By Carolyn Faught, who retired from our communications staff in April, 2021. During the 41 years that Gretchen and Tom Dunfee owned their home on Little Traverse Lake, Gretchen had […]
Category Archives: Swanson Preserve
Forest Immersion Walk Draws Crowd
Written by intern Claire Edgley On Saturday, August 24th, Swanson Preserve drew many participants eager to experience the first Forest Immersion hike at a Leelanau Conservancy property. Docents Shelley Yeager, […]
Swanson Farm: One Year Later
From our 2012 Summer Newsletter The old wooden flats Sonny Swanson used to start his seeds in for decades found new life this spring. Ben Brown, the young farmer who […]
Fall Panorama: Three Leelanau Conservancy Natural Areas to Take in A Lakeside View
Picture yourself on a beautiful trail, trees ablaze on either side. As you hike through filtered sunlight, bright orange, yellow and garnet colored leaves drift down, dotting your path. The […]
Leelanau Conservancy Preserves – Why are they SO special?
You may have noticed when you visit one of our “natural areas” that some the signs denote them as a “preserve.” What is the difference? Why do we call the […]
Rare Michigan Plant Found at Swanson Preserve
Our staff was pretty excited this summer when botanist Derek Shiels, one of our seasonal invasive species crew, found a threatened Michigan species at the Swanson Preserve. Berulaerecta (cut-leaved water […]
New Beginning for Farming at Conservancy’s Swanson Property
From our 2011 Summer Newsletter April 2011–On a brisk day in April, farmer Ben Brown lent a hand at a Leelanau Conservancy work bee, helping staff to remove a massive […]
Carol Benner Remembers Sonny’s Stand: Why She Contributed to Help Preserve the Farm
Since announcing the project, the Leelanau Conservancy has been the grateful recipient of many emails and phone calls from people remembering Sonny and the farm. The following letter (and photos) […]
Swanson Farm Purchase Completed!
From our 2011 Spring Newsletter March 2011–It’s official! The Leelanau Conservancy took ownership this week of the 90-acre Sonny Swanson farm with its 2,000 feet of natural shoreline. “The Swanson […]
