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Donor Spotlight | Dede Moan: Through Farms and Fields Personifies the East End’s Beauty

July 25, 2023

By Olivia Waterhouse

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For as long as she can remember, Dede has loved the East End. She loves beaches and tidepools, fresh air and farmland – but, most of all, she loves the people that call this beautiful place home. It’s fitting, then, that she first learned about the work of the Peconic Land Trust through her local community of friends and neighbors.

Not long after she purchased the Southampton Inn in downtown Southampton Village, Dede signed her children, Eddie and Shane, up for sailing lessons down the street on Shinnecock Bay. As a teenager, Eddie crewed for John, the Trust’s President, on his lightning sailboat, Windy Too. Dede would spend Wednesdays, weekends, and holidays out on the water watching the races. She cherishes the community she made there, the other moms and friends and sailors, as much as the many trophies that Eddie (and John) brought home.

So, when the opportunity to conserve almost 14 acres of woodland and wetlands along the Peconic River in Riverside came up a few years later, Dede immediately thought of the Trust. She wanted to help protect the water quality of the Peconic Estuary and to preserve land where the community could connect with the waterfront. Thanks to her, those 14 acres (now called Catcove Preserve) can be enjoyed in their natural state by kayakers and wildlife alike for generations to come.

block.image[0].title — A view of Catcove as seen from the Peconic River.

Since partnering with the Trust to conserve Catcove, Dede has joined us every year in support of our annual country supper in celebration of our local bounty. “I don’t like some of the glitzy flashy parties,” she insists, “but I like this event that personifies the East End rather than the Hamptons. I love Through Farms and Fields!” She relishes the opportunity to connect, celebrate, and help grow the Trust’s mission. In recent years, we’ve been grateful to Dede for sharing her time and expertise as a member of the Through Farms and Fields Committee in addition to joining us as a sponsor.

Dede supports the Trust because we don’t just conserve the beautiful natural landscape here on the East End, we also work to “develop a community of people who care about it.” She shares our commitment to preserving the sense of place and community that’s just as cherished - and just as fragile - as the natural ecosystems, wildlife habitats, and open spaces that our easements protect. Dede is proud to support our work because she knows “it’s really going to take careful and focused stewardship to preserve something so unique and so special.”

We are thankful to Dede Moan for sharing her story with us! To learn more about Through Farms and Fields 2024 sponsorship opportunities, contact Amanda Abraham, Director of Development. To learn more about working with the Trust to protect your property, contact Kim Quarty, Director of Conservation Planning.