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An Exceptionally Generous Gift
An Exceptionally Generous Gift
"Mayor Shawaker announced that after a number of months a conservation easement had been agreed to by the Town and the Garrett Park Conservation Trust, making it possible for the Town to accept the exceptionally generous gift by Laetitia Yeandle of her property at 11321 Kenilworth Avenue.
The property would be under a life trust, allowing Ms. Yeandle to live there for as long as she wished (up to 10 years) and when she no longer was using the house the Town would have three years to remove it. A playground or other form of active park could be placed on the site of the house, but the rest of the property was to be managed as a nature preserve for native plants and animals."
Source: Town Council Meeting Minutes, May 8, 2006. Garrett Park Town Archives.
🌿 GP Women in Conservation: Carolyn Shawaker
Carolyn Heckert Shawaker was born in Illinois and attended Illinois State University. She moved to Garrett Park and taught at Walt Whitman High School for 40 years. Carolyn served on the Town Council and was elected Mayor of Garrett Park in 2004. During her tenure on the Council and as Mayor, she was involved in the renovation of Penn Place (a historic property in town), streets and roads safety, and zoning and right of ways.
Photo: Carolyn Shawaker at the reopening of Penn Place, 2004. Photograph Collection, Garrett Park Town Archives. Photographer unknown.
Photo: Laetitia Yeandle welcoming residents to her property, 2006. Garrett Park Town Archives. Photographer unknown.
🌿 GP Women in Conservation: Laetitia Yeandle
Anne Laetitia Kennedy Skipton Yeandle was born in Hong Kong in 1930. Her mother was American and her father was British.
In the early 1970s, Laetitia and her husband, Stephen, moved to Garrett Park, first living on Oxford Street before moving to Kenilworth Avenue around 1978.
Laetitia worked as a Curator of Manuscripts at the Folger Shakespeare Library for over 40 years. She was widely recognized as an expert of English paleography (the study of ancient writing) and co-authored several academic books. Laetitia died January 21, 2024.
In a February 22, 2024 tribute to Laetitia, a colleague recognized her for her academic work as well as her love of nature:
"Her keen observational skills were not just limited to otiose strokes and superfluous titles in manuscripts—she saw them in the natural world as well, and was as comfortable on her land in West Virginia and her garden in Maryland as she was in the vault, lost in a manuscript."
Source: Heather Wolfe. "Remembering Laetitia Yeandle, Curator of Manuscripts (1930 - 2024). Folger Shakespeare Library [Blog].
Celebrating the Conservation Easement
Following Laetitia's donation in 2006, the Garrett Park Conservation Trust hosted a celebration attended by town residents of all ages. Residents had the opportunity to explore their future new park and plant some trees.
What is the Conservation Trust?
In 2002, residents concerned by the rapid development of Garrett Park, created a non-profit organization called the Garrett Park Conservation Trust. The effort was spearheaded by longtime residents Glenda and Ken Ingham. The mission of the trust is to "preserve open space in the Town of Garrett Park and to promote conservation values throughout the community and elsewhere." The trust meets its mission by educating the community about ways to preserve open spaces and natural resources. One such way is through the use of a conservation easement, which is a legal approach property owners can use to limit future development on their property.
As of September 2024, the trust had a 6-person board of directors, including founder Ken Ingham, Fredrika Moser, John Miles, Courtney Culp, Chris Keller, and Donna Callejon.
🌿 GP Women in Conservation: Glenda Ingham
Glenda and her husband Ken moved to Garrett Park in 1972. In 1975, Glenda was appointed to the part-time position of clerk-treasurer. She served in this role for 25 years (and for seven mayors), the longest serving clerk-treasurer in Town history. In addition to many other significant contributions to the Town, in 2002, Glenda and her husband led the effort to create the Garrett Park Conservation Trust.
Photo: Ken and Glenda Ingham, undated. Garrett Park Town Archives. Photographer unknown.
In a 2012 oral history, Glenda Ingham described the importance of the trust and the use of easements:
"The main reason is a personal desire to preserve open space ... and scenic value as a legacy to your community. You may wish to protect some of your trees that provide habitat for birds and squirrels, cool your house in the summer, and provide other ecological services. By restricting development, you can also help minimize storm water run off that goes into Rock Creek, and ultimately into the Cheaspeake Bay."
Source: Glenda Ingham Oral History, 10/13/2012. Oral History Collection, Garrett Park Town Archives.
🌿 GP Women in Conservation: Fredrika Moser
Fredrika Moser and her family are longtime residents of Garrett Park. Fredrika was born in Palo Alto, California and attended college at the University of California at Santa Cruz. She earned her master and doctoral degrees at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Fredrika is the Director of the Maryland Sea Grant College, a state-federal partnership program at the University System of Maryland, which is instrumental in preserving the Chesapeake Bay and other coastal and bay resources of the Mid-Atlantic. In Garrett Park, Fredrika serves on the board of the Conservation Trust and is a former member of the Town's Arboretum Committee.
Source: University of Maryland, Center for Environmental Science and the Garrett Park Town Archives.
To learn more about the Yeandle house and property, check out the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties (inventory number M: 30-13-8) Photograph Addendum.
Sources: Photographs from the Garrett Park Town Archives. Copies of the deeds are from the Town of Garrett Park (Town Office).
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