It is with overwhelming gratitude that we announce
a memorial fund has been established by Kate Kelley and Willem Roosenburg in memory of their daughter, Selinde Downey Roosenburg, and to protect the forests and fields of southeast Ohio for future generations.
Selinde grew up building fairy houses in the woods, splashing in the creeks, and hiking the hills of rural southeast Ohio. She was majoring in forestry at Ohio State University and planned to transfer to the University of Idaho to specialize in wildland fire management. While working for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, Selinde was mortally injured in March 2021 in a UTV rollover. At the time she was working with a crew on a controlled forest burn at Richland Furnace State Forest.
The funds donated will be used to acquire areas rich with the flora and fauna that Selinde cherished, and which she aspired to serve as a forester and wildlands firefighter. The memorial fund is designed to enable Athens Conservancy to better leverage matching funds for land acquisition, by providing a source of money as a foundation for projects.
The fund was seeded with proceeds from the sale of an oil landscape painting by Daniel Garber, “Houses – Shannonville.” Despite owning the painting for generations, the Roosenburg family decided they wanted a broader community to experience beautiful landscapes, rather than keeping the image of one to themselves.
Gifts to the Selinde Roosenburg Memorial Fund / Athens Conservancy Land Preservation are tax deductible and can be made through the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio here. Selinde Roosenburg Memorial Fund