Normally for our annual Land Partner Breakfast we love to get together with our conservation easement landowners, supporters, and staff for some pancakes, coffee, and good conversation. Unfortunately, this year, a large in-person gathering where we share food was still not possible, so instead, we gathered virtually on a Saturday morning in April.  

Although hosting a virtual event meant we were unable to provide our presenters and attendees with our usual fresh, off the griddle pancakes and a few cups of hot coffee, we did the next best thing and mailed out freshly ground bags of coffee to all of our attendees. It was a bit more DIY than our traditional breakfast event, but sharing a cup of coffee brought us all a little closer as we enjoyed presentations from four partner organizations:

• The Partners for Fish and Wildlife program – Jim Hazelman, US Fish & Wildlife Service
• Land Management with the Farm Bill and MAEAP – Erez Brandvain, Washtenaw County Conservation District
• Caring for Land – Thoughtful management for private land-holders – Cayla Tinney, Plantwise Restoration
• Whole Farms for Clean Water – Ric Lawson, Huron River Watershed Council

The presentations were informative, engaging, and above all connected conservation minded landowners with valuable resources and potential funding opportunities for stewardship of their properties.

We are so grateful to our partners and each presenter who joined us – their time and the wonderful resources they shared are invaluable!

Links to the presentations can be found on the Legacy YouTube page. Click here for the videos.

We also tried something new and a little different as we waited for people to join the call – a Cute Pet Contest comprised of pets from Legacy’s staff! Attendees were asked to vote for whichever pet they found cutest out of the bunch. The winning pet received a personal pet portrait and $15 gift card to a local pet store.  Congrats to Zinnia Stardust and her owner Susan LaCroix (Land Protection Lead)!