Longtime area resident Christine Klessig was presented with the Hive Connector award by Wisconsin Women in Conservation (WiWiC) at its Spring Gathering April 25. More than 100 women attended the educational event held at Sentry World in Stevens Point. The award is given to an individual adept at networking, whom others go to for information and answers, and who is an example of bringing women together in conservation.

Klessig owns 127 acres of land in the Town of New Hope adjacent to the Tomorrow River. She and her late husband, Lowell, both passionate about protecting the Tomorrow River watershed, enrolled their property in Portage County’s first conservation easement more than 20 years ago. Partnering with North Central Conservancy Trust (NCCT), they sponsored workshops aimed at helping others establish protective easements. A passthrough fund was endowed by them at the Community Foundation of Portage County for that purpose. Christine remains active in NCCT and recounted her land’s conservation journey as a speaker at NCCT’s annual meeting last fall.

Wisconsin Women in Conservation began in 2021. Klessig said she was immediately impressed with its mission to connect women with the resources and relationships needed to achieve stewardship goals for their land. She signed on as a Coach for the central Wisconsin region and sponsored a Field Day at New Hopestead Farm in 2023. She will host another event in September about the role of bats as pollinators. A tour of bat houses on her property will be featured along with funding opportunities available through conservation agencies.

WiWiC is a Wisconsin Farmers Union collaboration with three other agriculture advocacy organizations. The initial five-year project was extremely successful and offered a combination of field days, webinars, mentorships, and peer-to-peer learning events. In 2023, the group won the Wisconsin Top Rural Development Initiative Award from Wisconsin Rural Partners. Three more regions have been added to WiWiC’s conservation map in the state with offshoot collaborations taking root in Minnesota and Michigan. For more information, go to WiWiC.org.

Christine Klessig