We are at week 24 in the countdown!
2024 is NFLT’s 25th anniversary year. As we count down to the anniversary date of our founding—December 27—we thought it would be fun to take a stroll down memory lane along the way. Every week until December 27, we will feature a short story, profile, or highlight from the past 25 years. Last week we shared an essay written in 2017 by our founder, Bill McQuilkin. You could call it NFLT’s origin story. If that essay was about our founding, then this week’s feature is the second chapter in that story.
As a land trust our mission is to conserve land and protect it from over-development and resource depletion. We work to restore the land and the flora and fauna that depend on it, all of which play an integral role in our region’s ecosystems. Today we share the story of the Cummer family and their matriarch, Cheryl, who helped put NFLT officially on the land trust map. NFLT’s first conservation easement—in 2003—was the Cummer’s 2-acre property in Mandarin. This 2-acre conservation easement was significant because it demonstrated that NFLT could follow the critical steps for land protection. It also opened doors to other landowners, and it introduced NFLT to a new network of supporters. To quote Bill McQuilkin, it gave NFLT “visibility and credibility.”
The Cummer family has long been a beacon of philanthropy and environmental stewardship in Florida, a reputation that has been upheld by Cheryl Cummer’s quiet and focused dedication to nature. Her significant land donations and unwavering support of environmental initiatives reflect a commitment to preserving the natural world now, and for future generations. NFLT’s relationship with Cheryl and the Cummer family spans more than two decades. The 2003 conservation easement was just the first of many projects with Cheryl and her family. Over the years, as NFLT grew and solidified its place in the North Florida land conservation universe, so did the land trust’s ability to consider larger acquisitions and easements. (A land trust must be able to steward the land it protects.)
In spring 2016, members of the Cummer Family Land Trust approached NFLT with a proposed donation of 138-acres comprised of several parcels along both the eastern and western banks of the Withlacoochee River in Citrus and Sumter counties. The Withlacoochee River and Lake System was, and still is, designated as an Outstanding Florida Waterway, a waterbody deemed worthy of special protection because of its natural attributes. Waterbodies identified as an Outstanding Florida Waterway are afforded the highest level of protection by the Department of Environmental Protection. NFLT has a core service area of seven counties in North Florida and the O2O and will also work in other areas of the state as needed and as opportunity arises. Citrus and Sumter counties are not in NFLT’s core service area but in recognition of the superior conservation value and pristine natural character, along with the parcels’ location on an Outstanding Florida Waterway, NFLT accepted the donation. On June 21, 2016, NFLT took ownership of the 138-acres now known as the Cummer Family Land Trust Preserve.
NFLT’s relationship with Cheryl Cummer goes beyond that of land. Cheryl has opened her doors to NFLT many times, for donor events in the early days, and more recently for garden tours for our members at Lanakila Gardens, an organic garden and micro-flower farm which is sustainably maintained through agroecology principles. Lanakila Gardens also includes a regenerative food park and is flood tolerant, a quality that is especially important given its location on the river. Lanakila Gardens was recently designated a 501(c)3 which furthers Cheryl’s commitment to the North Florida environment and aligns with NFLT’s conservation efforts.
Cheryl has welcomed opportunities to meet and speak with individual NFLT staff about our shared history and has remained a steadfast supporter and friend. Cheryl has been an advocate for the 21-acre Ferngully Preserve in Mandarin and in 2023 helped NFLT raise the funds to add 4.5 acres to Ferngully ensuring they could never be developed. To say Cheryl and her family have had an impact on NFLT would be an understatement. Cheryl and the Cummer Family Land Trust have played a pivotal role in the evolution of NFLT and for that we will be eternally grateful.
Do you have a story about how NFLT has touched you, or was there an acquisition or specific impact we made that resonated with you? We would love to hear it! Please email our Communications Officer, Sarah Hande, at shande@nflt.org with anything you want to share. It is our followers, readers, members, and supporters who make all of this possible – it’s now or never!
