Join us on Sat, June 5 – A portion of sales will be donated to local land trusts
Congrats to Airlie Gardens – Our 2010 Vote for Land Winner!
At Great Outdoor Provision Co. we celebrate the protection of the lands, waters and wildlife of North Carolina. “Vote For Land” gives you the opportunity to join us in these conservation efforts. We hope to see you Sat, June 5 at your local shop.
Join a Local Land Trust on Sat, June 5 and receive your choice of $20 Gift Card or GOPC T-Shirt!
What is a Land Trust?
A land trust/conservancy is a nonprofit organization that actively works to conserve land by undertaking or assisting in direct land transactions. Primarily the purchase or acceptance of donations of land or conservation easements. There are 25 land trusts in North Carolina working to save the places you love by protecting our ecological diversity, water quality and open space.
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A Word on Land Trust Day
Back in the early 70’s when we got started in the outdoor outfitting business, we gave little thought to availability of open spaces for hiking, paddling, running and biking. Pick up a map, match the trip to available time, and go. Over time, those great trips lost some of their character, and the joy in the outings diminished. Viewscapes became cluttered with new development as farmers planted septic tanks for homes instead of agricultural crops; shopping centers grew out of pastures; unofficial “trails” along streams were posted; access to public waters closed.
In 1992 when the first Saturday in June was designated “National Trails Day,” we wanted to do something to celebrate the value of all kinds of “muscle powered” trails. And, we wanted to give something back to one of the cornerstones of our outdoor clothing and equipment business, a self imposed “earth tax,” if you will. We settled on a donating a percent of sales receipts on National Trails Day in all our Great Outdoor Provision Co. stores. We chose local land trusts as the beneficiary as they acquire land for protection thru purchase in the open real estate market or by gift, thereby guaranteeing that the most endangered lands of greatest importance to local communities and regions are protected. Further, land trusts manage “conservation easements,” where landowners donate development rights to their land in order to protect the land’s natural qualities and take advantage of federal and state tax benefits. Often these benefits allow landowners and their heirs to keep land open and undeveloped. Lots of value for the health of the community with very low overhead cost makes for a highly efficient contribution. This year’s “Vote for Land” event allows you to cast a vote to help direct funds to the land trust project of your choice. We appreciate the support of Marmot, Mountain Khakis, and TS Designs in helping to make this grant possible.
Since our Land Trust Day in support of National Trails Day started, we have raised over $225,000 for land trusts here in North Carolina. Once again, we are pushing other retailers to join us, with whatever percentage their businesses can afford, in order to maximize the moneys raised and the open spaces saved. We are proud of our stewardship, and ask you to support our efforts by making purchases in one of our stores, or those of one of the other retailers that have joined our efforts, on June 5, 2010. Let’s keep the joy in those all important trips on our local trails.
Tom Valone, Founder
Great Outdoor Provision Co.
Related Links
- National Trails Day
- Land For Tomorrow
- NC Birding Trail
- Leave No Trace
- Sierra Club
- Nature Conservancy
- Conservation Trust for North Carolina
- The Western North Carolina Alliance
- High Country Conservancy
- Land Trust for Central N.C.
- Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy
- N.C. Coastal Federation
- The Wilderness Society
- Assoc. for Preservation of Eno River Valley
- Tar River Land Conservancy
- Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition
- Piedmont Environmental Alliance
- Catawba Lands Conservancy
- Piedmont Land Conservancy
- Triangle Land Conservancy
- NC Coastal Land Trust
