Nancy F. Seeley’s legacy at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida is both personal and profound. “I can’t ever remember a time in my life when she didn’t care about nature,” recalls her daughter, Dana Seeley Hayse. That early ethic showed up everywhere: as a Girl Scout leader, family trash clean-ups for an ice cream cone reward, and decades of water and land stewardship. In Naples, Nancy followed her mother, Mildred Ferguson, into service as one of the Conservancy’s longest-tenured volunteers, happiest “working the docks,” supporting electric boat tours and building a tight-knit crew of fellow Conservancy captains. And just like Nancy’s mother, honored through the Ferguson Learning Lab, Nancy believed education and outdoor experiences were the most powerful ways to inspire protection of the places she loved.
To honor that commitment, the Leonard C. and Mildred F. Ferguson Foundation committed $1 million to the Now & Forever Endowment Campaign to strengthen environmental education for generations. It complements the longstanding Ferguson $1.2 million endowment that powers immersive programs like Watery Wonders field trip experiences and on-site learning. This support will sustain a share of core student programming at the Nature Center, soon to expand and inspire more future conservationists through the transformation of the John & Carol Walter Nature Experience. This gift allows access for these students to remain discounted or free, the very outcomes Nancy championed. Endowment support to the Now & Forever Campaign, like this one, helps secure the Conservancy’s future by providing steady support for a third of our work. Continued annual giving will support the other two-thirds of our teams’ needs to carry out the mission of protecting paradise.
The Leonard C. and Mildred F. Ferguson Foundation investment reflects both the opportunities it creates for students and a family’s commitment to honoring their loved one’s life’s work. “Truly, this creates a lasting legacy in honor of our mom and our grandmother. The family’s name will forever be remembered as passionate environmental advocates and children’s education lovers.” Dana adds that her mother would tell every child exactly what she told us: “Get out there and enjoy it, but also work to preserve it.”
With deep gratitude, we celebrate Nancy and Mildred’s years of service, leadership, and examples. Thank you to Dana, Lynne Seeley, Ron Seeley, and the Seeley–Ferguson family for answering the call to protect paradise.
