Legacy Land Conservancy permanently protects forests, farmland fields, streams, prairies and waters in Washtenaw and Jackson Counties.  This year Legacy Land Conservancy is undertaking several projects to explore and celebrate the benefits which connection to these lands brings to human beings.  Fostering recognition of the connection between land and people is a key component of Legacy’s mission.

Over the course of summer 2013, Legacy is mounting a set of Special Exhibits highlighting the ways people benefit from their interactions with the land and all it brings us.  These exhibits will be on display at the Ann Arbor District Library in July and August.

These Special Exhibits consist of four components.  The first component presents quotations, readings and sayings of poets, writers and environmentalists from the past 175 years.  These are matched to photographic images from Legacy Land Conservancy archives showing properties which have been preserved through the Conservancy.  The second component shows medicinal herbs that can be found on Legacy properties and similar lands in southeast Michigan.  Photos of the herbs and descriptions of their effects will be presented.  The third component discusses the beneficial impact that interacting with nature and wild places has on children and their development.  The fourth component consists of photographs of special species of wildlife found on the preserved lands.  These species are uncommon to rare or threatened.  A grant funded by the James A and Faith Knight Foundation has sponsored these exhibits.

The Ann Arbor District Library exhibit will be displayed from July 24 through September 1, 2013.  When the exhibit at the Ann Arbor District Library closes, the second and third components of the exhibit will be transferred to display cases in the U of M Hospitals, where they will be displayed.  Dates and times of other exhibits will be posted on Legacy’s website at www.legacylandconservancy.org.

In the fall and winter, Legacy’s celebration of the land continues with two art exhibitions called the Legacy of the Land Through Art.  These exibitions are a special way to honor the generosity of local private landowners who have protected their land in perpetuity.  Legacy Land Conservancy, collaborating with Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Nichols Arboretum and Sandhill Crane Vineyards, will present two major Art Exhibitions designed to celebrate the land and all it brings us.  The exhibitions present the works of 43 multi media artists who live and/or work in Washtenaw and Jackson Counties.  Participants in the exhibitions were selected from a field of 89 artists.  They are drawing inspiration for their art works from visits to their assigned Legacy properties over the spring and summer.

Save the date for the Matthaei Botanical Gardens Artist Exhibition on October 12. This Exhibition will be open to the public and is free. Artist works will be for sale.

Oct. 12- Nov. 10, 2013 at Matthaei Botanical Gardens

Feb. 1- Mar. 9, 2014 at Sandhill Crane Vineyards