Reshaping Engagement

During this long, strange time of COVID-19, many land trusts have discovered a surprising truth: Some of the changes they were forced to make in 2020 are helping them forge stronger bonds with their communities.

At the Land Trust Alliance Communicators’ Network online meeting in October, members shared dozens of creative responses to socially distanced community engagement. The ideas themselves were exciting — but the possibilities for lasting connections were even more so. Lindsy Crutchfield was overjoyed by what she was hearing. The newest staff member of the Alliance communications team, Crutchfield sat in on her first Communicators’ Network meeting and said, “My small-town soul is so enlightened right now! I love everything we are hearing.” Here are four land trust examples demonstrating how COVID-19 adaptations have helped them increase accessibility and connect with new people.

Washington state’s Whidbey and Camano Islands are home to retirees, a naval base and avid cyclists, among others. Members of the accredited Whidbey Camano Land Trust tend to fall into one of these demographics, but the land trust is determined to engage a fuller spectrum of the community, including younger families.

“We strive to have a positive presence in our community for conservation. Most people recognize that and want to be a part of it whether they can donate or not,” says Outreach Manager Jennifer Hajny.

Now, of course, everything looks different. Even the land trust’s signature community engagement event — the Sea, Trees & Pie Bike Ride — needed to change. Typically at this one-day event, riders choose the short, medium or long course around protected properties with gorgeous views and diverse habitats, including rare prairies. At the end of the ride, participants are rewarded with a slice of Whidbey Pies’ locally famous dessert.

Hajny was determined not to cancel this year’s ride. Inspiration struck after she did a virtual run hosted by another organization. “Participants can do a virtual run wherever they want to,” Hajny says. “We could use the virtual run model, although we still wanted people to ride by the protected properties and see their beauty.”

So the one-day event instead ran from July 10 to August 31. Riders signed up for single or family tickets (kids of all ages were free), picked their day, promised to send in selfies and received a packet with land trust information, course maps, birding tips, stickers— and a voucher for an entire pie since slices wouldn’t be distributed on-site.

The land trust spread the word through social media, local bike clubs and the local newspaper. “Our previous record was 100 riders. This year, we had 462!” Hajny says. “Nearly 200 had never engaged with us before. We got a great mix of participants. Many were exposed to the Whidbey Camano Land Trust for the first time.”

Hajny called riders’ feedback a silver lining of COVID: “They loved seeing farmland, prairie and beach. People reported all the birds they’d seen. They felt connected with the land and saw firsthand how we protect and steward treasured properties.” The land trust calls the ride a “friendraiser,” not a fundraiser—and this year, it filled its purpose more deeply than ever. “Will we do it again this way since the feedback was so great? Or go back to one day? Maybe we’ll do both.” 

“Our community is Southcentral Alaska. It’s a big service area,” says Libby Kugel, communications and administration manager for the accredited Great Land Trust. “Basically, it’s anyone who loves the land, outdoor recreation, healthy habitats and all the things that make Alaskans proud of where they’re from.”

As part of its strategic plan, the GLT team seeks out “legacy projects”—those that protect habitat, provide access to public lands, support quality of life and align with local priorities. The goal: thriving human and natural communities, now and generations from now.

Several months after COVID-19 took hold in the United States, GLT was ready to open its long-awaited Swan Lake Boardwalk and Trail. Swan Lake is one of a series of legacy projects on a 1,000-acre property GLT purchased in 2014 as an addition to a state game refuge. The majority of the trail had actually been built a few years before, but public access had to wait until the housing development at its entrance was completed.

GLT would normally celebrate a new trail by inviting funders and community members to a grand opening and ribbon cutting. That, of course, wasn’t an option in 2020. Neither was announcing the opening with no community interaction.

“We wanted people to go and use the trail,” Kugel says, “but we also wanted there to be some sort of exchange between us and the visitors.”

They decided to launch a do-it-yourself grand opening that lasted the month of June. GLT pushed the event via social media, and the word kept spreading. “We asked people to visit the trail, take a picture there, send it to us, and we’ll send you a GLT sticker designed by a local artist,” Kugel explained.

Not only did the community visit and send selfies—they sent GLT notes about their experiences. One such note came from community member Bridgette Preston: “Thanks so much for your efforts making this site accessible to all! We thoroughly enjoyed our hike, seeing the wildflowers, swatting the mosquitos and experiencing a bit of Alaska we’d never seen in our 40 years as Valley residents!”

The DIY format made the event accessible to a broader swath of the community. “In person, GLT regulars and funders would have come, but maybe not people who were new to GLT,” Kugel says. “This way, we had different people and probably more people. Having that exchange between us and visitors worked really well.”

Geneva Lake Conservancy, an accredited land trust in southeast Wisconsin, faced the now-familiar question: Do we cancel? They adjusted their children’s programming and other outings, but they canceled their annual spring and summer events. “We were concerned about the limited engagement with donors,” Executive Director Karen Yancey says. “We talked about ideas to re-engage the whole community, not only donors.”

Yancey proposed an idea that, at first glance, might seem counterintuitive for a land trust. “A previous land trust I worked for used a road rally for fundraising. At first, I thought, ‘Do cars and conservation mix?’ It was interesting how we changed our minds about it.”

GLC board and staff saw the potential. The four GLC nature preserves (three of which are relatively new) make a rough circle around Walworth County, providing a perfect route. Participants of the Road Rally to GLC Preserves started at the GLC office and then drove to each preserve, where GLC staff and volunteers awaited each car with activities and plenty of hand sanitizer.

“We offered a 15-minute hike at each property and a playing card. People could build up a poker hand as they completed the route,” Yancey says. “Some people enjoyed the hike, others the poker, others driving their classic cars (or family favorite). The route ended with a socially distanced picnic dinner at our headquarters. We had something for everyone.” G

LC had hoped for about 70 people; more than 100 participated. About a dozen people who came for the cars were introduced to GLC’s conservation work for the first time, Yancey says.

“The event connected the conservancy, community and land,” she says. “We were able to show people the locations of our preserves and show that we’re open to the entire county community. It really re-engaged people. They expressed gratitude that we provided a safe event. People were so excited to see each other, even if they were 6 feet apart!”

The road rally’s success gave GLC a new way to think about its annual winter event. “We learned to look outside the box. Except when there’s a state quarantine, we can still hold in-person events,” Yancey says.

Instead of canceling the 2020 Holly Ball, fundraising committee members are hosting dinner for small groups of family and close friends who feel comfortable being physically together. GLC promises “a delicious holiday dinner prepared by one of our talented area chefs” to be delivered, then participants will watch the silent auction, awards presentation and musical entertainment via Zoom. It’s a bright way to close out a year that has had its share of dark times.

As part of its 2019 strategic planning process, the accredited land trust serving Columbia County, New York, set a goal to “reach a better cross-section of the community.” In 2020, the Columbia Land Conservancy’s Where the Wild Books Are book club has helped CLC work toward this goal by helping community members connect with each other over good books.

“We were doing a lot of bird walks and hikes, but if you have mobility issues, it’s harder to join in,” says Communications and Grants Manager Rebecca Walker. “Or maybe you just don’t feel comfortable outside. We started the book club in late 2019 to engage people in CLC’s mission, originally from the comfort of our office, but now from home.”

Book club members suggest nature/ conservation-themed books. Walker and Conservation Education Manager Heidi Bock pick one from the list to read each month (most recently, Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman: Conservation Heroes of the American Heartland) and prepare questions for their Zoom meeting.

Members use the Mobilize online community platform to share and discuss articles between meetings. “Over the summer, our online community grew from 20 to almost 55,” Bock says. Not every member attends the meetings, but they can all feel involved.

“Any way we can help people connect is very important,” Bock says. “I miss seeing strangers get to know each other as we walk on a trail. But now, in book club, people who would have gone on a hike get to meet people who would not have gone.”

“Book club is our opportunity to hear other people’s stories,” Walker says. “We talk about conservation, but we all filter it through the personal lens we bring to the book.”

“I find reading and sharing what I’ve read to be a very grounding experience…and thought-provoking,” book club participant Tracy Pennea says. “The feeling of community and connection is apparent here. I am so grateful to be part of this.”

For some members, the book club has woken the desire to volunteer. For others, the desire was already there, but they weren’t sure how to do it during the pandemic.

“It’s helping us think about what we can do to help them help us,” Walker says. The book club’s success has inspired Bock to reimagine how she will engage volunteers in this spring’s Amphibian Migration and Road Crossing program using Mobilize.

“Now that we’re over the initial hump of adjusting, there’s a way to take the limitations and see them as an opportunity to engage more people,” Walker says.

“When we can go back to in-person,” Bock says, “we will still have the virtual option to broaden engagement.”

Land trusts’ resilience during this trying season is paying off. With creativity and a focus on community, they are broadening their reach—and cultivating possibilities for connection that will outlast the pandemic. That’s a reason to celebrate this winter.