Connecticut Land Conservation Council      
 

September 16, 2013

In This Issue
Executive Director's Message
S&P Trainings
Model Easement Projects
Regional Directors' Summits
GPS Trainings
State Land Trust News
Farmland Preservation Awards
Renew your CLCC Membership

About CLCC    

The mission of the CT Land Conservation Council is to advocate for land preservation, stewardship and funding, and ensure the long term strength and viability of the land conservation community.

 

To learn more about CLCC, please go to our website:
www.ctconservation.org

Upcoming 

Events   

 

September 18

GPS Training

Beginner Class

9:00am - 4:30pm

Haddam, CT

 

October 3

Regional Directors' Summit - New Haven Region

7-8:30pm

Stony Creek (Branford), CT

 

October 4

GPS Training

Advanced Class

9:30am - 1:00pm

Kent, CT

 

October 9

Regional Directors' Summit - Farmington River Valley

7-8:30pm

Granby, CT

 

October 10

AFT Ag Easement Training

Time TBD

Woodstock, CT

 

October 17

Regional Directors' Summit - Fairfield County

"Using Social Media"

7-8:30pm

Danbury, CT

 

October 17

AFT Ag Easement Training

Time TBD

New Milford, CT

 

October 19

S&P Training - Part I

Membership Development

9:30am - 3:00pm

Hartford, CT

 

October 23

Regional Directors' Summit - Middlesex County

7-8:30pm

Essex, CT

 

November 2

AFT Ag Easement Training

Time TBD

Simsbury, CT

 

November 9

S&P Training - Part II

Membership Development

9:00am - 2:30pm

Litchfield, CT

 

December 4

Regional Directors' Summit -

Southeast Region

7-8:30pm

North Stonington, CT

 

 

March 15, 2014

Save the Date!

30th Annual

CT Land Conservation Conference

Wesleyan University

Middletown, CT

Conference webpage coming next month! 

 

Executive Director
Amy B. Paterson, Esq.

 

Steering Committee

Tim Abbott

Litchfield Hills Greenprint

Alicia Betty 

Trust for Public Land

David Bingham

Salem Land Trust

Hunter Brawley

Brawley Consulting Group

Sandy Breslin

Audubon Connecticut

Margot Burns

Lower CT River Council of Governments

Kevin Case

Land Trust Alliance

Stephanie Clark

Joshua's Tract Conservation and Historic Trust

Jim Gooch

Connecticut Farmland Trust 

Ginny Gwynn

Greenwich Land Trust 

Eric Hammerling

Connecticut Forest & Park Association 

Mary-Michelle Hirschoff 

The Garden Club of New Haven

Elaine LaBella 

Housatonic Valley Association

Connie Manes

Kent Land Trust  

Tom ODell

CT Association of Conservation & Inland Wetland Commissions

David Sutherland 

The Nature Conservancy

Humphrey Tyler

Lyme Land Conservation Trust

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

Executive Director's Message
Off to the Big Easy for Rally 2013!  See you soon!
 
With 24 representatives from Connecticut's conservation community heading to New Orleans for Rally this week, we thought it appropriate to devote the bulk of this month's Enews to training, education and networking opportunities in Connecticut.  If you can't make it to Rally, there is plenty coming up right here at home!
 
We look forward to seeing you soon!  
 
With warmest regards,
Amy
 
PS:  Save the Date!  The 30th Annual Connecticut Land Conservation Conference is scheduled for Saturday, March 15, 8:30am - 4:45pm, followed by a post-event reception.  In response to your feedback, the Conference will once again be held at Wesleyan University in Middletown, but in different and more spacious facilities.  Stay tuned for further details!  To submit a workshop presentation, please contact me at abpaterson@ctconservation.org.

NEW! 2013 Standards & Practices Trainings:

A two-part series on Membership Development featuring national experts, Judy Anderson and David Allen

 

Part I:  Connecting People to the Land & Your Land Trust: Tips and Strategies

Taught by Judy Anderson

Saturday, October 19 2013, 9:30am - 3:00pm

Hartford Foundation for Public Giving

10 Columbus Blvd., Hartford, CT

  • Are you interested in ramping up your fundraising efforts, without breaking the bank?
  • Would you like tips to build your membership and prioritize your outreach and programs?
  • How about tips related to enhancing your nature preserves to gain greater community support, while balancing the need for habitat?

Come join CLCC and the Land Trust Alliance for a practical, engaging and thought provoking workshop designed for small and volunteer land trusts.

 

This workshop will provide tips on how to plan and implement a fundraising and outreach program, allowing you to connect with more people and foster new donors.  We'll talk about how to strengthen your newsletters, e-news, websites, social media and thank you letters.  In addition, using current research and strategies, you will leave with a variety of ideas to strengthen your land trust's year-end appeal.  Land trusts who have used this strategy have seen their membership grow between 33% to 72% over three years.

 

In the afternoon we will focus on Ambassador Landscapes, a concept now being utilized by land trusts to increase their community relevance and foster a love of the land for people new to land conservation.  We'll talk about why they can be useful, how to evaluate current preserves to see if they are appropriate, provide basic design strategies for engaging people, and discuss how to create related programs and outreach to encourage appropriate use.

 

With more and more kids and families focused on in-doors activities, Ambassador Landscapes could provide you with an additional tool to draw people out into the landscapes by connecting to their values and interests.

  

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Part II:  Major Gifts Fundraising:  Fundraising that Matters

Taught by David Allen

Saturday, November 9, 2013, 9:00am - 2:30pm

White Memorial Conservation Center

Carriage House

80 White Hall Road, Litchfield, CT

 

Upgrading fundraising potential and results requires leadership from the Board both in terms of their own giving and in terms of the relationship they enjoy with their companies and their business and social contacts.  David Allen's Major Gifts Fundraising Training starts with basic material about giving and asking and ends with major gift asking role plays.  This training is based on the same training session David offers each year at Rally.

 

The training is recommended for all Board and staff to establish a common language and get everyone focused on the task at hand.  Attendees typically emerge realizing that fundraising is not all that frightening and having new confidence that the objectives can be reached.  David encourages multiple members of each land trust board to participate. 

 

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Registration Information

Attend one training:  $25 for CLCC members; $35 for non-CLCC members

Attend both trainings:  $40 for CLCC members; $60 for non-CLCC members (you may send a different representative from your land trust to each part and receive the discount).

 

Space is limited!  Please e-mail Amy B. Paterson  at abpaterson@ctconservation.org to reserve your spot in either or both trainings and to receive registration instructions.

  

Funding for these trainings is generously provided by our friends at the Land Trust Alliance.  We thank them for their continued support and partnership.

New!  CLCC and AFT Undertake Model Easement Projects

 

CLCC Model Conservation Easement Coming in 2014

CLCC is delighted to announce that we have commenced planning to provide the state's conservation community with a Model Conservation Easement in 2014.  Preliminary plans include the launch of a draft document at the 2014 Connecticut Land Conservation Conference (March 15) as part of a 90 minute seminar, with ample opportunity for your comments and Q&A.  The Conference seminar will be followed by a series of spring and summer trainings and on-the-ground technical assistance for land trusts and other potential users of the model document.  Full details coming in 2014.  In the interim, if you have any questions or thoughts on the project, please contact Amy B. Paterson at abpaterson@ctconservation.org.

 

American Farmland Trust Model Agricultural Easement Project Underway!  Workshop Dates Set!

To help improve the agricultural viability of land permanently protected by land trusts and municipalities, the American Farmland Trust (AFT), in partnership with CLCC and the Connecticut Farmland Trust, has commenced work on a project to develop model easement terms and conditions for inclusion in conservation easements that are protecting land for agricultural use.  Funded through a CT Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Viability Grant, the project includes workshops to educate and improve awareness amongst organizations, entities, and individuals engaged in land conservation about the model easement terms and conditions, agricultural management and stewardship of existing and future easements.

 

Workshops (more info coming soon): 

 

October 10:  Mayhill Farm, Woodstock, CT

October 17:  Sunny Valley Preserve, The Nature Conservancy, New Mildford, CT (with field visits to two Bridgewater farms)

November 2:  Rosedale Farm, Simsbury, CT

 

Indoor session (approx. 2 hours):  includes a discussion of: easement terms and conditions that impact agriculture; the needs and status of agricultural sectors in the state; and stewardship, monitoring and leasing.

 

Field session (approx. 2 hours):  includes a farm tour with an opportunity to learn from farmers about what it's like to farm protected land; the impact of easement language on their farm practices; and stewardship and production practices. The entities which hold and manage the easements and leases will also provide their perspective.

 

Lunch will be provided and the field portion will be held rain or shine.  Registration and agenda details will be provided shortly. For further information, please contact Kip Kolesinskas at kkolesinskas@farmland.org.

New Dates! CLCC Regional Summits

Networking -- Socializing -- Information Sharing

 

By now, most of you have heard about, if not attended, one of CLCC's Regional Directors' Summits -- our series of roundtables for land trust board members.  If not, there are still plenty of opportunities to participate in one or more of these facilitated discussions through the end of the year.  Click here to read meeting notes from discussions we have had around the state.  Summits are free and open to all land trust board members, with first priority given to land trusts in the host region.  Light refreshments will be provided.  Email abpaterson@ctconservation.org to RSVP.  Space is limited.

  

All Summits are scheduled from 7:00pm - 8:30pm. 

  

October 3

New Haven Region

Branford Land Trust House

26 Stony St., Stony Creek, CT

Co-hosted by the Branford Land Trust

 

October 9

Farmington River Valley

Granby Senior Center

15 N. Granby Rd., Granby, CT

Co-hosted by the Farmington River Watershed Association

 

October 17

Fairfield County

"Using Social Media for Land Trust Communications" with special guests Jeff Yates, Communications Manager for the Fairfield County Community Foundation and Tom Andersen, Director of Communications and Community Outreach for the Audubon Society of Connecticut

Tarrywile Park & Mansion

70 Southern Blvd., Danbury, CT

Co-hosted by the Land Trust of Danbury

Support for tis event generously provided by the Fairfield County Community Foundation  

 

October 23

Middlesex County Region

Elisha Mather House

145 Dennison Rd., Essex, CT

Co-hosted by The Lower CT River Council of Governments

Support for this event generously provided by the Community Foundation of Middlesex County

 

December 4

Southeast Region

Stephen Main Homestead

1 Wyassup Rd., North Stonington, CT

Co-hosted by the Avalonia Land Conservancy, Inc.

Space Still Available! 
GPS Trainings
Presented by CLEAR and CLCC
 
September 18 -- Beginner Training
Middlesex County Extension Center
1066 Saybrook Rd., Haddam, CT
9:00am - 4:30pm
Cost:  $90 for CLCC members and $110 for non-members.  Lunch will be provided.  Click here for details and to register.
 
October 4 -- Advanced Training
Marvelwood School
476 Skiff Mountain Rd., Kent CT
9:00am - 1:30pm
Cost:  $50 for CLCC members and $65 for non-members.  Lunch will be provided.  Click here for details and to register.
State Land Trust News
 
Celebrate "Land Trust Days" in Northwest CT

From CLCC Training & Education Committee Co-chair Connie Manes (Kent Land Trust) and Roxbury Land Trust Executive Director Susan Payne -- 

  

Connecticut's Northwest Corner land trusts have organized this fall to offer a slate of programs in celebration of "Land Trust Days", scheduled to take optimal advantage of the season's great opportunities for observing the beauty of the change of seasons, our native wildlife, and engaging in outdoor recreation.

 

More than fifteen area land trusts are offering an enticing variety of events including guided and self-guided hikes, a mushroom walk, picnics, a photo exhibit, programs with experts presenting on invasive plant species and predatory birds, and a River Festival. Most of these events are designed for families to enjoy together on some of the Northwest corner's most stunning preserves. 

 

Each land trust will be promoting its own events as well as the master calendar, through posters, website and social media.  A calendar listing all events to celebrate Land Trust Days will be published in late September.  Contact Connie Manes at connie@manes-consulting.com or Susan Payne at spayne@roxburylandtrust.org for further information.

 

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Norfolk Land Trust Completes Purchase of Camp Iwakta Property

From CLCC Steering Committee Chairman, Tim Abbott (Litchfield Hills Greenprint Collaborative [the Greenprint]) -- 

 

On August 23rd, Norfolk Land Trust purchased 311 acres (most of Camp Iwatka) from the Girl Scouts of America.  The transaction was accomplished with $630,000 in funding secured from federal, state and private sources.  The Greenprint and the Housatonic Valley Association worked closely with these partners throughout the project to put together the transaction and secure federal, state, regional and local funding that now protects Pine Mountain at the headwaters of the Mad River in Norfolk.  This is a significant accomplishment for the Girl Scouts of CT as well, as they move forward with a second land protection project with Kent Land Trust in Kent and Warren (Camp Francis), and consider how land protection can help them continue to provide exceptional outdoor experiences for the girls they serve.  Read more here on the Greenprint website.

 

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Author-Activist Bill McKibben Kicks Off New Aspetuck Land Trust Lecture Series

From Aspetuck Land Trust Executive Director, David Brant -- 

 

Two hundred members packed the Pequot Library last month to hear author and climate change activist Bill McKibben talk about global climate change, an important issue that McKibben is addressing through 360.org a global grassroots movement to solve the climate change crisis.  McKibben was speaking to kick off Aspetuck Land Trust's inaugural Haskins Lecture to honor Westport scientists Caryl and Edna Haskins who donated their estate on Green Acre Lane to Aspetuck Land Trust.  A portion of the estate was sold by the land trust to create an endowment to manage the grounds as a nature preserve and to support environmental education. 

 

Go to the Aspetuck Land Trust blog to read more about the event!  For some great tips on community outreach programs for your own community, contact David Brant at dbrant@aspetucklandtrust.org

Nominations Open for 2013 Farmland Preservation Pathfinder Awards
 

 

From Working Lands Alliance (WLA) Project Director, Lisa Bassani --

WLA is pleased to announce that nominations are now open for their 2013 Farmland Preservation Pathfinder Awards.  Established in 2003, these prestigious awards are designed to recognize individuals and groups that have significantly advanced farmland preservation through leadership, advocacy, planning and education.  Award winners over the last ten years have included municipalities, land trusts, farmers, town committees, and many individuals and groups who worked tirelessly to preserve Connecticut's most valuable and vulnerable resource -- our farmland. 

 

Nominations are open now through October 18, 2013 in three different categories including:  Outstanding Individual, Outstanding Group, and Education Leader Awards.  Award winners will be honored at the WLA Annual Meeting to be held on November 13, 12:00 - 2:00pm in the Old Judiciary Room of the Connecticut State Capitol.

 

Nomination forms can be downloaded here or by contacting Lisa Bassani at lbassani@farmland.org.

  

We count on your support!

Please renew your membership today!

Please click here to contribute!

www.ctconservation.org

Contact Information
 
Amy B. Paterson, Executive Director
CT Land Conservation Council
c/o CFPA
16 Meriden Road
Rockfall, CT  06481
860-685-0785


 
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