The Thousand Islands Land Trust (TILT) marked its 40th Anniversary in 2025 with a Trek season that was both a celebration and an invitation to explore. Over four decades, TILT has grown from an idea sparked on Grindstone Island into a region-wide movement that has protected more than 14,000 acres of land and the shared experiences that root families and communities to the Thousand Islands. This summer’s treks reflected that legacy—bringing people together for conservation, culture, and connection across the St. Lawrence River Valley.
With green shoots signaling the arrival of spring so too does stewardship and conservation in action. In April, TILT staff, Save The River (STR), and volunteers installed gull exclusion grids and nesting boxes on Eagle Wings Shoal, safeguarding the threatened Common Tern. Just days later, Arbor Day was celebrated in partnership with the Cape Vincent Improvement League and the Village of Cape Vincent, as volunteers planted oak, apple, pear, and maple trees—rooting the future of the Thousand Islands in both land and community. By month’s end, 45 volunteers gathered along Fuller Bay’s shoreline in Cape Vincent to clear debris, a hands-on testament to the community’s commitment to clean water and healthy habitats.
As the summer unfolded, treks offered opportunities to slow down and soak in the landscape. At Otter Creek Preserve, BJ Mosher of Kripalu Yoga and Wellness Center led a Walking Meditation that invited participants to breathe deeply and be present, while River Yoga’s Jane MacLaughlin guided a Nature Walk and Yoga session at the S. Gerald Ingerson Preserve, overlooking McCarn Creek from the trestle bridge deck. These mindful experiences highlighted how conservation isn’t only about protecting land—it’s about connecting to the land and restoring balance in our own lives.
Education and exploration were at the heart of this year’s lineup. Nearly 60 curious explorers followed mycologist Jean Fahey through the Crooked Creek Preserve in July, to discover the overlooked but essential world of fungi, mosses, and lichens. Later that month, over 30 attendees gathered at Zenda Farms Preserve for the Annual Birkhead Lecture, where Denise Silfee of the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation (ACLC) shared insights into loon behavior and conservation. The season also saw 70 volunteers participate in the Annual Loon Census in partnership with ACLC—this enduring citizen science effort that has become one of TILT’s most beloved community traditions.
And in true 40th Anniversary fashion, TILT revived one of its most cherished treks: the Grindstone Island Mule Trek. Sixty participants journeyed across the island where TILT was founded in 1984, stopping at landmarks like New York’s last one-room schoolhouse, the Grindstone Methodist Church, TILT’s Potters Beach Preserve, and the Lower Schoolhouse Museum. The day blended history, heritage, and natural beauty—culminating with lunch at Grindstone Island Winery, where conversation flowed as easily as the River itself.
The summer trek season closed in August with one final stewardship effort: the removal of the Common Tern nesting grids at Eagle Wings Shoal. With the terns beginning their migration south, staff, STR, and volunteers dismantled the structures, completing the seasonal cycle of hands-on care and conservation.
Reflecting on 40 years of protecting the land, water, and community of the Thousand Islands, this season of treks stood as both a tribute to the past and a promise for the future. Every step on the trail, and every story shared along the way carried the same message that has guided TILT since 1984: when a community comes together for the land, remarkable things happen.