“Preserving this little watershed and estuary is very, very important to us, and we’d like to make sure it stays there for the fish and other wildlife well into the future.”
—Naomi & Joleen
25 years ago, Naomi Maasberg and Joleen Palmer made the decision to leave their property on the Carpenter Creek estuary in Kingston to the Stillwaters Environmental Center in their will. They founded Stillwaters in 1999 as an education and advocacy nonprofit to help inform and empower their community to make ecologically responsible decisions. In 2023, Stillwaters Environmental Center was integrated into Great Peninsula Conservancy—as a program under GPC’s outdoor education umbrella, Land Labs—and shortly after, Naomi and Joleen worked with their lawyer to update their will with GPC’s name and tax ID in place of Stillwaters.
They encourage any other supporters who have included Stillwaters in their wills or estate plans to make these updates and notify Great Peninsula Conservancy. This simple amendment will help ensure that your intent to continue the legacy of community science and education at the Carpenter Creek estuary is carried out long into the future.
Naomi and Joleen care deeply about the watershed—and their piece of the estuary—and are glad to know Great Peninsula Conservancy will protect it in perpetuity.
“When salmon were listed in the Puget Sound Basin, we learned that Kitsap’s contribution to their recovery is that all the little streams, like Carpenter Creek, are needed for the fish to hatch and grow up before going out to the bigger pond. We also learned that our marsh and estuary are critical habitat for the little ones. Preserving this little watershed and estuary is very, very important to us, and we’d like to make sure it stays there for the fish and other wildlife well into the future—especially with the pressures of urban growth around us. We can’t rely on humans of the future to value this land in the same way, no matter how much education we try to do. The only way to preserve our legacy is to get this land into the ownership of people who will care for it indefinitely.” —Naomi & Joleen
GPC’s Legacy Society Challenge activates a $1,000 match with each new pledge. To learn more, visit our Legacy Society page or contact Development Manager Katherine Tacke at katherine@greatpeninsula.org or (360) 373-3500 x 107 to learn more.
