The Place

Amidst a predominantly agricultural landscape, The Woods is Living Lands Trust’s only public conservation area and offers trails through a relatively natural forest ecosystem for exploration and solace. Partnering with Humble Oak has brought added stewardship and purpose to The Woods. As a start-up nonprofit and outdoor learning and arts center, Humble Oak provides nature-based programming to connect individuals of all ages more deeply to themselves, the land and the greater community. Through direct interactions with plants and animals, a wide exposure to craft and skill, and a deepened engagement with beauty, wonder, and awe, Humble Oak’s curriculum invites a sense of imagination, responsibility, and joy. By layering multiple interests and rights—i.e. the community’s use and enjoyment of trails, Humble Oak’s use of the land for education and discovery, and Geneva Lake Conservancy’s conservation easement for protection of ecological integrity—The Woods represents a contemporary commons.