Becoming the change we want to see

The Land Trust Alliance joined organizations across the country last year in affirming our commitment to addressing the systemic inequities that exist in American society, including the field of land conservation. At that time, Alliance President and CEO Andrew Bowman described the creation of a task force of Alliance staff and board members charged with outlining a roadmap for bold actions by the Alliance inspired by our core values and beliefs, driven by intentional outcomes and committed to transformational change.

The task force built upon the work of Common Ground, a listening and learning initiative focused on gathering recommendations from a diverse range of partners and community-based institutions around specific actions the Alliance could take to build a more equitable and inclusive land conservation movement. Common Ground represents a fundamental move away from community engagement as an add-on, extra or siloed program. Through this initiative, the Alliance heard loud and clear the need for an intentional shift toward an approach in which community engagement and the application of the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion are incorporated into every aspect of land conservation.

Building on 10 years of commitment to community conservation, the task force drafted a Common Ground Implementation Framework— which was adopted by the Alliance Board of Directors in December 2020 — to establish the foundation for the Alliance’s key community-centered conservation and diversity, equity and inclusion priorities and activities for the years ahead. This framework is built around five focal areas:

• implementing operational changes at the Alliance;

• improving programmatic offerings and tools for land trusts;

• bringing an equity lens to the Alliance’s grantmaking;

• cultivating new and non-traditional partnerships; and

• improving Alliance communications with new audiences.

A staff-led, cross-departmental Common Ground Implementation Team was convened early this year to operationalize that plan, and we write today to provide you with an update on how that work progresses. Our team is now working with staff from across the organization to refine Alliance program plans and budgets for 2022 and beyond, all while continuing to connect with new partners and pursuing funding opportunities that stand to expand the Alliance’s — and our entire community’s — capacity to fully implement community-centered conservation. As this work continues, we offer you here a selection of early learnings and observations from various projects the Alliance has prioritized.

We recognize it is incumbent upon us to develop deep expertise in diversity, equity and inclusion among the Alliance staff and board and to live those values. As one Common Ground interviewee said to us, “Be the change you want to see. You want inclusivity? You want diversity? Do the necessary work.” This is why the Alliance has initiated diversity, equity and inclusion training for its staff and board members and we will offer more advanced, ongoing opportunities for learning and growth in the years ahead. In addition, we are adding staff with expertise in this space, starting with the current recruitment of a chief program officer who will build and hire personnel for a new community-centered conservation program at the Alliance.

Meanwhile, we continue to emphasize the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion principles with our members. This year, we have again made inclusion an overarching theme at Rally: The National Land Conservation Conference. We are proud to have nine students join us at Rally through this year’s Scholars for Conservation Leadership Program. And beyond Rally, we are committed to highlighting community-centered conservation and DEI in upcoming webinars and in every issue of Saving Land magazine.

In addition, we are making new efforts to support land trusts as they become more welcoming and inclusive. For instance, just last month we debuted Open to All: A Disability Inclusion Guide for Land Trusts to help land trusts remove barriers that prevent the full inclusion of people with disabilities in land trust programs and on nature preserves.

That emphasis on inclusion informs other projects that are underway and that will help land trusts welcome and serve more communities and people in their work. Working with outside experts, we are creating an adaptable framework that each land trust can tailor to its unique diversity, equity and inclusion goals, further strengthening its work in community-centered conservation. We are also making progress on a project that will explore and teach the history of land conservation in the U.S. and its role in systemic racism, disenfranchisement and other forms of discrimination — an essential perspective that will enable our community to acknowledge past wrongs and avoid future missteps.

These are just a few of the projects the Alliance has undertaken; more will certainly emerge as we learn and identify additional needs. Like so many other organizations, the Alliance is on a journey of continuous learning. The organization as a whole — and the many individuals who comprise that whole — will constantly assess and reflect. And to ensure our changes are authentic and lasting, we understand that we cannot rush the change we want to see.

We are committed to being transparent and vulnerable about our journey. We know mistakes are inevitable as we learn and grow. And we are aware that many people would like to see the Alliance move faster. While we are also impatient and eager to deliver for our land trust members, we are seeking to balance a desire for action with a determination to be thoughtful and inclusive.

With all that said, we ask our community to hold us accountable — please reach out to any Alliance staff or board member to ask questions and share your feedback. As our journey continues, the Alliance will continue to share more about the steps we are taking to create a more equitable and inclusive community. Because while this journey is not easy, it is essential.