June 2, 2009

Dear TLC Members and Friends,

Thanks for reading TLC E-News! We're gearing up for the Green Jamboree, our annual celebration of conservation (see item #6). With live music, great food and lots of activities, this will be an event to remember! I hope to see you at the Irvin Farm on June 20th!

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. Shopping and voting help TLC on Land Trust Day

a. 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. Find out more online.

Participating businesses:

• 3Cups - Business Partner donation to TLC
• Anders Natural Soap Co. - 5% of sales on June 6
• Cozy - 15% of sales on June 6
• Flanders Art Gallery - 15% of sales on June 6
• Nested - 5% of sales on June 6
• Ornamentea - 5% of sales on June 6
• The Play House Toy Store - 15% of sales on June 6
• The Regulator Bookshop - 5% of sales on June 6
• Twig - 10% of sales on June 6
• Townsend Bertram & Company - Business Partner donation to TLC
• Vaguely Reminiscent - 15% of sales on June 6
• Wild Bird Center of Chapel Hill - 10% of sales on June 6

b. Vote for Land! Vote for Irvin Farm!
Money is tight these days, but with a few clicks of your mouse you can loosen some money up for TLC.

TLC's Irvin Farm is competing against eight other conservation projects around the state for a $3,000 award - and YOU get to decide which project wins!

We need your help!  Click here to cast your vote for Irvin Farm by Thursday, June 4! Forward this message to your friends (use the "Forward to a Friend" link at the bottom of this message) and ask them to vote for Irvin Farm too!

Let's bring that $3,000 back to the Triangle and make a difference in our own backyard!

Vote for Land is a statewide conservation contest sponsored by Great Outdoor Provision Co., ExOfficio, Marmot, Mountain Khakis and TS Designs.

2. TLC conserves Kirby tract and First Island
TLC worked with Orange County and Dr. Fred Kirby to place a conservation easement on the 143-acre Kirby tract. Funded through the Upper Neuse Clean Water Initiative, the easement protects a pond and nearly a mile of two tributary streams, helping keep clean water flowing into Falls Lake, a water source for more than 500,000 people in the region.

TLC also acquired First Island, a four-acre tract located on the Deep River in Chatham County. This parcel is not only uncommonly beautiful but also has great ecological and historical significance. This land is part of the White Pines Natural Heritage Area, and the addition of First Island will help protect the water quality of the Lower Deep River Aquatic Habitat and provide important riparian habitat along the river.

3. Our Water, Our Land Expands Conservation, Nature Trails and Education
Contributions to the Our Water, Our Land campaign have already been used to conserve 1,168 acres of important waterways and natural habitat areas across the Triangle; build new tails, bridges and public access points at TLC nature preserves like Johnston Mill and Flower Hill; and help launch environmental education programs at Irvin Learning Farm. These are just a few examples of campaign donations at work!  We need your help to reach the $5.1 million goal that will accelerate conservation efforts, open new nature preserves, and expand land stewardship and education programs.  Please click here to make a contribution or learn more about the campaign, or contact Dan Bruer at (919) 833-3662 ext. 115.

4. Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation honors TLC
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation partnered with the North Carolina Conservation Network to recognize groups working to protect and preserve North Carolina's natural resources. TLC won the Community Ties Technology Award and $10,000 for collaborating with Chatham County to bring environmental information to the masses through the Chatham County GIS mapping website. Thanks, Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation!

5. 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.

6. Beans, Beanbags and Bluegrass - Green Jamboree is June 20th!
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: checking out goats, chickens and turtles! catch-and-release fishing! native plant gardening! and much more!!! Buy tickets online.

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.

7. Juneteenth, TLC's June Backyard Adventure
It’s June, so let summer officially begin. This month, our tour of the Triangle will take us back to northern Durham County. We visited Historic Stagville in November when we enjoyed the cooler autumn air. Now we return as summer takes hold, and area Juneteenth celebrations bring forth a jubilant song celebrating the end of the Civil War. This month’s do-it-yourself tour will take you to some local sites related to the Civil War – a former plantation that relied heavily on slave labor, and the site of the largest troop surrender of the Civil War. Along the way, we will also celebrate Eat Local Triangle month with some tasty local food. Find out more online.

8. Meet June's Members of the Month: Rachel & Alec Bethune
Chapel Hill residents Rachel and Alec Bethune were drawn to TLC because they feel one of the best things about the Triangle is the ability to get on a trail and enjoy green space in so many areas.

Find out more about Rachel & Alec in our Member Spotlight.

9. 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-, 45- 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.

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. Reduce, REUSE, Recycle with TLC's Wishlist
Want to shrink your carbon footprint? Check out our Wishlist to see if TLC can reuse some of your old items.

12. Land for Tomorrow poll: 3 in 4 voters support conservation funding
Despite declining state revenues, three out of four North Carolina voters believe that land and water conservation funding should be included in next year’s state budget, with 66 percent supporting an appropriation of $95 million or more, according to a statewide poll released by Land for Tomorrow. Find out more online.

13. 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, Juneteenth). 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, June 8.

Thanks to all of you who responded to last month’s “Where in the Triangle?” quiz! The correct answer was the watertower at Five County Staudium in Zebulon, home of the Carolina Mudcats.