North Florida Land Trust Invites the Community to its 25th Anniversary Celebration

The nonprofit has also launched its end-of-year campaign with a $25,000 matching gift contribution from its board of directors

Jacksonville, Fla., Oct. 23, 2024 – North Florida Land Trust (NFLT) is celebrating 25 years and looking forward to the future with an event at its Smith Lake Preserve and the launch of its end-of-year campaign. On Saturday, Nov. 9, NFLT invites the community to the preserve at 5525 Christian Camp Rd. in Keystone Heights to celebrate its 25 years of land conservation. The party will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is free and open to the public, but the nonprofit asks people to register at https://www.nflt.org/2024/09/05/nflts-25th-anniversary-celebration/ to allow planning for food, drinks and trail rides.

“We invite everyone to join us at Smith Lake Preserve, home to our stewardship department, to tour the property that we preserved in 2019 and to celebrate all that we have accomplished since our inception in December of 1999,” said Allison DeFoor, president and CEO of NFLT. “We have preserved over 40,000 acres over the last 25 years and are nowhere near done. We remain steadfast in our focus to preserve the most ecologically, agriculturally and historically significant lands in North Florida. It is now or never.”

NFLT’s 25^th Anniversary Celebration, sponsored by The Roberts Companies and Heidja and Michel Kruse, will include trail rides through Smith Lake Preserve on the nonprofit’s new trail buggy. Food from Mission BBQ will be served, and guests can enjoy live music by The Remedy Tree. The event is rain or shine, but there will be a large, covered area if it does rain. The terrain at Smith Lake Preserve can be varied and uneven. Those needing special accommodations should contact NFLT at development@nflt.org or (904) 559-4157.

As NFLT celebrates 25 years of conservation, it is looking ahead to special places that still need protecting with the launch of its end-of-the-year fundraising campaign, which has a goal of $525,000. NFLT’s board of directors has offered a match for the first $25,000 of donations received. The nonprofit land conservation organization depends 100 percent on community contributions for its operating costs. To contribute to the campaign and become a part of the mission to save natural spaces, visit https://www.nflt.org/take-action/.

About North Florida Land Trust

North Florida Land Trust is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing the quality of life by protecting North Florida's irreplaceable natural environment. Founded in 1999, NFLT has preserved tens of thousands of acres of land through the donation or purchase of land as well as conservation easements. NFLT is funded largely by private and corporate contributions and works closely with willing landowners and public agencies at all levels of government, not-for-profit partners, and foundations. For more information, visit nflt.org.