Get Outdoors and Enjoy Nature Fund

Est. 2018 by Louisa Cunningham.

Photo courtesy Masaro Community Farm.

The Get Outdoors and Enjoy Nature Fund is a designated fund established for the benefit of Massaro Community Farm, to support its outdoor education and trail maintenance initiatives.

Massaro Community Farm can be summed up in four words, says Farm board president Jonathan Gorham: Food, Nature, Art, and Music. Food to delight at Dinner on the Farm events; nature to connect with through an acres-long woods and wetlands trail and workshops on environmentally-friendly activities like beekeeping; and, art and music programs that inspire and draw people together.

Jon, is fortunate to have served with people like the late Louisa Cunningham, who was, as he says, "the real deal."

Louisa, a former deputy director at Yale University Art Gallery, worked with the Girl Scouts to create Massaro's popular Nature Trail now frequented by school children and walkers. She established The Get Outdoors and Enjoy Nature Fund in 2018 to support and expand the outdoor education programs at the farm.

"My hope is that particular attention can be given to elementary school-aged children who do not have the opportunity to be exposed to the wonders and joys of the outdoors," said Louisa at the time. The goal over time is to help children become comfortable, interested, attached, and invested in caring for the environment. And, of course, to provide recurring support in perpetuity for the local treasure that is Massaro Community Farm.

Setting up a permanent endowment at The Community Foundation ensures that Louisa's commitment to land conservation and outdoor education will endure for future generations. Per her wishes, if the Massaro Community Farm ceases to exist or provide such programming, the Get Outdoors and Enjoy Nature Fund will become a preference fund to support outdoor education programming in Woodbridge and the Naugatuck Valley.

Learn about the Massaro Farm Legacy Fund, also for the benefit of Massaro Community Farm, with our partner in philanthropy, the Valley Community Foundation.

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Get Outdoors and Enjoy Nature Fund