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With New Director, Land Trust Seeks a Higher Profile

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By Rob Adams

Will Kies is the Executive Director of the Greenwich Land Trust
Will Kies, Executive Director of the Greenwich Land Trust

Sentinel Reporter/Broadcasting Manager

The Greenwich Land Trust seems, in theory, like a nice idea. You’ve no doubt heard of it.

But what does the GLT do? Will Kies, the new executive director, would like to educate everyone about that.

The GLT manages over 745 acres, which according to Kies, makes them the largest manager of private property in Greenwich. The GLT then monitors those properties and stewards them by improving their habitat and accessibility. The GLT also maintains these properties.

But it’s more than that.

“One of my goals is to bring a little more education into what the GLT does,” he said. “Not only with kids, but adults as well, with informal hikes and more.

“I want to elevate the exposure by educating the community about it.”

Kies, who grew up in Greenwich, replaced the retired Virginia Gwynn in late November. He arrives back in his hometown after over a decade at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center.

“The land trust always caught my eye,” he said. “I love the mission and all the work they do.”

Kies heard about Gwynn’s impending retirement and decided the time was right.

“I saw the job opening, and here we are,” he said.

As a youth, Kies delivered flowers for his parents, who owned the Old Greenwich Flower Shop. He called it a great way to see the town and learn even more about the many facets of Greenwich.

He attended kindergarten at Cos Cob School, where he was part of the fifth generation of his family to do so. From there he attended Brunswick and graduated in 1993 from The Hill School in Pottstown, Penn. College took him to St. Lawrence University, where he graduated in 1997. He completed his master’s degree in geography at the University of Vermont in 2004.

“When I was finishing grad school, I wanted to go into conservation easements,” he said, a precursor to coming the GLT.

Kies and his wife, Meghan (who also grew up in Greenwich), have two children: Benjamin, 6, and Evie, 3. The family resides in Cos Cob.

“Meghan works locally in asset management, and all of our parents live in town also,” Kies said, furthering enhancing his local bond.

According to the Greenwich Land Trust website (gltrust.org), the need for an organized land trust had been noted long before the incorporation of the GLT in 1976.

Today Kies notes that the GLT’s future is extremely bright. “This is an organization on the rise,” he said.

He described the GLT’s new conservation center – The Louise Mueller Preserve –  on Round Hill Road as “a centerpiece property.”

“It is home to our administrative offices with barns from which our stewardship team can manage our other properties,” he said. “We have a greenhouse, vegetable garden, and heritage trail, which highlight the many different habitats we manage including wetland, meadows, woodlands and orchards. It’s open to the community. It’s our new home.”

“The Mueller Preserve is a gem,” he added. “It’s a place that people can look at.”

The Preserve, a gift from Greenwich resident Louise Mueller, contains several historic buildings as well as open space of over four acres.

“Keeping land open is vitally important,” he added.

He has gotten down to business, saying that everyone at the GLT has been patient and welcoming, but knowing there is a lot of work to be done. Thus he stresses making sure that the public knows what the GLT is and what it does.

“I want to elevate the organization, and give it a higher profile,” he says. “Few people know what we do, and I want to take it to the next level.”

For Kies, it is important to remind the public of the benefits of open space in Greenwich.

“The value of open space is fully documented,” Kies said. “Greenwich is a unique place. Anybody that lives here and works here understands it’s a very diverse place—naturally, and on the human side.

“It’s a special place.”

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