Trustees President & CEO Katie Theoharides; Old Town Hill, Newbury; Photo © Krista Photography
Welcome Katie Theoharides
Earlier this week, we welcomed Katie Theoharides as our new President & CEO! Katie joins The Trustees after having served as Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs from 2019-2022, and most recently as head of offshore wind operations in the Eastern U.S for the Germany energy company RWE.
At Katie’s core, she is an environmentalist who cares for land conservation and for mobilizing people through a shared reverence for nature. She embraces The Trustees’ mission of connecting people with nature through conservation, recreation, art, and shared history. Please join us in extending a very warm welcome to Katie and learning more here.
New Coskata-Coatue Documentary Showcases Climate Vulnerability on Nantucket
The Trustees, in partnership with Nantucket Conservation Foundation and local production company Yellow Productions, has produced a documentary short to draw attention to the vulnerability of Nantucket’s Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge to the impacts of climate change. Titled Coskata-Coatue: A Refuge on the Edge, the film has been honored as an official selection of both the Nantucket and Woods Hole Film Festivals this summer. Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge is home to a critical barrier beach ecosystem and is jointly owned and managed by The Trustees and Nantucket Conservation Foundation.
The two organizations are committed to ensuring this treasure remains a place for humans and wildlife to thrive for many generations and the 12-minute documentary showcases the refuge’s many wonders and its ecological, recreational, and cultural importance for the island of Nantucket. Along with putting a spotlight on its vulnerabilities associated with climate change, the documentary also highlights the ways the two organizations are working together to build the resilience of the refuge. Explore the spectacular and changing landscape of Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge here and join us for the public premiere of the film on Thursday, August 24 on Nantucket.
Dover and Westwood Offered Opportunity to Preserve 1,200 Acres of Beloved Land Forever
The Trustees, Westwood Land Trust, and Dover Land Conservation Trust are embarking on an awareness campaign to inform the public about the opportunity to preserve and protect 1,200 acres owned by Hale Education. It is the largest such conservation effort in the history of Westwood and Dover and the largest in the region for decades.
Despite a decades-long history of being open and accessible to the public, Hale’s land has never been officially or permanently protected from development; it remains at risk of being divided and sold to developers at market rate. The land trusts are collaborating to increase awareness among residents of both towns about the critical opportunity to purchase Conservation Restrictions (CRs) on the property, which will keep the land open to the public in perpetuity and further the protection of the character of these communities. A CR is a method to permanently limit the ways privately-owned land can be used, forever. Both towns will have the opportunity to vote on the question of purchasing the CRs this fall.
In a joint statement, Tom French, president of the Dover Land Conservation Trust, Karen Manor Metzold, president of the Westwood Land Trust, and Nicie Panetta, Outgoing Interim President & CEO of The Trustees said, “We are excited to share the importance of these Conservation Restrictions with the residents of Dover and Westwood. By protecting these beloved 1,200 acres, generations to come will benefit from the restorative beauty, passive recreational access, and important environmental resources the land provides to all, forever.”
To learn more about the campaign, or how you can get involved, visit votehale.org.
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