evergreencircle SUMMER 2024
Our Loyal Evergreens
The Evergreen Circle honors the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s loyal supporters who have made annual gifts for at least 15 of the last 20 years. Thank you! You are making an incredible impact in Western Pennsylvania.
A Lifetime of Stewardship: Bill and Nancy Sayles Evergreen Circle members Bill and Nancy Sayles aren’t sure what their lives would have been like without the Conservancy in it. They have been WPC members for nearly 50 years! They also helped establish the land stewardship program, as they were among the inaugural group of volunteers who helped monitor and care for Conservancy properties. Bill and Nancy taught at Shady Side Academy, a K-12 independent school in Allegheny County. Bill taught a variety of science courses for 40 years, and Nancy taught first grade for 24 years. They credit their time and connections at the school for learning about the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and becoming conservationminded. They’ve said their students were actually their teachers, inspiring them to learn new things about the natural world and our region’s green spaces. As a result of this interest in conservation, Bill created an outdoor physical education program and an earth and space science class at the school. They credit WPC staff member Joseph B.C. White for introducing them to the Conservancy and inviting them to join the original land steward volunteer group. At the time, WPC offered a short stewardship course on how to navigate using a compass and what to look out for on the properties. They were then assigned to monitor specific WPC-owned preserves or privately-owned properties with conservation easements. The Sayles were responsible for Lake Pleasant in Erie County, island preserves in the Allegheny River and a 40-acre conservation easement in Butler County. They also participated in other WPC projects such as an aquatic plant study in the glacial lakes of northwest Pennsylvania with conservation science staff. One of these expeditions involved a wildlife survey with WPC staff on an adventurous canoe trip down the Youghiogheny River. Emboldened by this experience, they decided to try the river on their own. They recalled the details through laughter as, after a series of missteps, Bill and Nancy almost went over a waterfall and overturned their canoe. Bill swam to shore as Nancy was towed to the side of the river by a kayaker. While they credit much of their love of the outdoors to their time at Shady Side Academy, both spent a great deal of their early youth outdoors. Bill grew up in Minnesota and moved to Greenville, Pa. WaterLandLife.org
as a teenager. His dad was a biology professor who often took Bill with him on field trips and taught him about the natural world, the importance of agriculture and waterfowl migration. Nancy grew up in Jamestown, Pa., where she spent a lot of time on Pymatuning Lake. She and Bill met while he was lifeguarding at the lake the summer before he left for college. He returned each summer to work and court Nancy. After accepting jobs at Shady Side Academy, they lived on the middle and senior school campus for a number of years, before ultimately settling in O’Hara Township with their four children. Life has come full circle and they are once again living in Greenville and enjoying kayaking on Pymatuning Lake as often as they are able. They have also reconnected with our land stewardship team and hope to help monitor the Conservancy’s Tryon-Weber Woods Preserve, a 108acre forested area in Crawford County. Bill and Nancy shared that they have continued to support the Conservancy over the years due in large part to their volunteer work with us. They believe that volunteering is a meaningful way to build relationships between people and missionoriented work, and they Bill and Nancy (seated) at a training session at hope other members will the former Lake Pleasant field office in 2001. support the Conservancy through both membership and their time. As much as they have given us, the message they want to convey is that the Conservancy’s positive impact on their lives is immeasurable, and through the many experiences they have had volunteering with us, WPC has enriched their lives. There are plenty of opportunities to volunteer with WPC in land stewardship, at Fallingwater and planting and caring for gardens and trees throughout the region. Visit WaterLandLife.org/volunteer for more information.