Local News

Conservation District to honor the Hills and Nancy Walker at annual meeting

UNITY — The 73rd Annual Meeting of the Sullivan County Conservation District takes place Dec. 9th at the Sumner House in Charlestown.

Starting at 6 p.m., the evening includes dinner, two award presentations, and a keynote presentation by the Upper Valley Land Trust. Tickets are $20 and must be reserved by Dec. 2nd.

Every year, the Sullivan County Conservation District recognizes important conservation activities by farms, organizations and individuals at its annual meeting. This year’s award winners are Harvey and Christina Hill (Conservationists-of-the-Year) and Nancy Walker (Volunteer-of-the-Year).

Harvey and Christina (Richardson) Hill were raised in Charlestown on neighboring farms. In time, both came to own the farms they grew up on, and after they were married, acquired adjacent lands until they owned more than 1,200 acres.

Outdoor people, Harvey and Christina have always enjoyed working and playing outside; growing food, managing forests, and promoting wildlife and biological diversity. They loved their land and resolved that it should be shared with others and never developed. And so in 2017 the Hills donated most of it, 1,100 acres, to the Upper Valley Land Trust, which today is UVLT’s Up on the Hill Conservation Area in Charlestown, Unity, and Claremont.

Nancy Walker of Unity and her husband Glenn became interested in working with the Conservation District two years ago, when they attended the Winter Tree ID Naturalist program. Shortly after, they donated a granite bench to the Sullivan County Complex, which today graces Jessie’s Trail to the Eco-Ag Center.

Since then, Nancy has volunteered weekly with the Conservation District and Natural Resources Department. Her activities have included: helping to survey County lands for rare and unusual wildflowers, sorting and packing seeds from the pollinator garden, processing District Plant Sale orders, assessing and documenting headstones in the old County cemetery, and assisting the public at the Sullivan County Cidery.

This year’s keynote presentation, given by UVLT staff Peg Merrens and Megan Chapman, is titled “”Protecting Special Places: A Land Conservation Discussion with the Upper Valley Land Trust.”

The talk will explore the importance of conserving land for future generations, the state of land conservation in Sullivan County and surrounding region, and current efforts to conserve the region’s best resources including viable farmland.

The Upper Valley Land Trust (UVLT) works in 45 towns in the Upper Valley region of Vermont and New Hampshire and has been protecting land for over 30 years. To date, UVLT has protected more than 53,000 acres.

The buffet dinner includes chicken cordon bleu, broiled salmon and veggie alfredo, as well as chocolate cake or apple crisp for dessert. The evening’s schedule and dinner menu can be found at https://www.sccdnh.org/programs.

Reservations are required. To attend, please contact Dawn Dextraze by Monday, Dec. 2nd: 504-1004, or  [email protected]

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