The power of grassroots conservation

Guest Column

By KARA HARTIGAN WHELAN

The Westchester Land Trust team arrived with big plans and aspirations for this year’s annual benefit, Hope on the Hudson.

Every year our community gathers with a shared purpose: to celebrate the acres we’ve protected together, raise critical funds, welcome new friends to our mission, and reflect on the power of grassroots conservation. The Hudson River reminds us that splendor and setbacks often share the same horizon. Saturday, June 6, was no different. Set on the river’s shores, our benefit was held at the Center at Mariandale, in Ossining, land owned and cared for by the Dominican Sisters of Hope and protected forever by WLT with a conservation easement.

Weather forecasts shifted throughout the day, and suddenly a thunderstorm was headed our way. Within minutes, months of planning for an outdoor celebration along the Hudson River had to be abandoned. It was heartbreaking to watch tables, flowers, and carefully laid plans give way to an improvised gathering indoors. Yet in that moment, our staff, vendors and guests did what this community always does — they adapted. And for that, I could not be more grateful and filled with hope. 

As with the thousands of acres of land we protect, adaptation and resilience are found not in resisting the inevitable changes coming at us, but in responding to them, sometimes in an instant. Healthy ecosystems thrive through their connectivity, complexity, and diversity. When conditions in these landscapes change (which they always do), plants and animals adapt and ultimately gain strength. So do we. 

Westchester Land Trust prioritizes land protection of acres in our region that have high climate resiliency, because we know all living things will need the choices these landscapes offer in times of strong storms, rising seas, unprecedented wind, and flooding events.

The evening’s surprise storm became a reflection of Westchester Land Trust as an organization and reminded us that hope grows stronger when shared, deepens through challenge, and always endures.

The quick-moving storm threw a wrench at our plans but did not dim our sense of purpose nor our hope for land protection and the increasingly important work that we do. Together, incredibly, we raised more than $500,000 to protect the land and water our communities cherish.

Conservation is long term, and caring for the land we protect is forever, which means we are guaranteed to have curveballs and unpredictability ahead. And still, with hope as our foundation and resilience as our guide, we believe the best chapters of our story are still ahead of us. Because rising in the face of adversity is what we have always done. And it is what we will always do. 

Thank you to all in our community who celebrated Hope on the Hudson with us this June.

Kara Hartigan Whelan is president, Westchester Land Trust.