Use Your Lands! Public Lands Event

Our beloved public lands need our help. 

I am asking for your support in funding a two-day outreach event and launching a website aimed at educating the general public about the threats currently facing publics lands. Grand Staircase and Bears Ears have already been illegally reduced,  the selling out of our shared space is continuing. The overall theme and drive of the exhibit will be USE YOUR LANDS. The event, to be held in the Santa Barbara area, will be an exhibit composed of photographs, narratives, and informational displays, all of which are aimed at encouraging people to get out and experience these amzaing places full of natural and cultural wonders for themselves. The event will also serve as a fundraiser for local nonprofit organizations focused on conservation and outdoor education. In conjunction with the event will be the creation of a website encouraging people who may not be "outdoorsy" to use their public lands.

Donations will go towards the costs of event space, equipment and furniture rental (e.g., tables, seating, lighting, etc.), exhibit materials (e.g., posters, labels, brochures and handouts, etc.), photographic prints, displays, advertising, website development, and other expenses as they arise. No donated money will go towards personal expenses.

All displays and exhibit materials will be created by myself. All photographs used will be from Brent Leftwich Photography While photos in the exhibit will be for sale, a portion of the profits will be donated to nonprofits present at the event, with the remaining funds used to help fund future exhibits in other cities. The long term goal is to produce a self-sustaining, traveling exhibit.

Some of my deepest emotions, happiest times, and proudest moments have come within the boundaries of our shared public lands. Not just National Monuments, but National Parks, BLM lands, National Forests, Wildlife Refuges, State and Local Parks, and public trails, rivers, historic monuments, seashores, roadways, etc. Maintaining and funding public lands, increasing their number, keeping them unsullied and wild, and defending them from those who wish to privatize or disband them is the best way this country can preserve a true identity of itself.

A sample of the photos that will be used for this event can be found at: www.brentleftwichphotography.com. 

Thank you!