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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Downtown 'behavior issue' discussion continued ... Oregon Action plans protest in Ashland of Malheur occupation ... Old McNeal Pavilion coming down to make way for new facility ... Downtown 'behavior issue' discussion continued ... Oregon Action plans protest in Ashland of Malheur occupation ... Old McNeal Pavilion coming down to make way for new facility ... ASHLAND RUNS ON VOLUNTEERS Conservancy volunteers are a bunch of land-lovers Comment By Mary Coombs For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Mary Coombs For the Tidings Posted Jan. 21, 2016 at 2:00 AM By Mary Coombs For the Tidings Posted Jan. 21, 2016 at 2:00 AM » Social News The Southern Oregon Land Conservancy (“Conservancy”) does just what its name suggests — it works to conserve land here for the public and for the future. How does it do this? First, by accepting a “conservation easement,” from landowners, or by owning land that is either donated or purchased, ensuring that the land will be safe from over-development. The Conservancy has thus saved over 10,000 acres on 63 different parcels in Southern Oregon, including land that is still natural and working farm land. This is the most protected acreage of any land conservancy in Oregon. One of its protected properties is Oredson-Todd Woods. The developers, Messrs. Oredson and Todd, donated the land to the Conservancy, which in turn gave it to the city of Ashland — while maintaining a conservation easement. The Conservancy also works to maintain lands, primarily those for which it has title or easement, through a process they call “hands-on stewardship,” to educate the public, and to keep the organization running (including fund-raising, so it can protect more land). All these activities are highly reliant on volunteers. Hands-on stewardship is generally done through “community work parties.” Some of these involve a pre-defined group of volunteers who take on a particular task collectively. For example, Marcia Osoke’s class at John Muir Middle School has adopted Oredson-Todd Woods. For the last few years, these students, along with staff from Ashland Parks and Recreation, have come out four times a year to do trail maintenance and weed-pulling. More recently, the employees of Inesscents Aromatic Botanicals came out as a group as a work party. There are also work parties open to anyone willing to do the work. For example, there is going to be a community work party on March 19 to pull up invasive English ivy at the Jacksonville Woodlands. Public education takes a variety of forms. The Conservancy organizes community hikes, usually on trust-protected land, which are led by naturalists. These may be professionals, or amateurs, or — a group in which Ashland is rich — retired folks who developed a high expertise in aspects of the natural world, including geology, biology and ecology, in their prior work lives. These have included hikes led by birders or, recently, a “butterfly hike” at Sky King Cole on Pilot Rock Road. Knowledgeable volunteers have also been part of the annual spring week-long “Loving the Land” educational program at Oredson-Todd Woods for fourth- to fifth-grade students. Programs are put on using volunteers as educators, educator assistants and hike leaders. Some volunteer educators can even talk about the environment, without actually being out in the woods at the time, at the “Ashland Where Ya At?” program at Standing Stone. Volunteers can also help the Conservancy by participating in butterfly or dragonfly surveys on Conservancy properties or engaging in other activities in which they visit the properties and assess their needs. Like any small nonprofit organization, the Conservancy can also use volunteers to support the small number of paid staff with such things as office work or preparing informational and/or fundraising material. Volunteers can help write material for the newsletter or posts for the blog, provide photographs for these and other media or even help with the required envelope stuffing! And each fall, the Conservancy puts on its major fundraiser, the “Conservation Celebration.” Volunteers can help in a wide variety of tasks before and during the event. Most of these volunteer activities can be done on an as-needed basis; one need not make a major or frequent time commitment to help. And while some of the volunteer opportunities are best fitted for those who already have a significant body of knowledge about at least some aspects of conservation and the natural world, others do not. If one decides this is an organization to which you feel a special connection, you might also want to get involved with the board or its committees, such as the finance committee or the lands committee, which provides the Conservancy staff with guidance on stewardship and land acquisition issues. If you want to know more, go to the Conservancy website, www.landconserve.org , or call its office at 541-482-3069. Mary I. Coombs’ column on local nonprofit organizations appears every three weeks. Email questions and suggestions to [email protected]. By Mary Coombs For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Mary Coombs For the Tidings Posted Jan. 21, 2016 at 2:00 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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