QUICK NOTES

January 14, 11 am
February 4, 11 am
X-Country Skiing at Love Creek Nature Center in Berrien Springs.  

We are still hoping to see enough snow by January 14 to go cross-country skiing!  If you are interested in joining us, please call or e-mail the office and we'll add you to the contact list for updates and information.

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Just a few left!  COL's beautiful 2012 calendar has made its way into many a gift package this season!  Still need one?  Call or e-mail the office to get yours!

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Outreach Coordinator.  We are still seeking someone with a passion for conservation and education to coordinate COL's public activities throughout the year -- hikes, programs, and our communications with you, our members!  The full listing is on our website.

Dear friends,

Earlier this month, we protected another 12 acres!  That's me above, with Patricia and Lloyd Burns of Galien.  The Burns became aware of Chikaming Open Lands because our Mt. Zion Prairie Easement is right next door to them.  As they thought about the future of their own property, they decided they wanted to know it would always stay as a beautiful open space.  We worked with Pat and Lloyd over the past few months to draft a conservation agreement that maintains their private ownership of the property, but restricts future uses to protect the wonderful natural resources it holds.

Now that the agreement is complete, the Burns plan to work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to restore the prairie and wetlands that once flourished there.

We welcome Pat and Lloyd to the COL family!

--Chris Thompson, Executive Director
(Trouble seeing the newsletter?  You can read it in your browser, click here.)

BIG THANKS!  We've had a wonderful response to our For Now, For Tomorrow campaign, putting us just $10,000 from our goal of $65,000!  And every contribution brings us a bit closer!

All of our plans for 2012 depend on contributed income.  COL has no "earnings".  So as you consider your year-end charitable giving, please remember that Chikaming Open Lands is here when land needs protecting...for now, and for tomorrow!

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water,
and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief.  I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light.
For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

                                         --Wendell Berry, (1934- )

Our wish to you is that you may have the frequent opportunity
to "rest in the grace of the world" in 2012.  Happy new year!
--Chikaming Open Lands