Central Indiana Land Trust has announced a $1 million gift from Leonard and Kathryn Betley and their family in support of reforestation and land protection projects.

In addition to funding reforestation and land protection efforts, the gift will establish an endowment for the Hills of Gold Conservation Area. In recognition of the gift, the Glacier’s End Nature Preserve near Trafalgar will be renamed Betley Woods at Glacier’s End. The woods are located where a line of glaciers stopped their southward drift thousands of years ago, and the resulting mix of both glaciated and unglaciated land supports a diversity of flora and fauna.

Leonard Betley is a retired managing partner of the law firm Ice Miller, as well as the retired CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, the Walter Cancer Foundation, and the Regenstrief Institute and Foundation.

“CILTI is honored to receive this gift from the Betley family,” said Central Indiana Land Trust executive director Cliff Chapmans. “Their generosity and civic engagement have long been a guiding light to people who care about Central Indiana, and this gift ensures that their legacy will, literally, grow.”

(Photo credit: Richard Ries via pixabay)