{"id":111,"date":"2019-01-05T16:58:00","date_gmt":"2019-01-05T20:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/?p=111"},"modified":"2021-01-04T15:01:42","modified_gmt":"2021-01-04T19:01:42","slug":"leaving-legacy-darlington-cassilly-siblings-permanently-preserve-neighboring-properties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/leaving-legacy-darlington-cassilly-siblings-permanently-preserve-neighboring-properties\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaving a Legacy in the Heart of Darlington"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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News<\/h1>

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Ruben Pereida Photography<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Leaving a Legacy in the Heart of Darlington: Cassilly Siblings Permanently Preserve Neighboring Properties<\/h2>\n\n\nJanuary 5, 2019\n\n\n\n
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I\u00a0enjoy watching an approaching storm<\/strong> roll across the valley. Distant lightning on the horizon and the grass in the field moving like an ocean. I enjoy seeing thousands of fireflies decorate the tree canopy in the woods on summer nights. I enjoy listening to the rhythmic calls of the peepers evolve to the bellows of bull frogs as the season passes,\u201d reflects Andrew Cassilly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was an easy decision for siblings Veronica \u201cRoni\u201d Cassilly and Andrew Cassilly, along with their families, to donate conservation easements on their neighboring properties in Darlington.Roni says, \u201cWe wanted to ensure that generations to come can find the peace and joy that we have received from this property.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew and Amy Cassilly were blessed to make their home on Deths Ford Road 29 years ago. Andrew\u2019s sister Roni purchased an adjoining property on Harmony Church Road the next year and later built her home with Carey Marzicola there. Collectively the two properties total 17 acres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The properties are mostly forested, providing important buffers to Graveyard Run, a tributary of Deer Creek. Roni also keeps goats on the property, which she uses to manage invasive species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The land has helped to shape the Cassilly family\u2019s lives and values. Both Andrew and Roni recognize how lucky they are to have grown up roaming the Harford countryside.Andrew reflects, \u201cIn my youth, I could walk the rocky shores of the bay during low tide and not see another soul. I could launch my canoe in Deer Creek and camp on the isolated islands off Havre de Grace.\u201d He feels fortunate that his children had many of the same experiences but recognizes that our population is growing and the landscape is changing rapidly as a result.\u201cLand preservation is our only hope of saving the things about our county that make it so special,\u201d Andrew notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roni feels strongly that people have an innate need to be connected to nature. She is worried that so many children are not spending time in the forests and streams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The desire to share open space with future generations motivated the Cassillys to permanently preserve their properties with a donated conservation easement to the Harford Land Trust and Maryland Environmental Trust. Under the current zoning regulations, no additional houses could be built on the properties. But, as Roni notes, \u201cYou never know how and when the zoning codes will change.\u201d The Cassillys want to ensure that the land remains open, regardless of future regulatory changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs I reflect on the privileged life I have been blessed to live, my priorities have adjusted with age\u2026 I realize the most important thing I can leave my children is the open space they have come to know as home,\u201d Andrew says.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cassilly siblings and their families donate conservation easements on their neighboring properties in Darlington. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2798,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-success-stories","tag-preserved-land"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/roni-cassilly-tom-pelton-IMG_9536-1.jpg",731,731,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/roni-cassilly-tom-pelton-IMG_9536-1-400x400.jpg",400,400,true],"medium":["https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/roni-cassilly-tom-pelton-IMG_9536-1.jpg",731,731,false],"medium_large":["https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/roni-cassilly-tom-pelton-IMG_9536-1.jpg",731,731,false],"large":["https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/roni-cassilly-tom-pelton-IMG_9536-1.jpg",731,731,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/roni-cassilly-tom-pelton-IMG_9536-1.jpg",731,731,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/roni-cassilly-tom-pelton-IMG_9536-1.jpg",731,731,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Harford Land Trust","author_link":"https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/author\/hlt\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Cassilly siblings and their families donate conservation easements on their neighboring properties in Darlington.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5301,"href":"https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions\/5301"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praxis.shawnyoung.com\/web\/hlt\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}