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Dear Friend of Rock Point,
In the evening at Thrust Fault Cove, the sun briefly bathes the rugged cliffside in golden light. People gather to observe this utterly spellbinding display; the glowing rock face is a reminder of the vast beauty this earth freely offers. It is also the essential foundation from which this landscape derives nourishment: a calcium-rich bedrock formed over five hundred million years ago.
Like its bedrock, Rock Point offers both beauty and bounty. Whether you seek solace, knowledge, purpose, kinship, or simply a quiet moment in nature, Rock Point centers each of these needs.
This year, we invite you to deepen your connection to this special place by joining our Annual Fund or becoming a Sustaining Member. Sustaining Members pledge $120 annually (or $10 per month) and receive exclusive benefits, including an annual trail pass, an illustrated Rock Point bumper sticker, and a complimentary invitation to a guided natural history walk with our land steward.
Your support is vital to protecting Rock Point’s conserved land and expanding access to
programs that connect people with nature. This past year, the generosity of our community helped us grow a range of initiatives. Community members gathered sap and made maple syrup in our sugar house as part of our Community Maple program. We launched Reading Rock Point, a place-based natural history course that fosters deeper engagement with the landscape and its inhabitants. Volunteer shepherds grazed a flock of sheep at Rock Point, aiding in our land stewardship and creating a hyper-local food source. After the sheep were harvested, over sixty community members honored the flock with a gifted feast, and the remaining food was donated to Food Not Bombs to support neighbors in need.
Through initiatives like these we practice climate resilience and mutual aid principles by engaging in the urgent work of community care– work that is now more important than ever.
In this same spirit, we prepare to open the Rock Point Center for Nature & Spirituality. This new space will be the embodiment of what Rock Point already is: a hub for community building and a place to learn. With your support, we can realize the center’s full potential. Imagine bird-watching stations, natural history exhibits, trail camera footage of Rock Point’s wildlife, expanded workshops, and a cozy tea station for winter visitors. These are just some of the enhancements your donation will help bring to life.
Regardless of whether you’re able to donate, we invite you to experience the heart of this place. Join one of our workshops, or learn to tap trees and make maple syrup with our community homestead this winter. Come for a walk, observe tracks in the snow, listen to the ice make its ethereal music at Eagle Bay.
If nothing else, hike to Thrust Fault Cove and watch the sunset. You will feel what we do: that Rock Point is an ancient place, rich in spirit. The reciprocity shared by the land, the creatures, and the people who have gathered here remains, so long as we continue to nourish it. And as the water sparkles brilliantly in the late light, illuminating the horizon, think of the thousands of sunsets yet to come, and the people who will sit in this very spot to experience them.
With gratitude,
The Team at Rock Point
Donating via check? Checks can be made out to Rock Point Commons and mailed to:
Rock Point Commons
20 Rock Point Road
Burlington, VT 05408
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