Live Green: Flannel Formal
POCOMOKE CITY, Md – The Lower Shore Land Trust recently held their annual flannel formal, celebrating 35 years of conservation!
Every year, the Lower Shore Land Trust holds an event celebrating all of the hard work the trust has put into their conservation and restoration efforts, and this year, the flannel formal was held at the Cellar House in Worcester County. The event was put together by Community Development Coordinator, Margo Resto, and it was a great turnout.
“We call it the flannel formal because everybody comes out in their flannel attire. It’s not a suit and tie event,” Executive director, Matt Heim said. “We’re an outdoor organization, so it’s a chance to kind of have a fundraiser.”
He said 300 people attended the event, which featured food, drinks, a live band and a silent auction. All proceeds from the silent auction went towards the trust and their mission.
“It goes towards our mission. So it’ll go towards our conservation, restoration and all of our efforts,” Communications coordinator, Brooke Orr said. “Our mission is essentially to keep the lower shore untouched and wild and to restore it back so that it can be used for generations to come.”
It was also a time to award those who are recognized for their efforts and dedication in protecting our land on the shore. This year, co-founder King Burnett was awarded with the Stephen Parker Legacy Award. The award was named after renowned conservationist, Stephen Parker who unfortunately passed away, but is remembered for his work as the Director of the Virginia Coast Reserve with The Nature Conservancy.
“He founded the lower shore land trust back in 1990,” Heim said. “He’s also been a pillar in our local community for a number of different organizations, working with the Wicomico Historical Trust, working with Salisbury School. It’s a long, long list of organizations that King has helped in this community.”
A number of different stakeholders were at the event including Kate Patten who was the executive director for 18 years before she passed the torch to Heim. She told me she came to the event because she still supports the mission. So far, the trust has conserved over 24,000 acres for the past 35 years, and they have over 2000 more acres and projects that are underway right now.
“I worked hard to learn about the land trust and what they do, and the land trust is about conserving the most important properties for water quality, habitat and for recreation,” Patten said. “So, we need public access. If we don’t have people, with the ability to connect to the land, they won’t understand why to protect it.”
Lauren Imhof, an Americorps member for the trust who volunteered to document the event told me it was a very joyous event and it is important to have teamwork.
“I think it’s really important to be on the same page of the people that you want to work with. And there’s so many connections that you can make that you don’t even know,” she expressed. “It’s time for us to just come together and continue to work together and build relationships and making of a better tomorrow.”
Part of their efforts to also support the community were to bring in nonperishable goods from anyone who attended the event as well, in order to donate those goods to local shelters.
Every year, the trust holds a flannel formal event. To help with donations, volunteer or look out for next year’s event, visit the trust’s website.
