Milly and Keith volunteering at LandFest 2023.
In the early summer of 2023, as Milly and Keith Lierman settled into their newly purchased home near Quimper West Preserve in Port Townsend, they were looking for ways to engage with their newfound community. One Tuesday, they noticed a group of Jefferson Land Trust volunteers undertaking a forest thinning project at Quimper West. As environmentalists who want to use their retirement years to help reverse human-caused climate change and improve the health of our planet, Milly and Keith were excited to discover the Land Trust, eager to learn more about our work, and interested in getting involved.
Happily, a golden opportunity to do all this and more was only days away: LandFest 2023! Tickets were sold out, but the Land Trust was still looking for volunteers to help out at the event. So the Liermans signed on as volunteers — and were delighted by what unfolded.
The first treat was seeing Luke Burbank take the LandFest stage as co-host. As longtime fans of NPR’s “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me,” on which Luke is a frequent guest, they were thrilled. (Luke will return this year, along with co-host Matt Smith, to host LandFest 2024!)
The next thrill was discovering that one of their “climate change heroes,” geologist Dr. David Montgomery, was the event’s keynote speaker along with his wife, biologist Anne Biklé. Having read several of David’s books and listened to him and Anne discussing soil health on various podcasts, it was “a total treat” to get to hear them speak.
Throughout the evening, Keith and Milly also had a great time connecting with other community volunteers and guests, and enjoying rave-worthy, locally sourced food from Chef Dan Ratigan and his team from the Fireside Restaurant at the Resort at Port Ludlow (where LandFest 2024 will be held.)
They also learned a lot about Jefferson Land Trust — and we’ve been glad to have them as part of the Jefferson Land Trust community ever since!
Would you like to volunteer at LandFest 2024? Please reach out to Ric Brewer at rbrewer[at]saveland.org or call him at 360.379.9501 x112.
