May 7, 2009

Dear TLC Members and Friends,

Thanks for reading TLC E-News! There is a lot going on, and we're excited to tell you all about it!

If you have friends you think would enjoy reading the E-News, please forward this to them using the "Forward to a Friend" link at the very bottom of this message.

1. Our Water, Our Land in the Final Sprint!
With a little over $4.1 million raised toward an ambitious $5.5 million goal, the Our Water, Our Land Campaign is barreling ahead!  That leaves us $1.4 million to raise as we look to complete the Campaign in 2010. As the Campaign clock ticks, the conservation clock tocks. If you'd like to be a difference-maker helping TLC with creative, new projects to conserve and steward land, jump over to www.triangleland.org/OWOL and make a gift! 

2. Deep River Coal Valley Paddle June 6
Let's head out on the Deep before it gets hot! We'll paddle the flat waters of the Deep from Deep River Park to 15-501, along the way hearing the fascinating stories of coal mines (and coal mine disasters), iron smelting, and the decades long attempt to turn the Deep into a watery super highway. Along the way we'll stop for a lunch and look and learn visit to the Endor Iron Furnace. Find out more online.

3. Get ready to shop and conserve land - Land Trust Day is June 6
Land Trust Day is the one day each year you can shop to support conservation. Most of TLC's business partners will be donating a percentage of their sales on June 6 to TLC. So when you shop, not only do you support locally owned and operated businesses, you also support TLC and local conservation. See which stores are participating in Land Trust Day online.

4. Beans, Beanbags and Bluegrass - Green Jamboree is June 20th!
Save the Date! TLC's Green Jamboree 2009 is set for Saturday, June 20. Bring family and friends to the Irvin Farm (Jones Ferry Road, Chapel Hill), a 269-acre haven of farmland and forest complete with trails and a fishing pond. Enjoy the Green Jamboree picnic supper featuring locally grown food! Enjoy rollicking, foot-stomping music served up by local legends The Bluegrass Experience! Enjoy tasty locally brewed libations served up by the Carolina Brewery! And enjoy a wide variety of family-friendly, eco-focused interactive activities: playing with goats, chickens and turtles! catch-and-release fishing! native plant gardening! and much more!!!

Volunteers are needed to help out with a wide assortment of tasks at Green Jamboree. If you are interested in pitching in, contact Aime Mitchell at 919-833-3662 ext. 116 or amitchell@triangleland.org for more information.

5. Flowers and Farm Life, TLC's May Backyard Adventure
With the downturn in the economy, many comparisons have been drawn between today and the Great Depression. This month’s do-it-yourself tour of the Triangle will take you on a trip down memory lane in Johnston County to discover the 1930s. Find out more online.

6. Meet May's Member of the Month: Elizabeth Anderson
Elizabeth Anderson feels a special connection to White Pines Nature Preserve. Prior to her involvement in the sale of a parcel of land that is now part of the preserve, Elizabeth would hike among the towering pines. “I have enjoyed that land enormously, with the old home site and periwinkle,” says Elizabeth. “It certainly has become such a wonderful place for many people.”

Find out more about Elizabeth in our Member Spotlight.

7. Freewheeling Farmland Frolic cruises through Chatham July 11
Gear up your bike and join TLC for the fourth annual Ride for the Land, dubbed the Freewheeling Farmland Frolic. This year's ride will bring attention to our work to protect the farms and forests of Chatham Co. Nobody knows the backroads of the Triangle like TLC. We put that knowledge to use in specially designing 30-, 40- and 60-mile routes to introduce cyclists to some of the most beautiful natural scenery in our region and to many of TLC's farm conservation projects in Chatham County. Find out more online.

8. Our Water, Our Land donors give Flower Hill a spring makeover
Check out the improved Flower Hill! Thanks to Our Water, Our Land Campaign donors and the Johnston County Recreation Grant Program, Flower Hill has a new parking lot and other fresh features! Campaign donors include Martin Marietta Materials, the John R. McAdams Company, Inc., and many generous individuals. May is the perfect time to visit, while the Catawba rhododendron are blooming, so head to Flower Hill now!  And we've made it extra easy for you to make a daytrip of it by making Flower Hill the focus of this month's Backyard Adventure (see above #5, or find directions online.) 

9. Chestnut Hill Farm conserved, thanks to the NC Ag Trust Fund
With a grant from the NC Ag Trust Fund and funds from TLC's Farmland Preservation Fund, TLC and Lin Andrew placed a conservation easement on Andrew's 182-acre cattle and poultry farm near Silk Hope on April 29. This is just one of the ways TLC is focusing efforts on protecting land to provide local food.

10. Help Wanted - Volunteer Opportunities
Join TLC's team of dedicated volunteers! Check out these new opportunities to make a difference in the Triangle.

11. Spring cleaning? Keep TLC's Wishlist in mind
Did you find some things you no longer need during your spring cleaning? Maybe TLC could take an item or two off your hands! Take a moment to check out our Wishlist.

12. Grant will help TLC protect Neuse Basin in Johnston Co.
TLC has been granted $180,000 to protect water quality within the Neuse River Basin in Johnston County. The funding comes through an Environmental Enhancement Grant from the NC Attorney General's office. The three-year grant will help sustain TLC's efforts to acquire land and conservation easements along streams within the county. The primary focus will be the Neuse River Lowgrounds and Mill Creek watershed. Find out more online.  

13. Hit the trails with the Sustain Foundation
The Sustain Foundation has created a set of 12 individual guides and one comprehensive guide to trails near Chapel Hill and Carrboro, including TLC's Johnston Mill Nature Preserve. Find out more online.

14. Where in the Triangle?
The TLC “Where in the Triangle?” quiz is back to challenge your knowledge of the villages, backroads and crossroads communities throughout our region, from Bennett to Bentonville to Bahama. So, eager contestants, here is the next puzzle. Take a look at this picture, then send an e-mail telling us where you think the photo was taken. (Here’s a hint: the photo was taken in the region of this month’s Backyard Adventure, Flowers and Farm Life). One lucky reader will receive a stylish TLC baseball cap. We will draw a winner from all the correct answers we receive at enews@triangleland.org by 5 p.m. on Monday, May 11.

Thanks to all of you who responded to last month’s “Where in the Triangle?” quiz! The correct answer was the Pilot Mill building, home of TLC's headquarters! At the turn of the last century, Pilot Mill was a bustling center of the textile industry. When the mill closed in 1982, the building quickly fell into disrepair and the surrounding community was overrun with crime. When Frank Gailor (TLC River Society chair) and his colleagues planned to renovate the property, many thought it was doubtful, or even impossible. Today, Pilot Mill is the beautiful home of the Raleigh Charter High School and several offices, nestled in a thriving Raleigh community. To learn more about the renovation, click here.