Meet Two of Our Founding Conservation Supporters

Love, Land and Legacy 

Ann Todd remembers childhood days on her family’s Kentucky farm, hiding among weathered markers in the graveyard where ancestors of Mary Todd Lincoln were thought to rest. 

She became friends with Lexington business and civic leader Tom Dupree, Sr. on the tennis court. After Tom’s wife passed away, their friendship became a source of comfort, and they later married. “Tom and I had eight wonderful years together. He showed me the way to embrace nature so that it continues for others.” 

According to Ann Todd, “Tom had a vision of doing something for the world, something that would keep going.” In 2013, Tom and The Nature Conservancy worked together to acquire land on the Kentucky River that became the Dupree Nature Preserve. 

Tom passed away in 2018, but his love for nature endures at the preserve—and in Ann Todd’s memory. “One spring day, I said to Tom, let’s do a picnic at the preserve. I packed sandwiches, and we drove over there. A big storm began rolling in, but we sat on a bench for a few minutes longer, watching the lightning.” 

Knowing Kentucky 

Barry Bingham, Jr., editor and publisher of The Courier-Journal and Louisville Times, loved trees. His daughter, Emily Bingham, remembers her father leading her and her sister on hikes when they were young. If they correctly identified a tree, Barry gave them a nickel. “I earned a few nickels, but the true value of those lessons did not sink in until adulthood. That is when trees came alive for me,” Emily says. 

When the family sold the newspapers in 1986, Barry found renewed purpose through philanthropy and civic engagement. “The Courier Journal used to deliver to readers in all 120 counties, and my dad felt responsible for knowing Kentucky. Serving on the Kentucky Board—eventually chairing it—deepened that knowledge and his love for the state’s many wonders,” continues Emily. 

An accomplished historian and author, Emily and her husband, Stephen Reily, are restoring an oak savanna on their farm in Henry County and have planted more than 10,000 trees so far. That’s a lot of nickels.