A Love Story With the Land
The CREST’s origins begin long before the nonprofit itself. In 1985, Suzanne Willow, her wife Lanita Witt, and their daughter Brooke traveled up a snowy mountain road searching for 40 acres of rural land near Ashland. What they found instead was an entire valley blanketed in four feet of snow-a big barn, a small house, and a landscape that captured their hearts instantly.

“They looked down into a beautiful valley… and thought about the family that lived there-in summer!” the team recalls. Two weeks later, they skied back in and made an offer on all 445 acres.

That spark of love has sustained them for forty years. The couple restored over-harvested forests, fenced out grazing cattle, regenerated damaged wetlands, and watched the land respond with renewed life. Their stewardship raised the water table, restored threatened plant species, and brought back wildlife–including endangered Western Pond Turtles.

Suzanne and Lanita shared the land with community groups, schoolchildren, and families for decades before officially founding The CREST in 2017 to “help children and their families get reconnected with nature.”

Lanita has since passed and is buried in the Ranch’s Forest Conservation Burial Ground. Suzanne–still milking goats, tending the land, and serving on The CREST’s Board–carries their shared vision into each generation of visitors.

Growing Programs, Growing Community
From its beginnings as a single summer camp, The CREST has blossomed into a year-round hub of outdoor education. Today it hosts:

• An outdoor nature day camp for children ages 6-11
• Spring and fall field trips serving more than 1,200 children each year
• Family–friendly events, such as
  • MothNight to discover nocturnal pollinators
  • Winter Footprints to explore animal tracks in the snow
  • Seasonal opportunities to wander the forest and farm

These programs meet a growing need in modern life. As the team notes, “Nature Deficit Disorder… can lead to issues like attention difficulties, obesity, higher stress levels, and diminished creativity.” The CREST offers children and families “the beauty and wonders of Southern Oregon’s natural grandeur”–a precious antidote to a world indoors.

What they want people to understand most about their work is simple and heartfelt: “Cultivating connection with nature… is healing, restorative, and deeply educational.”

Moments That Stay With You
Sometimes all it takes is one small moment to affirm the importance of reconnecting children with the natural world.

After attending The CREST’s summer camp, six-year-old Cleo returned home to Portland and

experienced her first bee sting. Her mother tried to lighten the moment: “Welcome to the bee sting club!” Through tears, Cleo replied, “I don’t want to be part of the bee sting club, but I’m glad there are so many pollinators out there.”

It’s a perfect glimpse into the tender, curious, respectful relationship with nature The CREST helps children cultivate–one that lasts long after the summer ends.

Who The CREST Serves
While Rogue Valley children and families are the most direct beneficiaries, the ripple effects extend far beyond individual participants.

“Our whole community benefits from the hope, creativity, joy, and aliveness that emerges from witnessing happy, healthy, respectful, and artistic kids!” the team writes.

Most visitors find The CREST through word of mouth, as well as through local stories–including those in Ashland Living. Kids often return year after year, eager to revisit the goats, chickens, forests, ponds, and wide-open spaces where imagination takes flight.

The Web of Support Behind the Work
The CREST’s growth has been made possible through the generosity of volunteers, donors, foundations, and regional partners.

“In the beginning, everyone at The CREST was a volunteer,” the team explains. Suzanne and Lanita’s decades of stewardship inspired donors who helped expand staffing, scholarships, transportation support, and facilities.