The Greater Irvington Land Trust (GILT) is dedicated to the stewardship of open space and parkland in Irvington and its surrounding communities. Such stewardship includes advocating for the preservation of open space, the protection and restoration of local ecosystems, and environmental education. The overall goal of GILT is to foster knowledge about, interest in, protection of, and care for our community’s unique environment and natural resources.
In 2006 a committed group of residents from Irvington and Dobbs Ferry decided to form a new entity that would work to preserve and protect the existing open space in our surrounding communities. Working with the Westchester Land Trust (“WLT”), they decided to operate initially as a chapter of the WLT in the Rivertowns, looking for opportunities to purchase and hold open space and to support existing owners’ efforts to protect property from development using conservation easements. They also formed a new not-for-profit, the Greater Irvington Land Conservancy Foundation, Inc., to act as a tax-exempt fund-raising vehicle and to provide engaged leadership on these issues across the Rivertowns. Through these efforts, GILT was formed.
After WLT decided in 2009 to no longer work through local chapters, the leaders of GILT dedicated themselves to continuing their work across the Rivertown communities to promote open space for all our residents. Through the volunteer efforts of its not-for-profit Board of Directors, GILT serves as a strong voice for environmental resiliency and the need for parkland and open space accessible to all. GILT is currently working on a wide range of issues, including the creation of new parkland in Dobbs Ferry, supporting environmental education through the Irvington O’Hara Nature Center, building and restoring new wetland meadows in the Irvington Woods, and funding open space initiatives in Tarrytown, Irvington, Dobbs Ferry and Hastings through GILT’s Community Grant program.
The current members of the GILT Board of Directors are:
