CEF Origins
The Conservation Endowment Fund 501c3 non profit (CEF) was founded by John Taft in 1981 out of his love and dedication to nature and its preservation. Taft donated 264 acres of Santa Ana Canyon in the foothills above Lake Casitas to CEF which now operates as the Taft Gardens & Nature Preserve.
From 1994 - 2001, CEF was in partnership with International Center for Earth Concerns and hosted dozens of events every year. The ICEC brought in groups of school children of all ages from West Los Angeles to Santa Barbara to participate in guided nature tours on the property. At the Taft Gardens & Nature Preserve, ICEC cared for up to 100 parrots with their Humane Society of the United States supported Bird Rescue Program.
The Taft-Nicholson Center
In 2001, CEF turned its efforts towards Lakeview, Montana to build an Environmental Education Center in the Centennial Valley. After purchasing and renovating Lakeview, Montana in the heart of the Centennial Valley, the CEF donated the property as a gift to the University of Utah and established the Taft-Nicholson Center for Environmental Humanities Education. This Center is fully operating today with courses such as “Writing the Landscape”, “Ecology of Residency” and “Environmental Sustainability Studies Capstone” where students from the University of Utah use the Taft Nicholson Center as a field study location to enhance their Environmental Humanities Masters education.