TIPPY CREEK ENVIRONMENTAL ENDOWMENT FUND
This fund was started in January of 2022 by Deb Conklin and Rob Preston. The purpose of this fund is to help in building, maintaining, or subsidizing assistance to green projects, pollination projects, and/or projects with goals of beautification and enhancement of plant and animal spaces. Grants may also be used for spaces where the public congregates to observe, enjoy, relax or learn from nature. This can include “Green” spaces such as parks, fields, barriers, or borders. This fund may also be utilized to enhance educational places that promote stewardship of lands, plants, or animals in nature.
Rob and Deb pictured here at Tippy Creek
A bit about us, and how we came to be:
It had always been our dream to find a place that we could use to promote the environment and environmental causes, while providing friends and family a place to come and decompress from the stress of their daily lives.
In 2016, this dream became a reality when we found and purchased the perfect area south of Morton. We immediately began clearing and building the site to create something very special. It was Deb’s idea to name the property after Rob’s father, whose nickname was “Tip”, as he was an avid outdoorsman and naturalist. As the property has a creek running its full length, “Tippy Creek” came into being.
Building on that, we began the orchard in the same year, starting with only a dozen trees. This was improved, year after year, until we now stand at 550 trees. Pollination came in 2018 with the addition of 2 bee hives. This number is now at 35 and growing, as the business grows.
In the past few years, we have been asked to present at multiple venues including Girl Scouts, GEMS (Girls Excelling in Math and Science), Bradley University, the American Association of University Women and Rotary, to name a few. From this comes our need to continue education in furthering the care and nurturing of our wild areas, and the idea that everyone can work towards helping wildlife and natural causes.
To that end, Tippy Creek will continue to move forward and become a place where people can come, relax, and learn. Each year, we schedule multiple presentations, along with field trips, with the goal of passing our passion for the environment on to those around us. Our goal is to ensure that every person that views a presentation or takes a trip to “The Creek” understands that they have within their grasp the means to make a difference. Please help us to help the world around us become a bit greener and ecologically friendly. We thank you in advance for your support. We also thank the Morton Community Foundation for taking this to the next level by promoting green projects, in Tippy Creek’s name.
Cheers,
Rob and Deb
Tippy Creek LLC
tippycreek.com
Morton area Non-profit organizations, schools, parks, libraries, and governmental entities may apply for a Morton Community Foundation grant during our annual Spring Community grant cycle. If a grant application fits the purpose statement listed above for the Tippy Creek Environmental Endowment Fund, consideration will be given. This is a competitive grant process, so all grant applications will compete with all other qualified applicants for available grant funding. CLICK HERE to learn how.
If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to this endowment fund, please click the button below for online donations. Or, you can mail a check to 135 S First Avenue, Morton, IL 61550.