2024 New York Land Conservation Conference

The Witness to Injustice / KAIROS Blanket Exercise™ is a program of Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation (NOON) and is a unique three-hour interactive group teaching tool. It uses participatory education to foster truth, understanding, and respect between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the part of the world now known as the United States; especially in the territory stewarded by people of the Onondaga Nation and other Haudenosaunee peoples. When done in person, blankets cover the floor, representing the various Indigenous Nations of this continent (Turtle Island). The Exercise helps participants deepen their understanding about the European colonization of Turtle Island and the denial of Indigenous peoples’ nationhood and the (many times illegal) acquisition of land throughout U.S. history up to present time. After the exercise, facilitators share resources to foster continued learning, and participants have the opportunity to share with the group what they learned and felt.

Instructors:

• Buffy Curtis, Witness to Injustice/KAIROS Blanket Exercise, Neighbors of Onondaga Nation (NY)

• Hazel Powless, Witness to Injustice/KAIROS Blanket Exercise, Neighbors of Onondaga Nation (NY)

• Liseli Haines, Witness to Injustice/KAIROS Blanket Exercise, Neighbors of Onondaga Nation (NY)

• Curtis Waterman, Witness to Injustice/KAIROS Blanket Exercise, Neighbors of Onondaga Nation (NY)

• Douglass (Digs) DeCandia, Witness to Injustice/KAIROS Blanket Exercise, Neighbors of Onondaga Nation (NY)

• Sarah Howard, Capacity Building Coordinator, SUNY ESF Center for Native Peoples and the Environment (NY)

The goal of community conservation is often to ensure that more people in more places can experience nature and the outdoors in a meaningful way and build an appreciation of, and sense of belonging to, the land, water, and their community. We often think about community conservation in terms of land and programs. However, it is the location, experiences on the land and relationships that are built and supported, using programs and land, that have a much bigger impact. This workshop will discuss how land trusts are meaningfully engaging new communities, visitors, and partnerships through lands and programs that focus on diverse, and/or better, user experiences and relationships. Representatives from the Agricultural Stewardship Association and Genesee Land Trust will discuss their evolving approach to community lands, community engagement in urban and rural settings, and their approach to assessing lands to make strategic investments in expanding the relevance of conservation.

Instructors:

• Renee Bouplon, Executive Director, Agricultural Stewardship Association (NY)

• Judy Anderson, Principal, Community Consultants (NY)

• Karen Strong, Karen Strong, Principal, Strong Outcomes, LLC (NY)

• Lorna Wright, Executive Director, Genesee Land Trust (NY)

Community forests offer a multifaceted conservation model that emphasizes the importance of land conservation and further provides Land Trusts the opportunity to expand acquisition strategies that foster unique partnerships through community engagement. Join the Open Space Institute as they lead a facilitated forum and guided hike on intermediate level trails with Saratoga County, Saratoga PLAN, and the U.S. Forest Service at the recently acquired, county owned Graphite Range Community Forest in Wilton, New York. Beginning at the trailhead, the project partners will share conservation strategies implemented in the acquisition of the community forest through local government support and the utilization of U.S Forest Service Community Forest Program funds. Participants will then take part in a guided hike across the 204-acre property showcasing the diversity of its northern hardwood forests, tumbling creeks, historic foundations and graphite mines, and over 6 miles of multi-use recreational trails managed through community-driven stewardship.

Hosted by Open Space Institute

Space is limited, pre-registration is required.

As we make forever decisions, we strive to engage the people who will carry out and make these decisions in the future. In this session you’ll hear directly from Next Generation Council members, a board chair and three land trust leaders about how to engage a critical group for every land trust: people under 40. You’ll leave with nuts-and-bolts action steps, samples of charters to adapt for your use, advice on sustaining a group once you start one, a realistic expectation of time and expense involved and a ton of inspiration from panelists who will share their own experiences with Next Gen Councils. We’ll also cover mistakes made and lessons learned as we’ve engaged in this initiative. Time will be reserved for audience questions.

Instructors:

• Kathy Woughter, Philanthropy & Outreach Coordinator, Adirondack Land Trust (NY)

• Stephen Burrington, Board Chair, Adirondack Land Trust (NY)

• Giulia Casella, Fundraising and Events Manager, Lake George Land Conservancy (NY)

• Anna Gomez Domenech, Communications Director, Saratoga PLAN (NY)

• Naishaly Velez Galan, Next Gen Member, Adirondack Land Trust (NY)

• Jessica Grant, Next Gen Member, Adirondack Land Trust (NY)

• Carlie Leary, Next Gen Member, Adirondack Land Trust (NY)

• Nicholle Gotham, Assistant Director of Development, Adirondack Council (NY)

Major gift fundraising — intentionally cultivating interest in conservation outcomes and asking donors to give based on that interest — is at once the most difficult and the most important fundraising land trusts can do. Standing in our way are barriers largely of our own creation: intimidation, fear and competitive distractions. In this workshop, we’ll demystify major gift cultivation and solicitation using a recently completed capital campaign as a case study. We’ll talk about what needs to be done before asking and provide tools to help you succeed. We’ll emphasize the need to be human over being “slick,” discovery over selling and the importance of rehearsal. And we’ll have some fun, too, using a series of interactive exercises to help you practice.

Instructors:

• David Allen, Principal Consultant, Development for Conservation, LLC (WI)

• Jim Bonesteel, Executive Director, Rensselaer Plateau Alliance, Inc. (NY)

The Center for Native Peoples and the Environment in partnership with the Open Space Institute and Indigenous partners have curated a toolkit and hosted three full-day virtual trainings, generously supported by the Alliance's New York Conservation Partnership Program grants, in a geographically sensitive curriculum to provide resources for New York land trusts to improve partnerships with Indigenous Nations. Open to staff and board members with a demonstrated commitment to Indigenous work and are interested in further developing an understanding of the issues facing Indigenous communities and to build relationships with their regions’ Indigenous communities, the workshop will also serve as a subsequent, follow-up engagement for those land trusts that participated in the previous trainings. This effort will elevate engagement with Indigenous land issues so land trusts can begin to put Indigenous people on their boards, partner on restoration projects, amend management plans and easement templates and take on land back deals.

Instructors:

• Neil Patterson, Assistant Director, Center for Native Peoples and the Environment (NY)

• Jessica Watson, Conservation Communities Director, Open Space Institute (NY)

New York state’s forests sequester and store carbon, making them vital for mitigating climate change. Join this presentation to learn more about forest carbon dynamics, how managing for forest regeneration contributes to climate mitigation and how land managers can participate in state initiatives to meet NY's ambitious climate goals for reforestation and afforestation. Programs covered in this presentation include the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, Regenerate NY and the NY Connects Grant.

Instructors:

• J.J. Kathe, Resiliency Planting Coordinator, Climate Forestry Unit, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

• Molly Hassett, Climate Forestry and Carbon Unit, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

• Ian Crisman, Private Lands, Climate Forestry and Carbon Unit, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

• Scott Moxham, Private Lands, Utilization and Climate Section, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Are your trail markers visible to someone with colorblindness? Do you know the cross slope of your easiest trail? If these are questions you’re thinking about for your nature preserves, come join us for a panel discussion on creative approaches to improving outdoor access for all visitors. This panel consists of land managers and communications staff who are developing and implementing innovative changes that increase public access at nature preserves. Following the panel we will have an opportunity for audience members to share approaches to increasing access before a Q&A session.

Instructors:

• Kate Berdan, Preserve Manager, The Nature Conservancy (NY)

• Alison Agresta, Stewardship Coordinator, The Nature Conservancy (NY)

• Sarah Hoffman, Communications and Outreach Manager, Lake George Land Conservancy (NY)

• Kevin Farrell, Director of Conservation Programs, Genesee Land Trust (NY)

• Sarah Walsh, Associate Director, Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy (NY)

The workshop would offer a facilitated panel discussion of four practitioners working in urban areas with a variety of communities on relevant issues, including community gardens, access to nature and food, and ways to protect and restore natural resources. The discussion will highlight the panels' experiences and lessons to offer attendees who are either already working in or contemplating working in urban areas practical pointers and guidance for this aspect of conservation work. The panelists will discuss how they undertake urban conservation and engagement, including the places where they work, who they work with, how they connect and partner with their communities, and the outcomes that they hope to achieve. They will also compare and contrast urban and large landscape scale conservation work and challenge attendees to avoid rigidity and "cookie cutter" approaches to this community-centered work. The workshop will conclude with a Q&A period, during which attendees may have their questions answered by the panelists.

Instructors:

• Racquel Forrester, Board Vice President, Brooklyn Queens Land Trust (NY)

• Sylvin Ashbrook, Land Stewardship Coordinator, Grassroots Gardens Western New York (NY)

• Ruby Olisemeka, Director of Urban Engagement, Westchester Land Trust (NY)

• Helen Dumas, Director of Genesee River Alliance and Urban Programming, Genessee Land Trust (NY)

In the nonprofit sector, we’ve all heard some inspiring stories and thought, “why can’t our land trust do that?” But what makes a great story? And more importantly, what makes for great storytelling? Storytelling is one of our most important and versatile interpersonal communications methods, and no matter where you sit within your land trust, storytelling is something we all do every day. And like any skill, it's something we should all practice. Join Bold Bison for this highly interactive and participatory workshop where we'll learn new techniques for engaging listeners with great storytelling and practice telling our own conservation stories to each other. Anyone who talks about the work of their land trust to friends, colleagues or decision-makers is welcome at this workshop — and that includes you!

Instructors:

• Patrick Williams, Director of Creative Services, Bold Bison Communications & Consulting (IL)

• Brandon Hayes, Founder and Principal, Bold Bison Communications & Consulting (IL)

Inspired at Rally, Rensselaer Plateau Alliance and Genesee Valley Conservancy each embarked on a new effort to grow their legacy giving via a matching challenge campaign. Hear from each on their campaign structure, strategy and outcome, see their materials and learn what future work they are doing to continue their legacy giving efforts. Joining these organizations will be fundraising consultant David Allen who led the inspirational session at Rally who will share the experiences of The Land Conservancy of New Jersey and Mississippi Valley Conservancy’s matching campaigns.

Instructors:

• Ben Gajewski, Executive Director, Genesee Valley Conservancy (NY)

• Bay Habshey, Operations and Development Manager, Rensselaer Plateau Alliance (NY)

• David Allen, Principal Consultant, Development for Conservation (WI)

Join other stewardship staff and volunteers for a lightly structured discussion and to network with colleagues across the state. Bring your questions as well as success stories!

In this interactive session, we’ll explore ways Development and Communications teams can work across the departmental divide to create content, cultivate relationships, and of course, raise funds! Drawing from case studies, we will examine how social media, print newsletters, emails and more can support a wide range of goals including fundraising for conservation projects and annual fund campaigns, donor engagement and audience growth. Working in small groups, we'll identify opportunities to collaborate and offer creative solutions to work with colleagues, board members and volunteers to generate multi-channel marketing and fundraising campaigns and steward donors.

Instructors:

• Julia King, Digital Communications Coordinator, Peconic Land Trust (NY)

• Olivia Waterhouse, Donor Relations Coordinator, Peconic Land Trust (NY)

• Karissa Raynor, Annual Giving and Grant Coordinator, Peconic Land Trust (NY)

Conservation easement portfolios are aging and its showing. Without intervention, this situation may undermine the enforce-ability and original intent of these projects. This workshop will look at ways to assess the durability of your land trust’s conservation easement portfolio, embrace easement amendments and help your land trust reassess its approach to endowing this work in perpetuity.

Instructors:

• Chris Jage, Conservation Program Director, Adirondack Land Trust (NY)

• Becca Halter, Stewardship & GIS Manager, Adirondack Land Trust (NY)

• Derek Rogers, Stewardship Manager, Adirondack Land Trust (NY)

• Land Trust Accreditation Commission representative

This session will offer stewardship insights into the often overlooked subject of discovering and remedying conditions discovered before a conservation easement acquisition that would constitute a violation of the conservation easement if recorded. We will walk through a recent case study and discuss the practical implications and lessons learned. The second half of this workshop will discuss the fundamentals of the impermissible private benefit doctrine and what this really means for a land trust’s day to day violations practice – both pre- and post-acquisition. We will offer practical tips for applying the doctrine and discuss hypotheticals relevant to pre- and post-acquisition violations.

Instructors:

• Cara Gentry, Coordinator of Land Stewardship, Wallkill Valley Land Trust (NY)

• Ailla Wasstrom-Evans, Conservation Defense Fund and Education Manager, Land Trust Alliance (DC)

Solar development in New York state has seen exponential growth driven by NYS Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act requiring that 70% of New York’s electricity generation come from renewable sources by 2030. Most people understand the push for renewable energy to replace fossil fuels and combat climate change but there can be pushback from stakeholders with concerns regarding land-use conflicts and environmental impacts like agriculture and water resources. This panel will bring together stakeholders from American Farmland Trust, Blue Wave Energy, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and NYSERDA, to discuss how solar development may work in parallel with land conservation to protect and conserve these vital resources.

Instructors:

• Camille Warner, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NY)

• Linda Garrett, New York Regional Director, American Farmland Trust (NY)

• Julie Melançon, Chief, Green Energy Management Section, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NY)

• Jesse Robertson-DuBois, Director of Sustainable Solar Development, BlueWave (MA)