Andreae-Brown Family Environmental Education Endowment Fund
Little Traverse Conservancy is one of the only land trusts in the United States that offers a high level of environmental education programming. Our members have long supported this branch of LTC’s work and this is how we ensure its longevity and help it grow.
What is the Andreae-Brown Family Environmental Education Endowment Fund?
The Andreae and Brown Families of Burt Lake understand that to protect the land, we must teach the future to love it as they do. Siblings Fred, Carol, and Sue learned this very young from their mother, Agnes, on the banks of the Pigeon River, where they had a cabin. They would splash in the flowing waters and shape the earthen clay on the shore. Today, that very spot is underneath a gorgeous bridge connecting what is now the Agnes S. Andreae Nature Preserve to the Boyd B. Banwell Preserve and then the L. John and Helen Bishop Reserve (both inspired by Agnes’s conservation on her land).
In 2018, Fred, Carol, Sue, and their spouses established the Andreae-Brown Family Environmental Education Endowment Fund to honor their family’s commitment to conservation through generations. This fund is used specifically to support the education pillar of our mission.
Endowment Growth
In 2021, Ian and Sally Bund witnessed the work of LTC’s education staff team. They saw what we can do and were inspired to ensure that education has a forever place in the organization’s mission. At that time our education endowment had a corpus of $1M. Ian and Sally challenged LTC with a generous gift to bring the Andreae-Brown Family Environmental Education Endowment Fund to a sustainable amount, $5M, by 2026. Income from the achievement of this goal will annually fund the entire environmental education program.
$5M Endowment goal: ACHIEVED!
In the fall of 2024, LTC member Woody Gardner created the “Sowing the Seeds Education Endowment” bringing the Bund’s challenge to fruition two years early! LTC now has the only fully endowed education program in the nation.
Your Generosity, Your Legacy
If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to Little Traverse Conservancy’s Andreae-Brown Family Environmental Education Endowment Fund, click the link below or contact:
Emily Hughes
Chief Development Officer
“Sally and I have long believed in the importance of helping children develop a conservation ethic. LTC’s education staff has built relationships with many educators in our region, and they are skilled at connecting children to the outdoors.”
“As I reflect back to my childhood, I can honestly say the most prominent memories are nature focused. Life can change in a moment but I soon realized nature is always there to capture and console you in ways you never imagined. You learn so much from experiencing the sounds, smells, colors and especially the many creatures you meet on your journey. In the age of so much impersonal screen time, I believe it is imperative to gift this generation with as much outdoor time as possible…sowing the seeds of creativity, curiosity and personal growth.”
