OPEN SPACES
The latest news from the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy Vol. 7 No.2
Working to Protect The Ojai Valley’s Future - Today
Summer 2000
Besant Meadow Is Next Target For Protection
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n an effort to protect critical open space and expand the Ojai Meadows Preserve, the Conservancy has signed an option agreement Ojai City Council Member, Steve to purchase the Olsen shares 25 acre parcel his love of immediately Besant Meadow west of the with supporters. existing Preserve. The property known as Besant Meadow is another high priority
acquisition property for the Conservancy and local residents. As early as the 1920’s this site was a gathering place for followers of Krishnamurti. During the late 1980’s, the property was slated for a 100 condo development, but the community and the County were successful in preventing the development. The Conservancy will need to raise $660,000 by December 31, 2000 to acquire and preserve the parcel. $450,000 will cover the cost of acquisition and the remaining $210,000 will be for
protection, basic care and costs directly associated with the campaign. This project is an integral part of the Conservancy’s Campaign To Preserve Ojai’s Special Places Forever. If successful, the Ojai Meadows Preserve will then contain 58 acres of grasslands, oaks, and wetlands between the communities of Ojai and Meiners Oaks. See page 5 for more information on how you can contribute to the Campaign to Expand the Ojai Meadows Preserve.
Two Large Gifts Give Big Momentum To Campaign
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$250,000 challenge gift has been made in memory of Pekka Merikallio, a long time Ojai resident and admirer of Besant Meadow. In order for the Conservancy to use the gift to acquire the property, we must first raise an additional $250,000 from the community to match this generous contribution. If the match is not raised by December 31, 2000, then the gift must be returned. “This is an exciting and very meaningful challenge to our community,” said Michael Shapiro, campaign co-chair. “We trust that the same generosity that was shown by our supporters in the recent Ojai Meadows Campaign, will be echoed here.” The memorial gift from the Besant Meadow Preservation Group, in the form of a donated house, will be sold and the net proceeds used for the campaign. This is the second contribu-
Besant Meadow
tion of a house to the Conservancy during the last six months. Last fall, the Taormina Theosophical Community, Inc. donated the proceeds from a house sale to launch the acquisition of the 32-acre parcel next to the high school. A $167,500 contribution was also received from the Ojai Valley Sanitary District as part of a fine for an earlier sewage spill in Canada Larga Creek. The
District was required to spend the Supplementary Environmental Project (SEP) funds on a project that benefits the environment in the Ventura River Watershed. The Besant Meadow Project was chosen because of its outstanding opportunities for habitat protection, wetlands restoration, water quality protection, and strong community support. This contribution will not count towards the Merikallio challenge gift because it was announced in early March before the $250,000 contribution was designated.
BESANT CAMPAIGN UPDATE Campaign Goal • $660,000
Amount Already Raised $415,000 Amount Still Needed $245,000