Oftentimes I run into people who do not know what a land trust is – maybe it’s a distant family member or a high school acquaintance that I’ve run into over the holidays. Back in 2009 when I first started at Greenbelt Land Trust I remember fumbling my way through the description, watching eyes glaze over as I explained what a conservation easement was, or how we work with private landowners on voluntary conservation. I quickly realized that this wasn’t the way in for people to connect to our work.
As I struggled to frame a definition of the work of conservation, I realized that I knew it when I saw it.
I saw it in the smiles of kids as they dug their hands into the wet clay mud to plant a seedling or squeal at finding a frog.
I see it every time we crest the hill at Bald Hill Farm, unveiling a grand overlook of the valley below, framed by the coastal mountains.
I feel it as friends laugh on a warm summer evening, sandals strewn about in the pasture grass.
I know it as I watch a field of cows step closer and closer to listen in on our farm tour.
Or as someone rests against the trunk of an oak tree padded with moss, reminding me of the oak tree of my youth where games where played and afternoons idled away.
These are the moments when the WHY of Greenbelt Land Trust becomes so clear. After seven years working here, when asked what a land trust is, I now start by telling my own story of the oak tree and the creek that I grew up knowing and loving. Where is the river, tree or trail that feels like home to you?
Regardless of where you are from, every one of us has similar stories and places that we connect to. These stories of nature, no matter how small, define our lives. When we find ourselves talking about those stories, the work of conservation becomes clear. A land trust is working to protect these moments, these places that define us, that nourish us.
And, yes – we’ll get to the business of explaining conservation easements, data layers, or the intricate web of state and federal funding programs. But first, let’s go for a walk together – there’s a gnarly old tree with branches twisting into the soil that you’ve just got to see.
Blog post by: Jessica McDonald