Teatown spends a night in the woods - Westfair Communications

From left: Scot Medbury, president, Brooklyn Botanic Garden; Kim Elliman, president and CEO of the Open Space Institute; David Swope, Teatown honorary trustee; Nancy Felcher, Teatown vice chair and benefit co-chair; Kat Saunders, Teatown board trustee and benefit co-chair; Howard Permut, Teatown board chair; and Kevin Carter, Teatown executive director.

Teatown, the nonprofit nature preserve and environmental education center that manages more than 1,000 acres in the lower Hudson Valley, held its annual “A Night in the Woods” gala at the Sleepy Hollow Country Club.

Honorees were David Swope and the organizations Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Open Space Institute. Swope served on Teatown”™s board of trustees for several terms, including two terms as its chairman.

The institute has protected almost 150,000 acres of open space in the Adirondacks, Hudson River Valley, Shawangunks and Catskills. It helped Teatown acquire land for preservation.

In 1963, Brooklyn Botanic Garden accepted a 194-acre gift from the Swope family at a time when no other conservation organization foresaw the need for protected open space in northern Westchester, then largely undeveloped. When Teatown was organized and ready to become independent, Brooklyn Botanic offered a 200-year ground lease to Teatown, enabling it to grow as a community-based organization.

Kevin Carter, Teatown”™s executive director, said of the honorees, “Together they inspire communities across our country to lifelong environmental stewardship.”