* Over 38,000 visitors to CREW Trails
* Two amazing fundraisers brought in over $30,000
* CREW volunteers donated 3,906 hours
* 4,600 people participated in our environmental education programs
January 2014, the CREW Trust began its 25th anniversary, celebrating 25 years of land conservation and environmental education in southwest Florida. From the kick-off event in frigid cold weather last January to our final #GivingTuesday end-of-year fundraising campaign running through December 31st, this celebration has had something for everyone – a wine & cheese social and a BBQ for CREW members, trail events that included a variety of guided walks about everything from mushrooms to mammals, a geocaching day, a horseback ride through Flint Pen Strand, a guided bicycle ride at Bird Rookery Swamp, a Vitamin N Walk for families, a fabulous 25th anniversary concert featuring the Sarah Hadeka Band and Deb & the Dynamics, and our first #GivingTuesday fundraiser. Thank you to every one of you who volunteered, participated, sponsored, supported, and gave to CREW during 2014, making our 25th anniversary such a success! We look forward to the next 25 years…
Donors of $150will be entered into a drawing for a variety of nature-related books
All donors of $25 or more will receive a link to a special set of CREW Wildlife photos taken by some of the best photographers in the area.
Your gift is an investment in the future of southwest Florida – helping us to provide more high quality environmental education experiences for people of all ages! With over 42,000 annual visitors to the CREW trails, there is much more to be done.
Help us make a difference. Give big. Give small. But give today.
The CREW Trust is wrapping up its 25th anniversary year with a year-end giving campaign centered around #GivingTuesday, on December 2nd, 2014 and lasting through December 31st. Help us raise $25,000 by the end of the year for our Education Fund. Donate online today at https://crewtrus.mystagingwebsite.com/donate/.
Donors of $150 will be entered into a drawing for a variety of nature-related books.
All donors of $25 or more will receive a link to a special set of CREW Wildlife photos taken by some of the best photographers in the area.
Your gift is an investment in the future of southwest Florida – helping us to provide more high quality environmental education experiences for people of all ages – cradle to grave! Last year CREW hosted 176 trail-based programs, reaching over 4,600 people – pre-schoolers to retirees! In addition, we attended 31 area festivals and outreach events, sharing the CREW story with over 10,000 others. With over 42,000 annual visitors to the CREW trails, there is much more to be done.
Help us make a difference. Give big. Give small. But give today.
The CREW Trust only holds two fundraisers each year – and this is one of them! Come support CREW and play a round of golf. Our annual CREW–Stanley Hole Golf Tournament is always fun, ever entertaining, and a great way to network, meet new people, and helps to support CREW’s mission to protect our watershed.
2014 Tournament
WHEN: November 7, 2014
WHERE: Old Corkscrew Golf Club, 17320 Corkscrew Rd., Estero 33928
TIME: Shotgun Start at 8:30 AM (Registration 7:30 – 8:15 AM)
Entry Fee: $100/player or $400/foursome
Hole Sponsorship: $500
Download the hole sponsor and player registration form here….
The CREW Trails are spectacular showcases for wildflowers in the springtime. The CREW Marsh Trails and the Cypress Dome Trails are particularly bountiful. We are already seeing a few grass pink orchids (Calapogon tuberosus) popping up along the trail edges, along with sneezeweed, shiny blueberries, marsh pinks, violets, a variety of milkworts, and much more.
To celebrate and help you enjoy these flowers, we have two special wildflower walks scheduled for early April:
The CREW Trust is partnering with Caloosa Saddle Club members to offer a first-ever guided horseback ride at CREW on Friday, March 21, 2014. The ride will be approximately 15 miles through parts of Flint Pen Strand and around the Bird Rookery Swamp tram loop. This special ride requires participants to bring their own horses, water, snacks/lunch, and horse and rider to be in good riding condition for a long (15-mile) ride. Coggins papers must be current and presented at the entrance on the day of the ride.
Pre-registration is required before noon on March 20th. Register online at http://goo.gl/gdQXVn
The CREW Trust is pleased to announce the following businesses, organizations, and individuals as sponsors for our 25th anniversary concert and silent eco-auction to be held March 1st. Thanks to each of them for their financial support. Please let them know how much you appreciate their support of CREW!
If you’d like to be a sponsor and see your logo here, contact Brenda Brooks at 239-657-2253 or brenda@crewtrus.mystagingwebsite.com.
Our 25th anniversary concert and silent eco-auction will be held on March 1st 2014, 6:00 PM at Riverside Park in Bonita Springs FL. Tickets are on sale now at http://crewconcert2014.bpt.me/
CREW Marsh after Tropical Storm Faye in 2008 (Photo by Deb Hanson)
Happy New Year, and welcome to 2014. This is a watershed year for the CREW Land & Water Trust as we celebrate our 25th Anniversary! The CREW Trust was formed in 1989 by Joel Kuperberg (a former Naples City Councilman, botanist, head of Florida’s Internal Improvement Fund, and later Director of the Trust for Public Land) as a public-private partnership to coordinate the land acquisition, management, and public outreach for the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW). Since then, this watershed stewardship project has accomplished much that it set out to do, including protecting over 45,000-acres of land within the established boundaries of the watershed.
This accomplishment has been the result of efforts by multiple agencies, organizations, landowners, businesses, and private citizens. The CREW Land & Water Trust’s strength over the years has been to build partnerships and bring people together with the vision of protecting this watershed which provides drinking water for residents and visitors to southwest Florida. Some of the main partners are:
The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) – the primary landowner and land manager within CREW.
Lee and Collier Counties – both of which have purchased land within CREW
The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) – which oversees wildlife management, hunting, and law enforcement on CREW lands
Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary – which is located in the heart of the CREW and whose former Director, Ed Carlson, helped write one of the initial proposals requesting the SFWMD to purchase Bird Rookery Swamp
ALICO – which sold the first land to the CREW project – the Corkscrew Marsh unit off of Corkscrew Road.
Here’s a very abbreviated timeline of some of the highlights of our 25 years….
The CREW Trust has multiple events planned throughout the year to celebrate its 25th Anniversary. Registration is required for all of these events. You can register at http://crewtrust.eventbrite.com
January 16 – CREW Wine & Cheese Social (Invitation Only -Members and Volunteers)
February 1 – Hike the Loop: 12-Mile Hike at Bird Rookery Swamp
The 2014 CREW Concert celebrates our 25 years of conservation and environmental education efforts in southwest Florida. Music, food, friends, and fun! Don’t miss this one…bigger and better than ever.