Building & Landscape Conservation
OUR ANNUAL "PASS THE HAT" FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN
Fundraising Goal: $75,000
Click to Make a Donation via Your Clearing User AccountPass the Hat
The Clearing’s Pass the Hat Campaign is an annual fund-raising event for special projects at The Clearing. Beginning in 2009, this campaign has raised over $700,000! This has helped support many projects, including the historic building and landscape renovations, the construction of a new forge and metals studio, a complete kitchen renovation, improved trail accessibility and so much more!
2025: Building & Landscape Conservation
This year’s campaign will focus on raising $75,000 for some much needed repair and preventative maintenance on significant Clearing structures and landscape elements. This will include substantial window repair, significant log structure repair and select tree removal in historic meadows and open spaces. Work on these essential projects has already started and is scheduled to continue into 2026.
So, once again, we’re Passing the Hat and inviting you to join our building & landscape conservation efforts by making a contribution, in whatever amount, today!
2009Root CellarRenovation
2010Schoolhouse Mural Recreation
2012Lodge Kitchen Garden Restoration
2017New Forge & Metals Studio
2018Visitor Center Road & Parking Updates
2020 New Kitchen
2021-2022Flagstone Walks
2023Natural History Interpretive Trail
2024Building Conservation
Safeguarding Our Extraordinary Heritage...
Dear Friends,
Thank you all for your ongoing support of The Clearing. In 2025, we celebrate 90 years of Jens Jensen’s Clearing, his vision and philosophies as we plan for the future.
We made some very good progress in “spiffing” up some of the property’s building in 2024, in anticipation of The Clearing’s 90th anniversary year. This included cleaning both the roof and the beautiful stone exterior of the iconic Lodge, cleaning the roof and wooden gables of the West Dorm building, and cleaning the Jensen Center roof and exterior stucco so the building could get refreshed with new paint and stain. We also replaced the failing patio door and window package in the Jensen Center classroom and were able to complete the cleaning of the Workshop Building’s high-ceilinged porch and west wall, among other things. We also had professionals take down a very large, dead ash tree earlier this spring that was threatening the east side of the campus area. A successful number of projects, many of which you helped support.
In 2025, we want to continue this important large-scale project work. We are asking you to assist The Clearing by considering a contribution toward the work we think is important to safeguard the structural integrity of our buildings, some of which are on the National and State Registers of Historic Places. The plan is not to update in any way, which may compromise our historic designations, but rather to repair and clean them to get them back to a state similar to when Jensen first built the structures (such as the Schoolhouse, 1938).
We staff members continue to take our caretaker role very seriously by preserving the extraordinary heritage of this special place. You, The Clearing community, continue to be a great supporter, and we hope you find a bit of excitement in continuing to protect Jens Jensen’s legacy.
Thank you for your support. We appreciate you very much!
Tammy Musiel
Executive Director
