This 4-part Zoom series, co-sponsored by MLTC and The Trustees, is intended for staff and board members from land trusts interested in initiating or expanding work in urban/developed parts of their service areas. Covers five topic areas, lots of participant interaction, and includes an associated field trip in July. Multiple representatives from your organization can attend for one single registration fee.
Tuesdays in June, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. (June 3, 10, 17, 24)
MLTC members = $20 per organization for the whole series
non-MLTC member = $35 per organization for the whole series
The accompanying free field trips require separate registration.
Register for the series.
Register for the Friday, July 18 field trip to Pawtucket Farm Wildlife Sanctuary in Lowell (free)
Register [link coming soon] for the Friday, August 22 field trip to Community-Based Urban Agriculture in Boston (free)
Each week, speakers from Massachusetts land trusts will share examples of their work in five different topic areas, delving into issues such as their motivations for the project, the relationships they needed to build, considerations for working on land that is owned by partners, and benefits and challenges they’ve experienced. They will also describe lessons learned, recommendations for successful partnerships, and funding sources that may be particular to urban work. They hope to demonstrate that with the right motivation and preparation, any sized land trust can embark on similar work. Each week will offer plenty of time for questions from attendees.
Objectives:
- Explore and discuss rationales for embarking on or deepening work in densely developed parts of land trusts’ service areas. (e.g. enhancing regional park and trail networks; addressing climate resilience; expanding equitable access to nature or healthy food; etc.)
- Share examples and lessons learned from the wide range of ways that land trusts are already engaging with urban or densely developed communities
- Provide a forum to discuss ingredients of success for this kind of work, including building relationships with new partners and assembling funding.
Tuesday, June 3
3:00 - 4:30 p.m. via Zoom
Part 1 will include introductions and interactive discussion about work your organization has done, and/or is considering, in the more densely developed parts of the communities you serve. Discussion will touch on motivations, concerns, potential barriers, and factors driving readiness. Facilitators: Vidya Tikku (The Trustees) and Robb Johnson (MLTC).
Part 2 covers Topic Area 1: Stewarding existing city parks, featuring Rachel Bruce (Wildlands Trust) talking about their work in Brockton and Doug Brown (BNRC) covering their project in Pittsfield.
Tuesday, June 10
3:00 - 4:30 p.m. via Zoom
Topic Area 2: Creating new parks and trails. Faculty: Brad Buschur, Project Director, Groundwork Lawrence, and Colin Novick, Executive Director, Greater Worcester Land Trust.
Tuesday, June 17
3:00 - 4:30 p.m. via Zoom
Topic Area 3: Community farms and gardens. Faculty: Jordan Takvorian, Stewardship Manager Greater Boston, The Trustees.
Topic Area 4: Tree planting programs and canopy development on municipal and/or private property. Faculty: Emily Boss, Community Conservation Program Manager, Franklin Land Trust, and Cynthia Henshaw, Executive Director, East Quabbin Land Trust.
Tuesday, June 24
3:00 - 4:30 p.m. via Zoom
Topic Area 5: Offering public programs on city/state parkland. Faculty: Paul Kelley, Cambridge Community Education Coordinator, Mass Audubon, discussing Magazine Beach in Cambridge.
Series round-up: Lynn Murray, Director of DBIE Programs & Partnerships, The Trustees, will outline ways to determine if your organization is ready for this work; how to identify and build trust with potential new partners; getting Board buy-in; staffing and funding issues; and more. Will include plenty of time for discussion.
Friday, July 18
noon - 2:00 p.m., in-person
Field Trip: Pawtucket Farm: An Urban Collaboration Success (Lowell)
Led by Jane Calvin, Executive Director, Jane Calvin, Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust and partners from Mass Audubon and Mill City Grows, participants will walk the 22-acre Pawtucket Farm Wildlife Sanctuary (PFWS), and see the implementation of community-based visioning and planning, including a recently completed All Persons Trail and an outdoor classroom under construction. Parking and meeting instructions to be sent to registrants.
Friday, August 22
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., in-person, bring your own lunch
Field Trip: Community Based Urban Agriculture in Boston
Led by Vidya Tikku, The Trustees VP, Boston and Urban Outdoors, and Jordan Takvorian, The Trustees Boston Stewardship Manager, participants will tour a variety of unique growing spaces across historic Boston. The day will start at The Trustees' native plant nursery in the heart of Mattapan Square, where 200+ species of native eastern United States flora are grown, and will include a visit to partner organization Urban Farming Institute's (URI) Fowler Clark Epstein Farm, which showcases how UFI promotes and develops urban farming as a way to build community. Next up will be visits to two Trustees' community gardens in two different neighborhoods, where growing methods and crops reflect the diversity of cultures in Boston. Attendees will learn about The Trustees' partnership with the City of Boston, and strategies used to permanently protect the city's open spaces. At the Nightingale community garden, 133 plots are intensively planted with many traditional southern crops, and and are surrounded by a communal orchard with a central patio for community events. The tour will end with Berkeley community garden, which highlights the productivity of vertical farming methods common in Asian gardening. Parking and meeting instructions to be sent to registrants.
