Collaboration Stories
The Icicle Fund Land Conservation Committee
To more effectively collaborate on and coordinate land acquisition and stewardship projects, the Icicle Fund’s three land conservation organizations—Chelan-Douglas Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy and Trust for Public Land—formed the Land Conservation Committee in 2005. The purpose of the Committee is to provide a venue for developing and implementing projects that protect land and water at priority sites, build capacity to effectively manage those sites, and enhance recreational opportunities while working with partners to leverage and replicate the Icicle Fund model. By bringing together their individual areas of expertise—science, ecoregional assessments, community building and outreach, stewardship, land acquisition strategies and conservation financing, local knowledge and connections—as well as the talents and knowledge of other engaged partners, the organizations believe they will be better able to advance the Icicle Fund mission and the success of conservation efforts throughout the region. In March 2008, the Committee's first joint Strategic Conservation Plan for North Central Washington was approved by the Icicle Fund Board of Directors.
The Land Conservation Committee is authorized to access funds in a separate land acquisition and conservation account. These funds are leveraged as much as possible and funds recovered through sale of lands to a public agency or other entity are tracked and deposited in this revolving Icicle Fund land conservation account to help fuel additional projects prioritized by the committee.
Barn Beach Reserve
On an extraordinary 5.5 acre site overlooking the Wenatchee River and with a panoramic view of the Stuart Range, three organizations are collaborating to provide educational programming and stewardship to celebrate, promote, and conserve the environmental, artistic and cultural heritage of the Greater Wenatchee Valley for the benefit of the local community and its visitors. The staff of Barn Beach Reserve, Icicle Arts and the Upper Valley Museum of Leavenworth meet regularly to create and coordinate a panoply of programming that includes exhibits, classes, workshops, presentations, tours and trips, and special programs for school children and teachers. Sharing facilities that include a 103 year-old, 9500 square foot historic house and a new classroom/auditorium building that uses green technology, the partners are forging new collaborative practices that demonstrate how effectively organizations with roots in different disciplines can manifest a vision that transcends and enhances their particular missions.
In the words of Jeff Parsons, the Reserve’s Director “Collaboration isn’t just a buzz word: it’s a philosophical approach to the work of Barn Beach Reserve and its partners. We are obligated to help each other achieve our respective missions and provide for the integration of environment, arts and cultural history. The environment provides the context for art and cultural history education. Art is used to teach about the environment and cultural history. Cultural history provides perspective for learning about the environment and art. Using the tools of scientific inquiry, artistic expression, and historical study, educational programming at Barn Beach Reserve communicates a sense of this special place and inspires people to take care of it.”