OUR LEADERSHIP
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Nancy Ylvisaker, St. Louis Beth Alm, Kansas City Wallis W. Warren, Beaufort Michele M. Risdal-Barnes, Springfield Rick Boeshaar, Shawnee Mission John Brands, St. Louis Claire Carstensen, St. Louis Debra Filla, Kansas City Carl Freiling, Ashland Ruth Grant, MD, Springfield Jeanette Hartshorn, Kansas City Diane Herndon, St. Louis Steve Mahfood, Wildwood Steve McMillan, St. Louis Carolyn Polk, St. Louis Robbie Price, Columbia Fritz Riesmeyer, Kansas City Jon M. Risdal, Springfield Sharon Shahid, Washington, D.C. Turbo Sjogren, St. Louis Jean Wagner, Kansas City Van Wolbach, Kansas City TRUSTEES EMERITI Patricia DuBose Duncan, Rockport, Maine Susan Lammert, St. Louis The Nature Conservancy is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) international membership organization. Its mission is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. The Nature Conservancy meets all of the Standards for Charity Accountability established by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance. The BBB Wise Giving Alliance is a national charity watchdog affiliated with the Better Business Bureau. Printed on 100% PCW recycled, process chlorine-free paper, creating the following benefits: 36.7 trees preserved for the future 2,744.5 gallons water not produced 5,326.8 CO 2 prevented
True to the “next generation” theme of this newsletter, we invited our children to write about their views of nature, how our passion for the environment has shaped them and their hopes for their own future. We hope, more than anything, that we are leaving them a world that will provide for their health, well-being and that of their children’s children.
We invite you to join us in our mission! Adam McLane, Missouri State Director Nancy Ylvisaker, Missouri Board Chair
“Since my brother and I were young, we’ve taken incredible family adventures that showed us the beauty of the world and our role in protecting it. An important lesson we learned from our mom, who has been a trustee of The Nature Conservancy since I was young, is to never feel discouraged by small action, only by inaction. We all have an obligation to respond to the climate and biodiversity crisis our planet is facing. The inspiration and sense of hope generated by each action that we take to save our planet is so important. Our mom has an impeccable ability to inspire those around her, instilling a sense of hope that people can make a difference. While in college, I was fortunate to have exposure through a summer internship to the incredible work The Nature Conservancy undertakes, and the opportunity to lead a human rights nonprofit focused on water access and conservation issues in Africa. I hope to merge these interests by studying international human
“We hope that in our lifetimes, nature is viewed as something we can’t live without. We hope to see nature rebuilt and added to, with trees being planted for new forests, wildflowers off the sides of highways and giant oaks in McDonald’s parking lots. We hope endangered animals survive and thrive. We hope that we come to see how our actions can change the planet we know and love. Last, but not least, we hope helping the environment becomes one of those things that is expected of us as kids, like knowing our ABCs. All we have to do is see how we can affect the planet we live on. All we need is a little help from everyone!”
rights law, so I can use this knowledge to take legal and political action, inspiring others the way my mom does every day.”
—Noah (age 14) & Morgan (age 11), son and daughter of Adam McLane
—Casey Jones (age 22), daughter of Nancy Ylvisaker
COVER Prescribed burn at Wah’Kon-Tah Prairie © Kristy Stoyer/TNC; THIS PAGE LEFT TO RIGHT Morgan and Noah McLane © Megan McLane; Casey Jones © Courtesy of Nancy Ylvisaker
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