Wellesley Conservation Council, Inc.
Contact Information: Judith Barr, j.barr@neu.edu, 781-234-8224
Press Release: May 1, 2020
Wellesley Conservation Council to become Wellesley Conservation Land Trust
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
At the Annual Meeting of the Wellesley Conservation Council held on April 28, 2020, the membership voted unanimously to ratify the Board of Director’s motion to change the name of the non-profit organization to the Wellesley Conservation Land Trust.
The new name more clearly reflects the nature of the organization: that of a Land Trust. In the past there has been confusion concerning the private or public nature and purpose of the “Council”.
Established in 1958 by a group of 14 environmentally-minded citizens of Wellesley to protect, preserve, and conserve open spaces in Wellesley, it was incorporated as a private, non-profit organization and originally entitled the Wellesley Conservation Council, Inc. At the time, there were few land trusts. Rather than including land trust in their names, several early local ones used names such as Trustees of the Reservation and Sudbury Valley Trustees.
The board of the Wellesley Conservation Land Trust thanks the residents of Wellesley for their continued support of its 62+ year mission to:
- Protect and preserve the natural environment in Wellesley
- Maintain sanctuaries open to the public for study and enjoyment
- Educate youth and interest adults in matters of conservation.
The land trust movement has rapidly grown since the 1980s and now includes over 1,600 in the United States. In Massachusetts, there are 152 local land trusts of which “Trust” is included in 67% of their organizational titles and of these, over 50% include “Land Trust”.
In Wellesley the local, private, 501(c)(3) non-profit land trust is now the Wellesley Conservation Land Trust, Inc. It owns or has conservation restrictions on 12 properties totaling over 50 acres and actively partners with Wellesley’s Natural Resources Commission which remains the town’s public arm to provide stewardship, education and advocacy of the Town of Wellesley public parks and public open spaces.
For more information see: WellesleyConservationLandTrust.org.