Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
Ken and Jan Quigley are the top bidders for an acrylic sculpture by Frederick Hart entitled, "Sacred Mysteries," at the Emerald Grove dinner.
Guests enjoy an outdoor reception and dinner, followed by a presentation by Wallace Tucker, co-founder of the Fallbrook Land Conservancy.
Longtime supporters of the Fallbrook Land Conservancy. including, from left, Catherine Sousa, Judy and Bob Gillespie, are honored at the Emerald Grove event
FLC assistant preserve manager Francisco Gutierrez Conejo and his wife, Jenira, attend the Emerald Grove dinner event.
Stephanie and Steve Holbrook of Wings of Change, left, are seen with Leslie Miller at the Fallbrook Land Conservancy's annual reception and dinner.
Susan Liebes holds up a unique auction item, a piece of the heirloom staghorn that once hung at the Palomares House.
Attending the Emerald Grove event are, from left, Wendell Berkes, Lila Sandschulte and Lydia Rossi, Emerald Grove chair.
Longtime supporters and volunteers with the FLC's Native Plant Restoration Team include, from left, Diane Kennedy, Gary Beeler, and Miranda Kennedy.
FALLBROOK – Land donors and major contributors of the Fallbrook Land Conservancy were celebrated at the group's annual Emerald Grove event held in August at the home of Wallace and Beverly Tucker.
Some 70 guests enjoyed an outdoor reception and dinner, along with brief presentations by Wallace Tucker, co-founder of the FLC, and Susan Liebes, chair of the group's board of directors.
Guests also participated in a live auction led by board member and longtime supporter Kent Borsch. Among the evening's happy auction winners were FLC board member Ken Quigley, and his wife, Jan, who took home a prized acrylic sculpture entitled, "Sacred Mysteries," by artist Frederick Hart.
Other items sold to the highest bidder were pieces of an heirloom staghorn fern that once hung for decades on the patio at the Palomares House, the group's headquarters on Stage Coach Lane. More pieces of the plant, mounted on reclaimed pallet wood, will also be auctioned at the FLC's upcoming Stagecoach Sunday fundraiser on Oct. 3.
Dinner was catered by Firehouse Que & Brew, with John Crawford and Jerry Kalman serving as reception hosts under the direction of Lydia Rossi, FLC board member and Emerald Grove chair. Volunteers from the San Luis Rey chapter of the National Charity League also helped the event run smoothly.
Contributors to the conservancy qualify to be Emerald Grove members by donating land or $1,000 or more in a year. In 2020, there were 40 organizations, businesses, couples and individuals who contributed funds at this level. Over the years, Emerald Grove members have generated more than $1 million in donations to the FLC, with private donations accounting for some 43% of the group's total income for 2020.
Tucker thanked the group's generous donors for helping the FLC continue its mission to preserve and enhance the natural beauty of the community. Founded in 1988, the nonprofit organization is committed to protecting open space, maintaining hiking and walking trails, and restoring native habitat.
The FLC now owns and manages 19 properties, covering 2,204 acres in the Fallbrook area and throughout San Diego County. In addition, the group holds 956 acres in conservation easements, which are "an effective technique of protecting land from development," Tucker said. The FLC also manages an additional 713 acres, many of which "will eventually be deeded to the organization," he told guests. "If you add them all up we're getting close to 4,000 acres."
Tucker also described the various ways the group acquires land through limited development, federal and state grants, mitigation properties, gifts of land and bequests.
According to the FLC, the public continues to visit its preserves in record numbers. In January 2021, visitors to Dinwiddie more than doubled from the previous January to 1,032, with Los Jilgueros drawing 7,188, and Monserate Mountain trail 9,229.
During her presentation, Liebes discussed several volunteer opportunities with the FLC, introducing guests to a new brochure with text and art by Miranda Kennedy, FLC member and volunteer with the Native Plant Restoration Team. Sponsored by the Fallbrook Regional Health District, the brochure contains a map of Los Jilgueros, with descriptions of the preserve's various habitats of boggy creek sides, ponds, coastal sage scrub and oak woodland.
According to the brochure, "Los Jilgueros Preserve was the very first acquisition of the newly-founded Fallbrook Land Conservancy in 1990. This former farm is being restored through active management and the natural resilience of our native ecosystems. It's always growing and changing, offering new surprises and happy reminders on every visit: a piece of land dedicated solely to the preservation of our regional ecology and local rural character, protected due to the continuous work and generosity of our community members."
Individuals and organizations can support the FLC through membership or volunteerism or both. Membership in the organization starts at $35 annually and volunteer committees include Save Our Forest, the Native Plant Restoration Team and the Trails Committee. Business owners can also participate in the Village Green program.
For more information, visit fallbrooklandconservancy.org.
Submitted by the Fallbrook Land Conservancy.
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