Thank You for Another Successful Wild About Blue!
Thanks to everyone who made our Wild About Blue 2020 event a great success! We raised over $22,000 that will be used to support the programs that bring so much to our community! If you would still like to donate, please go to www.wiltonpreserve.org/wild-about-blue to make an online donation.
Thanks to Caffe Lena for working with us to record and stream the two online events. You can still watch our kick-off, with the Resonators playing a set for the Blues for the Karner Blues and our wrap up, with the Schroon River String Band playing a set for Bluegrass for the Karner Blues. In both of these, short videos about the Preserve & Park play interspersed with the music. Learn about the Saratoga Sandplains and its most famous resident, the endangered Karner blue butterfly, who was honored this year with our Metamorphosis Award. The award honors someone for making positive and dramatic changes in the community and this year we chose the Karner blue butterfly as it was the catalyst for the first land protection efforts undertaken by the Town of Wilton, along with NYS DEC, and The Nature Conservancy. Blues for the Karner Blues and Bluegrass for the Karner Blues were funded by Saratoga Arts, that made this program possible with a Community Arts Grant funded by New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
You can always visit our Facebook page and YouTube channel to watch some of the great videos that were created for the Wild About Blue virtual weekend. You can learn about our commitments to conservation, outdoor recreation, and environmental education. You can also go an a virtual nature walk to learn about the Karner blue butterfly!
Our online auction was another success, we intentionally did not ask any local businesses to donate this year, since we know how they have all been impacted by COVID. Instead our board members, volunteers, and others contributed items, special services, and even went out and bought local items and gift certificates to help support local businesses! Thanks to our creative and generous auction donors! Eric Avery, Jennifer Benaman, Katie Benaman, Jennifer Ferriss, Jenn Hunt Dempsey, Tony Krackeler, Howard Lester, Bob Lippman, Matthew Miczek, Tina Morency, Jeff Olson, Margo Olson, Marne Onderdonk, Shari Parslow, Marci Revette, Bob Rice, Brenda Sanchez, Tim Schlachter, Kurt Smemo, Caroline Stem, and Lauren Winkler.
With Profound Appreciation to the Generous Honorary Committee Donors to Wild About Blue 2020
Your Support Matters: We have seen how important our trails are for getting people out in nature during these stressful times. We count on Wild About Blue to help support our work in conservation, environmental education, and outdoor recreation. This work includes working with our Partners; the Town of Wilton, NYS DEC, Saratoga County, and The Nature Conservancy in supporting their habitat work for the Karner blue butterfly, helping to maintain the more than 25 miles of recreational trails, providing year-round environmental education programs for all ages and interests, and free public events like our Wildlife Festival and Moonlight Ski and Snowshoe.
Wild About Blue Committee: Linda Baker, Mark Bellantoni, Jennifer Benaman, Jenn Hunt-Dempsey, Jennifer Ferriss, Bob Lippman, Matthew Miczek, Tina Morency, Margo Olson, Marne Onderdonk, Marci Revette, Bob Rice, Ryan Riper, Tim Schlachter, Kurt Smemo, and Caroline Stem