March 21, 2017
For Immediate Release
Contact: Maria Slippen
914.234.6992 ext. 15, maria@westchesterlandtrust.org

The 2017 event will be “at home” on Sugar Hill Farm and celebrate the dedication, hard-work, and commitment of three amazing women.

BEDFORD HILLS, NY— Westchester Land Trust (WLT) is pleased to announce that this year’s Annual Benefit will spotlight “Women in Conservation” at our historic Sugar Hill Farm property. This promises to once again be a fun-filled event while focusing on three of the people and one of the places that make WLT the well-known, unique, and successful organization on the verge of celebrating its third decade of existence. Under a tent at Sugar Hill Farm, on June 17, WLT will honor Susan Carpenter, Norma Silva, and Aimée Whitman whose generosity of expertise, time, and spirit continue to have lasting impacts on the protection and active conservation of land in Westchester and Putnam Counties. Funds raised at the event will enable WLT to protect environmentally-critical open space in the community we all share.

THE WOMEN BEHIND WLT

Susan Carpenter joined the staff in 1995 and when she retired in 2016 she did so as the longest tenured employee in WLT history. During that time, she authored more than 170 conservation easements, and oversaw the preservation of 7,400 acres – nearly 97%of the acreage preserved since WLT’s founding in 1988 – and under her guidance WLT was one of the first land trusts in the nation to secure accreditation from the Land Trust Alliance in 2008. The inimitable combination of her unwavering ethics, wisdom, insight, ability to connect with both land owners and municipal leaders, and institutional knowledge and her commitment to conservation and the wider land-use and planning worlds has, quite literally propelled WLT to its present position in the conservation community.

Norma Silva did not let being an apartment-dweller inhibit her love of the outdoors and commitment to the environment. When she retired after 27 years as a Special Education teacher in the Bronx, Norma connected with like-minded neighbors cultivating a small section in her co-op’s common area to grow herbs in raised bed using techniques she gained while volunteering at Westchester Land Trust’s headquarters Sugar Hill Farm. She has been a volunteer at Sugar Hill Farm and an ambassador of farming techniques learned through Westchester Land Trust in Yonkers and other urban communities of Southern Westchester for close to two decades. Norma has extensive experience in the removal of invasive plants and the replacement with natives. She has dedicated countless hours working alongside WLT’s stewardship team to make improvements to our preserves that are open to the public for all to enjoy. In addition to supporting WLT’s conservation work, Norma has tirelessly supported Yonkers Citizen Farmers, Groundwork Lower Hudson Valley, New York New Jersey Trail Conference, Yonkers Land Conservancy, The Bronx River Alliance, Friends of Van Cortlandt Park, and Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct, Vine-cutters Meetup, and of course WLT at Sugar Hill Farm.

Aimée Whitman’s roots in Bedford are deep, both literally and figuratively. Not only can the iconic Bedford Oak be traced to Whitman descendants, but she has been a resident for over 50 years. Aimée started her volunteer work with WLT before it moved to the current Sugar Hill Farm location (when it was still headquartered above Briccetti’s Bedford Market). She has devoted hundreds of hours providing critical administrative support to WLT’s community outreach and development efforts. Nary a WLT envelope has left either building without her careful review or an Annual Benefit been held without her working alongside staff to ensure a success. Aimée has an uncanny ability to catch inconsistencies in records and files which can only be described as the combination of a sharp eye and an unparalleled connection to the WLT community. As WLT’s neighbors and supporters are acutely aware, the organization’s reputation in Bedford and beyond has been cultivated and nurtured by Aimée for the past decade. Today, her presence onsite at Sugar Hill Farm and at WLT events is not only appreciated, but anticipated by staff and supporters and her dedication to the details has provided consistency and grace to WLT’s community engagement efforts over the years.

 WHY SUGAR HILL FARM IS SO SPECIAL 

Jean Preston Tilt and her husband, Rodman King Tilt, bought a house and about 20 acres of land in 1954, and named it Sugar Hill Farm after the 19^th century name for Harris Road. Because the car culture was in full swing in Bedford at that time, the Tilts immediately added the two-story three-car barn to the property. The gardens were always at the heart of Sugar Hill Farm and Mrs. Tilt lived here until her death in 2006, at the age of 95. At that time the property was purchased-jointly by the neighbors and long-time WLT supporters Carol and Frank Nickell and Lisa and Mark Schwartz. The existing structures and four surrounding acres were generously donated to WLT for use as a headquarters.  Today the farmhouse has been renovated to house WLT staffers and volunteers. The surrounding vegetable gardens provide fresh seasonal produce to local foodbanks through WLT’s partnership with The Foodbank for Westchester and, new this year, an additional garden has been established to propagate native plants for WLT’s preserves throughout the county.

WESTCHESTER LAND TRUST IS YOUR LAND TRUST

Based in Bedford Hills, the Westchester Land Trust works with public and private partners to preserve land in perpetuity and to enhance the natural resources in Westchester and eastern Putnam counties—a densely populated region under persistent threat from the pressures of development.   Through the use of conservation easements and outright acquisition, WLT’s efforts benefit the long-term health of these communities by safeguarding air quality, food supply and community character, as well as critical watershed areas.  Since its founding in 1988, WLT has preserved almost 8,000 acres of open space including more than 700-acres of preserves owned by the organization which are free and open to the public year round.

Tickets to WLT’s Annual Benefit, Our Land Is Your Land, start at $175 and can be purchased online at westchesterlandtrust.org or by calling Community Engagement and Event Manager, Grace Buck, at (914)234.6992 ext. 23.

For more information about WLT, please visit westchesterlandtrust.org and connect with us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/WLandTrust) and Instagram (@WestchesterLandTrust).