Receiving national recognition this month is the Newtown Forest Association (NFA), a local private land trust protecting more than 1,400 acres in town.

On October 11, NFA members traveled to Pittsburg, Penn., where they received a National Land Trust Excellence Award from the Land Trust Alliance (LTA) as an all-volunteer organization, during its annual conference. Members — treasurer Guy Peterson, board member Ed Kelleher, and President Bob Eckenrode — attended. The LTA is the national advocate for land conservation organizations.

“We are honored to have been chosen, and the entire experience of being recognized for our work was, in a word, humbling. We frankly never realized the impact our work had on our community until things like this happen to us,” said Mr Eckenrode. He thanks member Harvey Pessin for his efforts in applying for the award.

“Just finding out how beneficial it is for us as, an all-volunteer organization as small as ours, accomplishing big things and then being recognized for it... it’s humbling and it’s rewarding at the same time,” Mr Eckenrode said. During the LTA conference, he commented, “we shared our story of Newtown and the NFA with other like-minded folks… and we were warmly welcomed and complimented on the work we have done.”

NFA Vice President Bart Smith added, “We were very fortunate to be recognized.”

Andrew Bowman, President, Land Trust Alliance, said, “In celebration of its dedication, passion, and significant conservation impact, we were pleased to present the 2018 National Land Trust Excellence Award to the accredited Newtown Forest Association, which is Connecticut’s oldest private land trust. It has served the greater Newtown community for over 94 years. The steadfast dedication of the land trust’s board and other volunteers to preserving forests, agricultural lands, nature preserves, watersheds, and other open-space lands — as well as its many projects to engage residents on the land — are a testament to their contribution to the land trust movement.”

As stated in a recent press release, Mr Eckenrode addressed an audience of more than 1,000 land trust executives and volunteers: “To be recognized for our efforts by leaders in our community and in the nation is much more than we ever expected. We share a common bond with organizations such as yours in making our community and our world a little bit better a place for everyone. Sharing good news and the good works we do benefits us all.” The NFA received accreditation from the National Land Trust Alliance only two years ago.

Mr Kelleher, attending his first rally said, “It is really wonderful to be here, surrounded by all of these land trust staff and volunteers; it’s invigorating, and you really appreciate the honor it was to have won this award.”

This award, which was bestowed by the LTA during the welcoming dinner of Rally 2018, stated: “The National Land Conservation Conference honors an all-volunteer land trust that has demonstrated outstanding achievement within its community. With this award, the Land Trust Alliance celebrates the ‘dedication and passion’ of Newtown Forest Association.”

Mr Peterson said, “I think it was a great honor; obviously, the NFA has worked hard in past few years.” He noted their efforts to earn accreditation. “I think the accreditation process helped all aspects of our operation.” The NFA has “set the framework” that the board will be “maintained going forward; part of the land trust is ensuring policy and procedure, and the accreditation helped that process.” The award, unsolicited, “was a great honor.”

He said, “Being recognized by peers set the bar pretty high for us, and we will do all we can to live up to the reputation the award comes with.”

A challenge for an all-volunteer land trust is “balance between governance and management; the board is both,” Mr Peterson said. “We have to be transparent… it is not a typical board role to be direct management and the organization direction and making day-to-day decision to keep things going. The board really has to roll sleeves up and get dirty.”

If future funding comes to the NFA, “We may hire professionals to help us. We think we could increase preservation if we have a paid professional to help further our mission. Our members have been doing a commendable job, but compared to staffed land trusts, their pace and community outreach is greater,” Mr Peterson said.

“One thing we would like people to do is get out and visit our properties, and this award may further distinguish us as an agency,” he said. The NFA is a private, independent, nonprofit and not a town entity, he added.

A recent press release states, “Conservation happens at many scales within the land conservation movement, which is comprised of staffed and all-volunteer land trusts working to strengthen land conservation across America. Recognizing that there are different means used to accomplish the goal of protecting land, the Land Trust Alliance only presented two National Land Trust Excellence Awards this year; one to a staffed land trust and one to an all-volunteer land trust, the NFA.”

Mr Eckenrode said, “I am proud to say that the Newtown Forest Association is fortunate to actually have a piece of wild, open space in nearly everyone’s neighborhood in our community. Our all-volunteer board takes pride in our conservation work and view this as an important lesson to be shared in working together to make these goals a reality.”

Mr Eckenrode noted the NFA’s recent success. “We have just acquired a 29-acre parcel of meadows and woodlands to preserve a portion of the much-beloved and iconic Cherry Grove Farm. This was a successful partnership in terms of fundraising and working with individuals, other nonprofits, town officials, and the developer to make this happen.” (NFA members have a dedication hike planned for this property on November 10, at 1 pm).

The Video

As part of winning the award, LTA sent a videographer to Newtown during Labor Day weekend to prepare a short video about NFA and to interview the board, volunteers, and others in our community. Board Treasurer Guy Peterson said, “This was a lot of fun to do, and it was really humbling to hear all of the nice things people in our community had to say about the NFA.” See the video at [naviga:u]vimeo.com/293843618[/naviga:u] (use Newtown as the password). The video is also accessible through the [naviga:u]NFA Facebook page[/naviga:u] or through the NFA website, [naviga:u]newtownforestassociation.org[/naviga:u].

“Basically,” the NFA members asked residents and officials “to share their comments about the NFA with the overall idea of showcasing who we are and our contribution to the community,” Mr Eckenrode said.

The process “exposed us to the fact what we are doing has a major effect in our community,” he said. “I found this process very rewarding.”

The NFA Mission

NFA is the oldest private land trust organization in Connecticut. Members are dedicated to preserving forests, agricultural lands, nature preserves, watersheds, and other open space lands in Newtown for the ongoing benefit of the plants, animals, and citizens of town. The NFA is Newtown’s largest private land owner and now owns and protects more than 1,400 acres.

On the most local level, the NFA protects the environment and is most concerned about being able to pass on an unspoiled outdoors to future generations.

Because the NFA is a private land trust, it is independent from town government and relies primarily on the private giving of donors and members.

Read about current and past accomplishments in the NFA newsletter, Whispers In the Forest, found under News at its website.

The LTA

Founded in 1982, the Land Trust Alliance is a national land conservation organization that works to save the places people need and love by strengthening land conservation across America. The LTA represents more than 1,000 member land trusts supported by more than 200,000 volunteers and 4.6 million members nationwide. The Alliance is based in Washington, DC, and operates several regional offices. It is the voice of the land trust community and is the nation’s leading authority on all matters regarding land trusts, conservation easements, and related policy.

The National Land Trust Excellence Awards celebrate the dedication and passion of land trusts that have achieved significant impact on the conservation community through their outstanding work in broadening support for land conservation, showing initiative in collaborating with others and creating innovative communications, education, and outreach initiatives.