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About the Conference• Workshop schedule
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The Connecticut Land Conservation Council (CLCC) held its 26th Annual Connecticut Land Conservation Conference on April 4, 2009. This conference is the state’s largest conservation gathering and is the premier event for the CLCC.
Highlights from the conference include a keynote address by noted conservationist Russ Brenneman, 25 workshops covering a range of topics (materials are available for download here), an in-depth workshop on conservation easement defense and the launch of both the new CLCC logo and the Connecticut Land Trust Challenge Fund. This year the conference was moved to Wesleyan University in Middletown in order to accommodate more workshops and a larger audience. And larger it was—almost 250 people attended the conference this year—the biggest turnout to date!
In addition to the change in venue, this conference was also the first time CLCC solicited sponsorships for an event. These sponsorships provide both for conference expenses and for the advocacy, education and training and capacity-building efforts of the program. A list of conference sponsors was included in conference materials and is also available for download.
Conference Highlights
The welcome and opening remarks were given by Kevin Case, Northeast director at The Land Trust Alliance, and chair of the CLCC Steering Committee. The new CLCC logo was shown to the group and will soon be available for viewing at the new CLCC website, slated to be live later this summer. Also announced at this time was the new Connecticut Land Trust Challenge Fund, a grant program available to LTA and CLCC members to provide consultant services to help build long-term strength and effectiveness of conservation organizations in the state.
Kevin was joined by fellow Steering Committee member Melissa Spear for the 2009 Excellence in Land Conservation Awards, which recognize the accomplishments of land trusts in acquiring land, raising funds, stewardship and outreach. This year’s recipients were: Outstanding Land Acquisition Effort – the Guilford Land Conservation Trust; Exemplary Fundraising or Outreach Project – the Land Trust of Danbury; Successful Collaboration – the Naromi Land Trust; and Excellence in Stewardship – Joshua’s Tract Historic and Conservation Trust.
Russ Brenneman gave the conference’s keynote address entitled “Volunteers: The Foundational Building Blocks of CT Land Conservation.” Mr. Brenneman recently authored the Connecticut chapter for the Harvard University Press book Twentieth-Century New England Land Conservation; A Heritage of Civic Engagement.
Special thanks are due to the conference planning committee for all the hard work and effort they put in to ensuring the 2009 conference would be better than ever: Hunter Brawley (Brawley Consulting Group), Kevin Case (Land Trust Alliance), Damon Hearne (CT Forest and Park Association), Dan Hubbard (Dan Hubbard and Associates, LLC), Connie Manes (Manes Consulting, LLC/Kent Land Trust) and Elisabeth Moore (CT Farmland Trust). A sincere thank you is also due to the entire CLCC Steering Committee for volunteering the day of the event, and to the many partner organizations for setting up such interesting display tables and posters.
Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Hunter Brawley (Iron Mountain, Kent, CT); © Dan Hubbard (Russ Brenneman); © Dan Hubbard (Attendees sign in); © Dan Hubbard (Attendees listen to speaker).
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