October 16, 2018

The Brandywine Conservancy is helping The Conservation Fund in partnership with the National Parks Conservation Association to promote “Dollars and Sense of Protecting Community Character in the Brandywine Valley.”

The event is 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 29 at the Pilot School in Wilmington. Ed McMahon, a leading national expert on community development will make the presentation. McMahon of the Urban Land Institute is a noted author, attorney, and lecturer with expertise in economic development, tourism promotion, and historic preservation and has worked with communities across the country and around the world.

Attendees will learn about major tools that can be used to protect community character including education, voluntary initiatives, and other non-regulatory action as well as alternatives to conventional residential and commercial development. McMahon will also discuss economic, social, and environmental benefits of protecting community character and the value of open space and historic resources that translate to the abundant assets in the Brandywine Valley.

The evening’s program will also include an opportunity to meet and greet local government representatives, local and regional organizations, and community members interested in protecting and stewarding the Brandywine Valley’s community character and natural, cultural, and historical assets to drive local economic development, tourism, and more.

This free public event will kick-off the planning for a two‐day action planning workshop to connect nature and commerce by identifying regional, community‐driven projects that capitalize on the Brandywine Valley’s recently established First State National Historical Park and abundant natural, cultural, and historical assets throughout the region.  The workshop is planned for the late winter/early spring.

This event and workshop are being offered by The Conservation Fund in partnership with the National Parks Conservation Association and a steering team of local and regional organizations to bring together leaders from across the Brandywine Valley and experts from our state and region to examine our natural, cultural, and historical assets, how these assets define the Valley as the distinctive place its residents call home, and how these assets can be leveraged to advance our economy and wellbeing.

For more information and registration for the public event, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/mcmahonevent