The Saving Our Countryside Program
The Saving Our Countryside program aims to purchase properties in the Barrington area that would otherwise be at risk for development. These properties would then be held by BACTrust until a conservation-minded buyer could be found.
The program was launched in October 2006 at the BACTrust annual dinner, when members of our community were asked to step forward and make a historic commitment to assist the Trust in securing funding for these types of larger projects.
Board of Trustees members David Nelson and Glenn Reed have worked very hard to develop and launch the program, working with Barrington Bank & Trust (part of the WinTrust Bank Group), which has helped to fund these types of programs in other communities such as Lake Forest.
Individuals who are interested in helping fund this program may assist BACTrust in the following ways:
- Sign a letter of credit to enable BACTrust to begin purchasing properties
- Make a cash donation to the endowment fund, which would be used to meet monthly debt-service obligations on purchased land
- Become an ambassador for the program by asking others for a financial commitment.
This program gives members of our community another option for land protection and is particularly beneficial for those landowners who may be “land rich” but cash poor and simply need to sell their properties. Instead of allowing these lands to fall into the hands of developers, the Saving Our Countryside program can step in and purchase the land until a conservation buyer can be found.
For more information about the Saving Our Countryside program, or if you have land you may be wishing to sell, please call our offices at 847-381-4291.