Whatcom Land Trust will host their annual spring benefit, The Land in Our Hands, on June 4, 2022 at Boundary Bay Brewery Beer Garden. Community members are invited to purchase tickets online as soon as possible to hold their spot as tickets are expected to sell out. All are also invited to participate in the Online Auction May 28 through June 5.
“We’re so excited to share with our community of supporters all that we’ve been working on over the last two years,” says Whatcom Land Trust Executive Direct Gabe Epperson. “We’ve protected 1,500 more acres of land and 4 miles of new shoreline over that time and we couldn’t have done it without the collaboration and backing of our donors, business partners in Conservation, the City and the County. The Spring Benefit and Auction will enable us to continue to build on our 37-year legacy of protecting special places in Whatcom County.”
The online auction will include more than 15 original works by prominent international and local artists. Artworks will be exhibited at the Land Trust offices for public viewing during variable hours May 31 through June 3. The auction will also feature a wide range of donated experiences. Go on a solar boat tour, stay for two nights at a beautiful cabin at Mount Baker, or get expert advice on installing a pollinator garden at your home.
Auction items can be viewed and bid on via the Whatcom Land Trust website May 28 through June 5. Auction winners will be notified directly beginning June 6. You need not be present at the in-person event to bid or win.
The Land in Our Hands in-person event will celebrate the first time the Land Trust has been able to connect in-person with the Bellingham community in over two years. The catered event will feature Lummi Tribal chairman, Lawrence Solomon. We will also share updates on the Land Trust’s latest wins and upcoming projects, covering information on the Post Point Heron Colony, Stewart Mountain, and other land conservation projects currently in the works. There will be time for socializing as well as live music provided by the Latin Tinge Septet. The Land in Our Hands will also coincide with an online auction fundraiser that will open May 28 and close June 5 at 12 p.m. In honor of the land, 10% of the benefit proceeds will be donated to the Lhaq’temish Foundation.
The celebration begins at 4:00 p.m. with time to eat, drink, dance and socialize with Whatcom Land Trust staff, Board of Directors, and other supporters. Speakers will take the stage at 5:00 p.m.and include a welcome from Lummi Tribal Chairman Lawrence Solomon followed by Whatcom Land Trust Executive Director, Gabe Epperson, and Conservation Manager, Alex Jeffers. Guests can dance and mingle until 7:00 p.m.
Event sponsors include Mountain Veterinary Hospital, Brett McCandlis Brown & Conner, Chuckanut Builders, Carmichael Clark Attorneys at Law, Natural Systems Design, Waycross Investment Management Company, Deborah Loober CPA, Julie Carpenter Real Estate, Phillips 66, Boundary Bay Brewery and Jepson & Associates Surveying.
Business sponsorships remain available at all levels and auction donations can be accepted through May 18.
Event tickets can be purchased via Eventbrite. Contact the Whatcom Land Trust office with questions and for more information at 360-650-9470 or officemanager@whatcomlandtrust.org.
About Whatcom Land Trust:
Whatcom Land Trust preserves and protects wildlife habitat, scenic, agricultural and open space lands in Whatcom County for future generations by securing interests in land and promoting land stewardship in partnership with our diverse community. As a local, community-supported nonprofit operating since 1984, the Land Trust has been successful in protecting more than 24,000 acres, including Galbraith Mountain, Governors Point, and large sections of the Lake Whatcom Watershed. The Trust has secured permanent protections on an additional 1,000 acres of privately-owned working agricultural lands through the Whatcom County AG Purchase of Development Rights program. Most recently, the Trust purchased and permanently protected 1,400 acres at Skookum Creek in the South Fork Nooksack region for salmon habitat, watershed protection, landscape connectivity, climate resilience and public access in the Cascades to Chuckanuts Natural Area.
