Dear friend,
George Wislocki would have loved Adrie.
Adrie is 8 and wants to be a nature guide when she grows up. She loves science and being outside. When she showed up on BNRC’s spring ephemeral hike at the Old Mill Trail, she had her notebook and pen in hand.
Adrie wrote down the name of every flower—the trillium, the bellwort, and the rose-twisted stalk. She learned how special and rare some of these flowers are, and how important it is to protect the land where they grow.
And its donors (like you) who protect that land and keep our educational programs going.
Since that first outing, Adrie has attended every single program—the Housatonic Heritage walk at The Boulders, the paddle at Ashmere Lake, and the summer solstice walk at Hollow Fields, just as the milkweed was starting to flower.
Adrie especially loves milkweed because it hosts the monarch butterfly. At the solstice walk, Charlotte, our educational programs leader, invited her to share her expertise with the whole group. Adrie proudly explained to the group the symbiotic relationship between plant and butterfly.
Over the course of the summer, Adrie went from being a fan of science to a budding naturalist, and says she wants to be a nature guide, just like Charlotte.
Programs like the spring ephemeral walk at the Old Mill Trail matter a LOT. Adrie, and everyone who attends a walk, paddle, or virtual presentation, is deepening their connection to nature. Adrie liked science before; now she’s in love. And if you love something, you’ll work to protect it.
The Boulders, Hollow Fields, and Ashmere Island were protected because people loved those special places and worked to protect them for Adrie and future generations.
Will you give now to conserve the places that Adrie and others will explore 10, 20, and many more years from now?
Our founder, George Wislocki, started in the 1960s with Yokun Ridge and Gould Meadows, and the work continues today. Since then, people like you cared enough to help BNRC to protect nearly 30,000 acres across the Berkshires.
Right now, BNRC is developing or completing conservation and stewardship projects in priority areas in every part of the county.
In South County there are several new properties along the Appalachian Trail corridor in Tyringham that are critically important for climate resilience.
In the middle of the County, in the shadow of Mount Greylock, we’re focusing on conservation along the Taconic Ridge in Hancock where the Shakers cared for the land.
And there’s a farm in North County, with fertile fields and spectacular views of Mt. Greylock.
A farm like that is the perfect place for a gigantic house—or five houses—where new homeowners can soak up the view without concern for what was there before. But that won’t happen here.
The farmer is determined that his farm won’t end up like so many others, lost forever. He trusts BNRC to make sure that won’t happen.
And we trust you to help. Will you give today to protect land and farmland throughout the county?
With you, BNRC is working on projects across the county that add up to over 2,000 acres of forest, wetland, farmland and watershed.
“Working on” sounds vague. It means a BNRC staff person sitting down with a landowner and helping them fulfill their wishes for the land they may have lived on or farmed for generations.
It’s consulting our geospatial model to make sure the time we spend is devoted to the highest priority areas—the ones that contain headwaters for cold-water streams like the Tyringham property, or provide a refuge for rare species, like the one’s in Hancock.
It’s the painstaking behind-the-scenes work that very few people ever get to see—title searches and surveys and appraisals and drafting legal documents. The laborious tasks that will make sure that, when Adrie is grown and guiding her own nature walks, those rose-twisted stalks and trillium are still thriving.
I imagine Adrie’s enthusiasm is exactly the kind of thing George Wislocki, BNRC’s founder and president for over thirty years, was envisioning from the beginning. He died in September but his legacy of working fiercely to make sure our Berkshires stays green and healthy lives on.
Together, we will continue the legacy. For Adrie, the monarch butterflies, the forests, and the future of this very special place, please donate today.
In loving memory of George Wislocki, 1935–2024.
Yours truly,
Jenny Hansell
President
PS. Kids Adrie’s age are sometimes called “the ipad generation.” Will you give today to make sure more young people put down their device to get outside to discover nature? Visit bnrc.org/donate for details on the many ways you can help. Your gift today, of any amount, makes an immediate and lasting difference.