Oak Heritage Conservancy is a nonprofit organization that manages 15 nature preserves across 11 counties in southeastern Indiana.

2023 marks its 20th anniversary as a land trust. Presented by Civista Charitable Foundation, Oak Heritage’s 20th annual gathering will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 7 at Crossroads Family Restaurant, 615 W. U.S. 50, Versailles.

Tickets are $60 and may be purchased online at oakheritageconservancy.org/events/october-7-annual-gathering or by mailing a check to Oak Heritage Conservancy, P.O. Box 335, Hanover, IN 47243.

“Twenty years of preserving critical land and water resources is a fantastic milestone, and we want to celebrate this accomplishment with our members and friends who helped make it possible,” said Kate Johnson, president of Oak Heritage Conservancy.

The gathering will include brunch, a brief program highlighting Oak Heritage’s past 20 years of success and an update on recent projects to make its nature preserves more accessible to area residents.

“We conserve old growth forests, wetlands and meadows, and protecting that habitat is important in its own right,” Johnson said. “But we also want our preserves to give people the chance to explore and experience nature close to home, so we’ve added trails on certain preserves over the past three years.”

Oak Heritage Conservancy, like the more than 20 other lands trusts in Indiana, works to conserve habitat for wildlife, secure water quality, ensure land is available for future generations, provide equitable access to nature, protect family farms, build healthy communities and more.

It’s one of more than 1,200 land trusts in the United States. American land trusts have conserved more than 60 million acres — an area greater than the size of Nebraska. Land trusts offer a local, proven way to conserve land.