Each March, thousands of people flock to the Central Platte River Valley to see the annual migration of the Sandhill Cranes, long-legged, crimson-capped creatures that fill the sky with their trumpeting calls, forage in the fields and roost in the shallow river before flying north to their nesting grounds. This natural wonder has been called one of the greatest migrations anywhere in the world.
“The cranes are a captivating species. They’re big, they’re easy to see and watch, and 1.25 million come together in one place. There are not many places where you can see a migration of that scale all at once,” said Matt Fong ’05, director of fundraising and outreach for Crane Trust, a nature and visitor center near Wood River, Nebraska, that welcomes 60,000 bird enthusiasts and nature lovers each year, half of them during Crane season.
“This spring we had someone visit from every single state in the U.S.,” Fong said. “For our overnight VIP program, we had folks from Canada, England and China. It’s really amazing to see people from all over the world come to Central Nebraska.”
Along with his fundraising duties, the business administration and media production graduate works to draw national attention to the annual phenomenon. In March, CBS Sunday Morning sent a videographer to film the cranes for “Moment in Nature,” the closing segment of the iconic program. Smithsonian Magazine ran a feature story.
Fong said the public’s fascination is easy to understand. Sandhill Cranes stand four-feet-tall and boast a wingspan of six to seven feet. Gray-plumed with a patch of red on their heads, the cranes mate for life and engage in elaborate dancing rituals with leaps, calls and elegant bows. A flock of more than 500 Whooping Cranes, a highly endangered species, join the massive crane migration each year.
Visitors on guided tours watch the cranes from riverfront blinds. The Trust’s “high touch” VIP program offers overnight lodging in cottages and suites, catered meals and sunrise and sunset viewing from heated blinds. The past two years, Hastings College reserved a block of rooms for alumni and special guests.
“So many visitors say this trip has been on their bucket list for a decade,” Fong said. “How wonderful is it to spend time with someone who’s fulfilling a bucket list item?”
Beyond crane season, the Trust welcomes visitors and educates the community year-round. As chief fundraiser, Fong visits donors and foundations and prepares grant proposals and solicitation pieces. He connects with the public and oversees special events and membership services.
His team includes Hastings College alumni Sarah Nottage-Tacey ’04, development and special events coordinator, and Matt Urbanski ’23, a Crane Trust Fellow before being hired as marketing coordinator. Venn Wood ’26, a junior from Lincoln, Nebraska, majoring in wildlife biology, will intern at Crane Trust this summer.
Protecting the environment, serving the community
Raised on a farm near Lexington, Nebraska, Fong has been drawn to the natural world since childhood. He gardens, landscapes and spent several years on the Hastings Tree Board. After graduating from Hastings College, he coordinated conferences and seminars for the Arbor Day Foundation, a global nonprofit dedicated to planting trees.
During a 15-year tenure at Hastings College as director of alumni development, chief of staff and eventually associate vice president for external relations, Fong continued to find ways to connect with nature. He served on the Arboretum Committee, which oversees tree planting on the 120-acre campus and, with Emeritus Professor Will Locke ’61, started a Legacy Tree program that allows supporters to sponsor a tree in memory or in honor of a person or group.
In November, Fong will complete his second four-year term on the City Council. A longtime board member for The Lark, a local nonprofit and performance space, he helped found the Hastings Young Professionals and received Leadership Hastings’ 2022 Outstanding Alumni Award.
“Kaleena (Reeves Fong ’05) and I want to give back to the community, and Hastings is a place we love very much,” he said. “We enjoy being part of things that make the community better.”
A life journey rooted in nature
At Crane Trust, Fong has found the perfect environment to grow and nurture his lifelong passion for nature.
His workplace is a stunning visitor center amid 10,000 acres of wildlife habitat and prairie ecosystem. Working in jeans most days (a perk of the job), he takes visitors and supporters down a pathway flanked by a pollinator garden and a small research herd of American Bison, leading to a 35-foot observation tower, two picturesque footbridges crossing the Platte River and 10 miles of hiking trails. And, for one month each year, he welcomes more than a million majestic cranes to the shallow waterways and shifting sandbars just a few hundred feet from his office.
“The arc of your life is so interesting,” he said. “I vividly remember sitting at my grandmother’s table, looking at her bird book and trying to identify what species were at the bird feeder. I’ve always had a passion for birds, and I’ve always cared about the outdoors and the environment. All those pieces of my life have come together. I feel like this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
