Whidbey Camano Land Trust 25th Anniversary ends in celebration

Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna
-Jim Dunn photo

In 1984, Albert Heath had the strong desire to preserve the vast views along the pacific trail located next to his property on Ebey's Landing Bluff. While a conservation easement would protect the land, a land trust would permanently hold the land easement. It was at that point the Whidbey Camano Land Trust was established.

Last night the Coupeville High School Performing Arts Center was packed with standing room only for the last event of the Whidbey Camano Land Trust 25th Celebration. Executive Director, Patricia Powell welcomed the attendees with opening remarks that established the evening as one of passion, support, and education.

The independent film The Land Trust and Citizen Conservation Awardees, produced by Oak Harbor High School students, detailed a number of people who were responsible for providing land and were huge supports of the land trust. The film was followed by the 2009 Citizen Conservation Awards, which honored grassroots efforts in conservation.

After the awards, Patricia Powell drew the audience's attention to a huge topographical map of Whidbey and Camano Islands. The map was beautifully detailed and dotted with tiny flags to indicate protected land that was part of the land trust. Plus, the map ended up being delicious. You read right. The map was actually a cake, the creation of John Auburn, owner of J.W. Desserts in Clinton and long time Whidbey Island resident.

The evening's second independent film, Land Legacies: Protecting Land with the Land Trust by Paul Shapiro was a visual essay of the many areas in the Whidbey Camano Land Trust as well as interviews of those that are heavily involved with conservation.

Keynote speaker, Attorney General Rob McKenna, talked to the  packed performing arts center about the many splendors of Whidbey and Camano Islands. He congratulated those individuals who worked hard to preserve the land for generations to come and praised those people for getting the job done when government agencies simply could not act as efficiently or as quickly. Attorney General McKenna encouraged people to continue to take care of the land and he was counting on the next 25 years to be as impactful as those in celebration for the evening.

A 25-minute intermission provided people with the opportunity to talk with friends and neighbors. The special, islands-shaped cake that Patricia Powell introduced earlier in the evening was served with an assortment of beverages. The delicately lemon flavored cake was a huge success.

Intermission was followed by a 90-minute musical treat from Grammy Award winning Tingstad & Rumbel. The natural sounds of oboe, English horn, double ocarina, and guitar touched the souls of everybody in the audience. Smiles could be seen and toe-tapping could be heard during the entire set. It was a very memorable way to end the evening of events.

For more information about the Whidbey Camano Land Grant, go to http://www.wclt.org or call Land Trust office at (360) 222-3310.