May/June Partnership Update

You’ll notice a slightly different format for this e-newsletter. We want to make it more user-friendly, providing brief overviews for those on the go, with links to our website for additional details for those who want to dig deeper. In future newsletters you will see even more changes, all with the goal of providing you with the best that the South Mountain Partnership has to offer. As we implement these changes, please let us know what you think. Feel free to send me an email at khess@appalachiantrail.org.

Our focus for the remainder of this spring and summer remains on facilitating subcommittee work and the 2020 Round of our mini-grant program – plus how to best continue convening and engaging you in conservation and preservation work while we cannot physically meet in large groups. Behind the scenes, we are eagerly preparing for our first ever virtual Partnership Meeting. We are also days away from finalizing our new project with The Foundation for Enhancing Communities – more to come about that in the coming weeks and in the July/August newsletter!

As our region slowly reopens, we will face decisions about how to spend limited resources on the response to weaknesses exposed by COVID-19. Weaknesses were revealed in our systems of healthcare, economy, transportation, and food, as well as those in our communities and our own personal habits, and more. While considering how to invest in the recovery effort, and what to tell your representatives and other people of influence, keep at front of mind that each of these decisions will either move us closer to, or further away from, our shared vision: a future landscape of conserved resources and vibrant communities sharing a common sense of place and collaborating on well-planned growth and sustainable economic development.

Katie Hess, Director of the South Mountain Partnership