With 981 acres in Athens-Clarke, Barrow, Oconee, Walton, and Wilkes Counties protected under conservation easement and over 100 affordable housing units, ALT is producing visible results.

Hotel Indigo's Go Green Music Series Benefits ALT!

The Rialto Room at Hotel Indigo is presenting the "Go Green" Music Series, featuring 14 concerts between June 2010 and June 2011. A portion of the proceeds of the "Go Green" Music Series will benefit ALT and the Oconee River Land Trust.

Upcoming show:
August 12: Art Rosenbaum
Doors open at 7,  show starts at 8

For tickets or more information, see www.indigoathens.com/gogreen.html

ALT Receives ACHF Outstanding Rehabilitation Award for Our New Office!

The Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation presented ALT with an Outstanding Rehabilitation Award for the renovation of the Pope Street Cottage at the ACHF Annual Meeting on June 7. Heather Benham accepted the award from incoming ACHF President Jennifer Martin Lewis.

Spirit of the Land 2010!

Winter Stubble on Hale’s Field, this year's signature artwork by John Cleaveland.

Spirit of the Land, a benefit for the conservation programs of ALT and Oconee River Land Trust, took place at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia this year, concluding with a Gala featuring music by Tin Cup Prophette, an aerial dance performance by artists from Canopy Studio, hors d'ouevres by Farm 255, a wine tasting by Gosford Wine, and a silent auction featuring many unique items and services.

See more photos from the Gala at our Spirit of the Land archive!

Learn more about our work to renovate the historic Pope Street Cottage to serve as A Home of Our Own, and how you can help!

Register Now for the July Homebuyer Education Workshop (7/24 and 7/31)!

The next Homebuyer Education Workshop will take place on Saturday July 24 and Saturday July 31 from 12:30 to 4:30 pm at our office at 685 North Pope Street, Athens. Attendance is required at both sessions to earn a Homebuyer Education Certificate, which is necessary for many affordable housing and loan programs.

For more information or to register, please contact Mary O'Toole at Athens Land Trust at (706) 613-0122 or by email at mary@athenslandtrust.org.

ALT Receives GA SWCS 2010 Merit Award

Athens Land Trust has won the 2010 Merit Award from the Georgia Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society. 

“The efforts of the ALT in protecting forests, working farmland, river and stream corridors, wetlands and other ecologically rich areas through conservation easements in north Georgia exemplify the Society’s mission of fostering the science and the art of soil, water, and related natural resource management to achieve sustainability,” said José Pagán, GaSWCS Awards Committee Chairman.

Read the complete press release.

ALT Honors Donor and Volunteer of the Year at GreenFest Awards

Nancy Stangle presents Donors of the Year Rob and Carol Winthrop with a print of Jamie Calkin's watercolor of the Pope Street Cottage.

On April 30, ALT presented awards for 2009 Donor and Volunteers of the Year at the GreenFest Environmental Awards ceremony.

Donors of the Year: Rob and Carol Winthrop
Rob and Carol Winthrop gave a generous donation from their family foundation to help ALT rehabilitate our new office home. Their donation was a boost to our sustainability efforts: our new home is preserving an important historic structure, is an example of adaptive reuse, is a certified EarthCraft Renovation, and gives us economic stability that will enable us to provide more resources to land conservation.

Volunteers of the Year: Dyan Holt and Kate Blane
Kate Blane has been a member of Athens Land Trust since its beginning. For the past seven years, Kate has provided information technology assistance to ALT. Kate has also used her creativity to organize three fundraising events for ALT, including the first Renaissance Holiday Dinner last December, which raised over $1,000 for ALT's capital campaign.

Dyan Holt is a former staff member who has continued to volunteer even after budget constraints cut her salary. A native of Singapore, where she worked as an attorney in a variety of public service positions, Dyan has provided her expertise to our Conservation Program.  As a volunteer, Dyan has helped with everything around the office, from answering the phone, to helping with events, to working on conservation easement documents.

Thank you to Rob, Carol, Kate, and Dyan!

Green Ribbon Cutting

Jackie Robinson cuts the ribbon of her new home.

Nearly 100 well-wishers turned out to celebrate with ALT's newest homeowner, Jackie Roberts, as she cut the ribbon on her EarthCraft-certified infill home in the Forest Heights neighborhood on April 16. Mayor Heidi Davison welcomed the crowd, and Commissioner Kathy Hoard introduced Jackie. Designer Lori Bork, builder Levin McDougald, and ALT Housing Director Heather Benham gave a tour of the house's green features, which include clerestory windows to allow for natural lighting, hardwood floors, a rain barrel and rain chain for stormwater runoff control, EnergyStar appliances, and low-VOC paints.

GreenFest Easement Walk

Easement walk participants explored the Mitchell family's cattle farm in Oconee County.

About a dozen people spent an enjoyable and informative Saturday visiting several nearby properties that are permanently protected by ALT conservation easements. The group, led by ALT staff and volunteers, took a stroll through the woods and wetlands on the Sheth property in Barrow County, and then traveled to Oconee County where they had a picnic lunch and a guided tour of the Mitchell family's working cattle farm.

Find us at our new office home at 685 North Pope Street, just off Prince Avenue between Emmanuel Episcopal Church and the UGA President's House. Our phone and fax numbers remain the same.

Athens Land Trust
685 North Pope St.
Athens, GA 30601
(706) 613-0122
(706) 613-0143 fax
admin@athenslandtrust.org