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Did You Know?
Tecumseh Land Trust is gaining new insights in their mission!!
In Her Own Words—Executive Director, Krista Magaw
Tecumseh Land Trust (TLT) was heading down the final stretch to our Growing Green Conference, scheduled for March 14–16, 2020 when the COVID crisis hit. We deliberated with Community Solutions, our Jacoby Partner collaborating on the event, about whether to proceed in person, but decided we had to cancel. But our theme for Growing Green—diversifying farming to address climate change AND strengthen our local food economy—turned out to be more relevant than ever! We saw immediately how inflexible and unresponsive our national food system truly is. Grocery shelves were empty, and our most vulnerable residents became even more food insecure. Clearly we needed to proceed with the aims of our Jacoby Partnership and the Growing Green collaboration!
We were able to take parts of our Growing Green conference virtual, beginning with the “Farm to School” panel we had planned (link below).
Then, on April 6, our first-year Miller Fellow, McKenzie Smith, began her first co-op with TLT! She immediately delved into researching food and farming, and wrote a wonderful and encouraging article (also available on the Connecting to Nature page) about how one of our conference panelists, Matthew Keener, converted his local grass-fed meat operation to meet customer needs during COVID-19. With 60% of his business base in restaurant sales, he hired laid-off restaurant workers to establish a home delivery system, shifting to 100% direct sales.
At this very challenging time, we feel grateful to be able to work to preserve farms and natural areas, and to enhance their conservation benefits. So many people have thanked us for our work with the Village of Yellow Springs on the Glass Farm Natural Area. At an uncertain time, the beauty and complexity of nature is so reassuring and renewing. We’ve never been busier with our conservation easement work, and are very excited about the Jacoby partnership farms that will be planting cover crops this fall to improve soil and water quality.
Growing Green "Farm to School" Panel: https://www.tecumsehlandtrust.org/connecting-to-nature.
Donate to TLT: TLT
For more information about TLT: https://www.yscf.org/2017/06/30/tecumseh-land-trust/
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