At the water's edge, people of all ages gather where the land meets the Puget Sound at Bayshore Preserve—bonding, exploring, and learning from this special place. Photo: Bruce LivingstonAnnouncing the Connecting to the Land Campaign
The Vision
For nearly four decades, we have worked to conserve the lands and waters that sustain our region, protecting habitat and caring for these places for generations to come. Today, we’re excited to share the next stage of that work.
Conservation doesn’t end with protecting the land. It grows stronger when people can experience these places for themselves—pausing on a trail, noticing wildlife, or simply spending time outdoors. These moments may seem small, but they are where a deeper relationship with the land begins.
Connection leads people to care for the land, and that care is what sustains this work over time.
With the launch of the Connecting to the Land Campaign, we’re taking a meaningful step forward in making more of these moments possible.
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- As families connect wth nature, curiosity grows, and the land becomes the greatest teacher.
The Goal
The Connecting to the Land Campaign is about creating welcoming, accessible places where people can experience nature, learn from it, and build lasting relationships with the land and each other.
It’s an invitation to help create more opportunities for people across our region to connect with nature close to home—to feel a sense of belonging in these places and a reason to care for them.
Ambassador Preserves
We’ve identified two preserves that are especially well-suited to inspiring meaningful, lasting connection. We think of these places as ambassador preserves.
These are welcoming, awe-inspiring places where people can explore nature, learn something new, and experience the land in ways that feel personal and memorable. Thoughtfully designed trails, gathering spaces, and learning opportunities help bring each visit to life.
Both Bayshore Preserve in Shelton and Inspiring Kids Preserve in Olympia represent this vision.
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- A visitor to Bayshore Preserve takes a quiet moment to reflect upon new benches, fresh air, and the timeless company of moss-draped trees.
Bringing the Vision to Life
Early support from long-time supporters has made it possible to begin turning this vision into reality.
Recent improvements at Bayshore Preserve are already transforming the visitor experience. People are gathering to explore the trails, attend programs, and spend time outdoors—returning again and again to a place that feels welcoming, familiar, and worth caring for. This work is ongoing, with additional improvements planned in the years to come.
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- Families gather at Bayshore Preserve to witness the wonder of the annual salmon run, binoculars and spotting scopes in hand. Photo: Leslie Coulter
Work to transform Inspiring Kids Preserve into an ambassador preserve is just beginning. In the coming years it will become a new public access preserve where people can explore forests, wetlands, and shoreline habitats through thoughtfully designed trails and learning spaces that invite discovery, curiosity, and connection.
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- Golden light spills across Inspiring Kids Preserve, 113 acres of protected land near Olympia.
What it Looks Like
Through the Connecting to the Land Campaign, we’re working to:
- Create safer, more welcoming access with improved entrances, parking, and accessible trails
- Build places to learn and gather through outdoor classrooms, nature play areas, and interpretive signage
- Expand opportunities for hands-on learning and guided experiences
- Care for these places for the long term through a Public Access Fund that supports both habitat and meaningful connection
Explore the Connecting to the Land Campaign and help create more opportunities for people to connect with nature for generations to come.