Message from the Executive Director

Reflecting on Place—Earlier this month, we awarded Judy Gianforte, longtime CPF conservation manager, the first ever Judy Z. Gianforte Conservation Stewardship Award. In addition to Judy’s name and the date, the wooden plaque also depicts an engraved image of a loon. Few of us would think of the loon as being deeply symbolic of Cazenovia, and, in fact, it is not. In this case, the loon symbolizes the special place, a family camp in the Adirondacks, that first inspired Judy’s love for the land; because without that experience of place, which undoubtedly contributed to Judy’s passion for her 16 years of work with CPF, our land trust might be a very different organization today.

In April, while conducting a property review for a land owner interested in a conservation easement, we spotted this clump of Claytonia caroliniana, commonly known as Spring Beauty.

I hypothesize that most of us who work in environmental fields or who support conservation can point to a special place, or places, that ignited our curiosity in the natural world, solidified our environmental ethic, and made us fall in love with the land.

When you support CPF, you help to conserve and steward the properties and public-access trails that are the special places that will inspire the next generation of conservationists and land stewards. Through your membership, you are building a legacy of conservation in our community. So, thank you, for all that you do. I hope that you will take a moment to reflect on your special place—the one that inspired you to become a CPF member.

Jennifer Wong
CPF Executive Director