This spring, you can spark a lifelong love of nature—and help shape the next generation of environmental stewards.

Last summer, a quiet 8-year-old named Mason came to our kids’ nature camp clutching his small, canvas backpack and a nervous smile. He’d never walked in the woods before. By the second day, he was flipping over rocks to look for salamanders and leading his group along the trail. When he found out frogs were sensitive to pollution, he turned to his counselor and said, “Then we have to help them, right?”

That’s the moment we work for—the spark of understanding that becomes love, and then action.

At the Indian River Lakes Conservancy (IRLC), we believe that protecting land and water starts with connection. That’s why we do more than conserve over 2,700 acres across 18 lakes—we open the door for people to truly experience nature. From free family programs and sensory-friendly trails to our kids’ summer camp and teen leadership initiative, we make sure everyone has the chance to fall in love with the natural world. Now it's your chance to help the next generation build a bond with the wild places around them.

And once they love it—they’ll fight to protect it.

Your gift helps ensure we can plan boldly for summer programs that transform lives—like our Elizabeth May Duvall Nature Grows Kids Camp, where over 80 local kids, many from families with limited means, spend three days outdoors with passionate educators who ignite their love of nature.

Our Project WHIRL teen program dives deeper, offering immersive environmental science experiences that build confidence, open doors to college and careers, and turn local teens into lifelong conservation leaders. By inspiring these young stewards, we're not only shaping futures, we're building a stronger movement to protect the land and water that sustains us all.

IRLC’s 18-lake region is more than a local treasure—it’s part of the A2A Corridor, a continental-scale conservation pathway linking the Adirondacks to Ontario’s Algonquin Park.

This corridor is vital for wildlife movement and biodiversity- providing critical habitat for birds, mammals, pollinators, amphibians, and the species that depend on connected, healthy ecosystems to survive. It plays an essential role in the overall ecological health of the Northeast, serving as a refuge, a migratory route, and a climate resilient stronghold.

As development increases along the St. Lawrence River, our region remains one of the last largely undeveloped landscapes—offering a rare chance to protect wild places before they are lost.

More kids are growing up indoors, glued to screens, and missing out on the joyful childhoods nature provides. At the same time, land and water is being lost to development forever. That's why your support matters. Because of people like you, IRLC is protecting land and creating life-changing experiences that bring kids and families back outside—where they belong.

Give today, and be the reason a child learns to love the lakes, discovers the joy of the woods, or chooses a path of conservation. Keep the wonder alive.

Your support helps protect nature and plants the seeds for a better future. Watch why one supporter chose to be part of the “I” in IRLC.

Then please give what you can— "Let's keep the wonder alive together."

Keep the wonder alive.

By Indian River Lakes Conservancy

Keep the wonder alive.

Help us protect the places where wonder begins - and lasts a lifetime.

Team Members