you're invited!

Please join us on Saturday, May 5, from 11:30am to 1:30pm at the San Juan Island Yacht Club for the Preservation Trust’s 39th official family gathering.

Meet Angela Anderson (see her inaugural Note as our new executive director, above) and listen to her featured talk about her conservation background and thoughts about SJPT's future.

GIVEBIG day is coming up

GIVEBIG 2018 is Wednesday, May 9. The will be the final giveBIG, the Seattle Foundation’s 24-hour online giving event to raise funds for area nonprofit organizations.

The San Juan Preservation Trust is among more than 1,500 nonprofits that benefit from this marathon fundraising event. An anonymous donor has put forth $1,500 in matching funds, and we welcome other such challenges from our members.

If you’ve not yet joined SJPT or renewed your membership, please consider doing so through GIVEBIG. Mark your calendar—and you don’t have to wait until May 9: Schedule your GIVEBIG donations in advance, starting on April 26.

signs, signs, everywhere a sign

Well, they're not quite everywhere, but a new crop of interpretive and trail-marker signs has just sprung up on Vendovi Island and Turtlehead Preserves. These two sign packages complete a project that started more than five years ago, and has included previous installations at Sally's Garden on Lopez, Peach Preserve on Guemes, and the Graham Preserve on Shaw Island. We hope these signs add to visitors' enjoyment of these special island places.

Click to see a small gallery of photos taken during the Vendovi and Turtlehead installations.

honoring tim seifert

To recognize and celebrate all that Tim Seifert accomplished during his 15+ years as SJPT’s Executive Director, the board and staff have created the Tim Seifert Endowed Fund. Contributions will provide resources needed to care for the land preserved during Tim’s tenure. …

Name: Jean G. Schuster (1923–2018)

Many of our Gann Society members allow us to recognize them during their lifetimes, but there are some visionary folks who slip away before we have the chance to thank them personally. Jean Schuster is one of those generous souls. We learned of her bequest to the San Juan Preservation Trust only recently, from the attorney for her estate. What we know about Jean is limited to her obituary and from friends. She was born and raised in China and accepted to Radcliffe College at the age of 15. She was a social worker in New York City and Detroit, where she met her husband, John. She was extremely well-read, articulate, and kind. She made Lopez Island her home for 40+ years—and she must have loved the San Juan Islands, because she left a portion of her estate to help protect them. Jean, thank you!