A Letter of Thanks From Staff Member Alison Delaney

Thank you for being a part of the Peconic Land Trust community! Your support is the reason we can protect this beautiful place we call home.

When I tell people where I work, the response is overwhelmingly positive. Those that know the Trust are supportive and grateful. Those that don’t know our work become fast friends once I explain what we do. However, when people find out I’m a fundraiser, they typically ask if I find it difficult to ask people for donations.

The truth is that asking for gifts is an easy job, since I care for this place so deeply. Some of the defining moments of my life have been spent on protected land: farming chickens and turkeys at Browder’s Birds organic farm in Mattituck, running after monarch butterflies at Hither Hills State Park in Montauk, and kayaking the hidden inlets of Conscience Bay and Setauket Harbor. It’s not just the beauty of these places, but knowing that because they are protected forever, their future is not at risk.

Because the work of the Trust is so important to me, I’m compelled to talk to anyone – even strangers in passing – about the urgency of our conservation work and why they should consider supporting us. Without donations, the Peconic Land Trust would not exist. Most of our funding comes from individual donations, small and large, made by you and others in this community.

But please know that this letter is about more than just donations. Donations don’t simply appear; they are sent, with intention, from people – FROM YOU! In my four years at the Trust, I have seen donors in our community rally in so many ways:

• Sagaponack residents’ donations funded research and remediation efforts to improve the water quality of Sagg Pond;
• Members from Quail Hill Farm’s Community Supported Agriculture program in Amagansett fully funded our Farm to Food pantry program, bringing farm-fresh fruits and veggies to the Bridgehampton Childcare Center’s food pantry;
• North Fork donors gave to support the acquisition and preservation of a 15-acre waterfront farmland parcel on Deep Hole Creek in Mattituck, halting a 7-house subdivision project;
• Donors from across Long Island (and beyond!) funded the inaugural Shinnecock Land Acquisition and Stewardship Fund, which ensures the protection and stewardship of indigenous ancestral lands.

So, while it is the special places that make Long Island and the East End so unique, I wouldn’t be telling the full story without mentioning YOU – the people that care so much to guarantee that these places stay special, forever, and for all generations to come.

Please join us by making a gift today. Or consider joining us as a monthly donor! And, as soon as you finish reading this, I hope you’ll take 5 minutes to do three things:

1. Think of someone (yourself, even!) who inspired your love of at least one special protected place on Long Island.

1. Write a check or go online to donate in honor of this special person or place.

1. Email me, ADelaney@PeconicLandTrust.org, and tell me what inspired your donation today!

It is only by working together – each of us, in our communities, hand in hand – that we can and will protect more of the places you know and love.

With gratitude,

Alison Delaney

Development Officer

P.S. – Don’t forget to send me an email! The best part of my job is hearing from you, our supporters. You are our essential partners in conservation!