth, future generations will be confronted with the task of keeping our region a wonderful place to live for humans and wildlife alike. Our youth are the key. We must equip them with a foundational love for the land, and an understanding of the critical importance of the natural world that surrounds and sustains us.

We are initiating the Connecting to the Land Campaign to increase the number of students, families, and individuals spending time in nature and participating in hands-on outdoor education. By funding the infrastructure and program support needed to improve access to nature and environmental education for people of all ages and abilities in our communities, we can meet this objective.

III. Access

Inspiring Kids & Bayshore Preserves

Through their diversity of habitats and rich human history, these preserves offer unique ways to engage a broad range of people in our community. Located near urban centers, they provide significant educational opportunities for local residents and students.

Ongoing restoration and habitat enhancement on these preserves demonstrate the potential for revitalizing our regional ecosystems and at the same time helps create a sense of belonging to this place we call home. While hands-on education is already taking place on a small scale, our desire is to meet the larger community need by improving access for school buses and parking, improving trail systems to handle increased foot traffic, and developing new accessible trails.