GAMBIER — The Philander Chase Conservancy announces that Evan Stern has been selected as its new project coordinator. Stern’s appointment fills the role held previously by the conservancy’s current director, Amy Henricksen.
The conservancy is Kenyon College’s land trust. Over the past 25 years, the Philander Chase Conservancy has worked to conserve open space and important natural habitats within a five-mile radius of Kenyon College. The conservancy works with farmers, landowners, environmental groups, and public agencies to ensure the rural character of the surrounding area is maintained.
As project coordinator, Stern will assist with some of the essential functions of the conservancy. His tasks will include annual monitoring visits to protected properties and helping with the procurement of new conservation and agricultural easements. He will also oversee and manage the conservancy’s student interns and lead the land trust’s re-accreditation with the Land Trust Accreditation Commission.
‘Help people help the land’
Stern comes to the conservancy from Richland Soil and Water Conservation District (RSWCD) in Mansfield. During his three-and-a-half-year tenure with RSWCD, Stern administered a state-driven agriculture conservation incentive program called H2Ohio.
He also assisted the local U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) in implementing agriculture conservation projects. Stern spent the majority of his time working closely with farmers and assisting them through these programs.
“I have discovered what I enjoy most about conservation work, especially locally led conservation,” Stern said. “Coming alongside people to realize their conservation goals – to ‘help people help the land,’ to steal the motto of the USDA-NRCS – gets me out of bed every morning.
“I am very honored and excited to have the chance to do that here at the Philander Chase Conservancy.”
Stern obtained a Bachelor of Arts in environmental biology from Houghton College (now University). He interned with conservation organizations, including the National Park Service and The Wilds.
Stern loves to travel, ride his bike, and is an avid birder. He lives with his family in Mount Vernon.
For more information about the Philander Chase Conservancy, visit www.kenyon.edu/philander-chase-conservancy/.