Rally 2025 - Cleveland Rocks!
Ben Gelderloos, Acquisitions Coordinator
How many land trust staff does it take to change a lightbulb?
Two: one to screw it in and another to stare at it forever to make sure it never turns off.
For my first Land Trust Alliance Rally in Cleveland, OH September 3-7, all sorts of lightbulbs were going off in my head surrounded by dedicated conservationists and innovative ideas for land stewardship. Cynthia, our Executive Director, Hannah, the Stewardship and Conservation Director, and myself flew out to the conference on the shore of Lake Erie and each walked away with new opportunities and ideas to try back home.
For me, it was enlightening to see just who the people are at other land trusts who share a passion for permanent protection and the wide array of organizations that have grown in different directions since land trusts started appearing in the 80s and 90s. Some have become large state-level organizations while others are mostly dealing with donations of several acre tracts. Recently impressive is the growth in the number of indigenous-created land trusts and organizations pivoting towards promoting affordable housing access. Each organization works to fill the needs of its community and at Northern California Regional Land Trust, we too operate in unique ways to fill the unique needs of Butte, Glenn, and Tehama counties. As strategic conservation planning has become more central in our minds (see the previous blog post), I sought out ways other land trusts have directed their intention to help protect the landscape the community needs. I came away with more tools to better facilitate the relationship between land and people.
The event was anchored by workshops and seminars from fellow staff at land trusts from across the county, as well as information directly sourced from grant administrators, lawyers, and land managers on several field trips Hannah and Cynthia were on. I enjoyed spending time with our California friends including meals with staff from Shasta Land Trust. Since I recently started with NCRLT, my sessions were as much about learning the ropes as seeing what is new or innovative. There was a wide array of experience with other young staffers encountering the same topics as me and those with decades of experience. New friends, contacts, and networks will certainly be important going forward.
I’d recommend a trip to Lassen NP over a trip to Cleveland any day of the week, but the rust belt charm and cultural experience of the city was particularly amplified by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The closing event at this museum was a great way to cap the trip and make some more connections before heading out. Rock and Roll may not have been on-theme considering that the talk I had listened to was right before was on the less-than- raucous subject of land appraisals with IRS forms. However, Cynthia, Hannah, I, and everyone else from a land trust were quickly fully emersed in the exhibits. I ran into Cynthia in the “1970s in San Francisco” section, so captivated by the exhibit that I didn’t notice she was standing right next to me. Environmental nerds seem to really like music history as well! Music revolves around vision and inspiration and pulls at our most authentic desires such that its overlap with impassioned conservation of a wild environment seemed much stronger than I initially thought. I think we better make a playlist with one song for each of our conserved properties.
I am looking forward to returning to “Rally” next year, and in the meantime, applying what I learned. New ideas are what keep us improving, and community is what lets us achieve them.
