Keep Losing Your Boots
As a retired educator with a thirty-five-year career in teaching environmental science, Sandy Penz has long known the value of time spent in nature. She recalled watching her students come alive in outdoor spaces. “Some of the kids had never been outside of the city,” she said. “One of the most delightful things would happen every time we had a field trip in nature. As we walked back to the bus, a little hand would reach into mine and say, ‘This was fun’. Without conservation, these moments would be impossible. People wouldn’t have the opportunity.”
She knows how lucky she was to have grown up surrounded by nature herself. “I spent most of my childhood in the woods,” she said. “I lost my boots in the spring every year. I would fall in the creek. Those kinds of experiences got me interested in continuing that as an adult.”
Sandy recalled her first conversation with Ned Fritz, founder of TLC. “As soon as I picked up the phone, he spoke to me like we were long lost best friends. Which is how he talked to everyone, but I didn’t realize it at the time.” From that first conversation, it wasn't long until she was president of the board.
She fondly remembered her stewardship team as the “three-legged team”. With the help of Kathryn Goodbar and Sharon Reed, she visited properties all over Texas. “Kathryn knew everyone, made arrangements, talked about conservation easement details. Sharon grew up in Texas and knew the maps, and I did the driving. We were a great team.”
In those early days, the TLC volunteer team also spent a lot of time camping and canoeing with Ned. She said his enthusiasm was infectious. It is nice to know that Ned’s legacy of enthusiasm has lived on in our organization, not just with our staff, board, and volunteers but also with this community we have built.
When asked to pick a favorite property among TLC’s protected lands, Sandy couldn’t choose. “Every property has a favorite moment,” she said. It’s those moments in Texas nature that inspire her continued connection with and advocacy for the great outdoors. It’s work rooted in the rich history of TLC’s early years, but it’s work that makes those moments possible for generations to come, those eye-opening experiences in wild spaces that can change a child’s life. And that work continues to be an adventure. As Sandy says, “I’m still losing my boots.”
Celebrating 40 Years of Conservation
We have been collecting stories and photos from people that have made this organization what it is today, highlighting all the hard work, special moments, and conservation successes we have had over the last four decades. We will be sharing these throughout the year here: https://www.texaslandconservancy.org/40-years-of-conservation
As we move forward to the next 40 years, we hope you will continue to support this important work and help to create a future where being in nature won’t be a thing of the past.
Join or renew your TLC membership today—$40 for 40 years!
Sandy Penz has been a long-time supporter and leader of TLC, as a member of the once all-volunteer stewardship committee, as a Board Member, and as President. Here, she investigates The Glades, one of TLC’s earliest conservation properties