puffin in flight

Climate Change & Conservation eNews

Communications

Agrivoltaics
Judy Anderson

American Farmland Trust applauds introduction of bipartisan bill to advance agrivoltaics

Land trusts are realizing that solar can, and should, be designed to work with farming rather than taking it out of production. That won't happen unless people, and land trusts, make it clear it's possible.

Agrivoltaics refers to the practices of integrating solar energy generation and farming on the same piece of land, which could potentially reduce displacement of agricultural production from farmland as a result of solar development. The concept has been gaining attention in land-constrained countries like Japan and Germany as well as in states like Massachusetts and New Jersey.

“If included in the Farm Bill,” Fink said, “the Agrivoltaics Research and Demonstration Act would secure USDA’s role in advancing this innovation alongside the Department of Energy, AFT, and other partners across the country. Together, we are seeking ways to reduce displacement of farming from productive land as a result of solar energy development.”

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Light
Judy Anderson

Carbon farming

The IRA Bill provides considerable funding for agricultural climate-smart farming. You can share that information with the farmers and ranchers you know. You can also encourage local conservation groups to feature articles on how agriculture can be part of the climate solution.

Agriculture is part of the climate solution. Grasslands are one of the largest carbon sinks on the planet, capable of pulling enormous quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil.

Carbon farming is the process of farming and ranching to maximize the land’s ability to lock up CO2 and other greenhouse gases, making the land more resilient to the effects of a changing climate.

Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) partners with MALT farmers and ranchers to implement carbon farming practices, benefiting farmers, their land, and the climate…

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Bear
Pixabay

Land trusts ink deal to conserve 20 acres along Mill River in Williamsburg

Land trusts are working in partnership to expand their impact, support collective conservation efforts, and tap into state and federal funding.

Mark Wamsely, [Kestrel Land Trust’s] conservation director, highlighted the conservation as a way to combat climate change. The [press] release also notes the state’s 2022 Climate Change Assessment, which states that risk of flooding and erosion in the hilltowns is likely over the coming century.

“It’s important that we address climate change in a thoughtful way and don’t accidentally harm the very natural resources that are under threat,” said Wamsley, adding that, “Conserving forests is one way the Hilltowns can make a critical contribution to combating climate change.”

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Flowers
Judy Anderson

Climate change website pages

Climate communication means understanding what people care about and linking solutions to the challenges of climate change. I spend hours, every month, trying to find land trust examples; very few of their websites come up with key word searches. That needs to change.

Land trusts often wonder how they can increase their efforts to connect with people around climate change, meet them where they are, and inspire local, regional, and national action.

Many land trusts start with nature-based climate solutions as a way to connect. However, it’s important for people to also understand what they can do as individuals based upon their interests and capacity, in addition to what the land trust is doing.

If you are interested in enhancing climate messaging or raising the profile of your local land trust, you might find the Coastal Prairie Conservancy’s climate pages of interest.

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Leaves
Judy Anderson

Mississippi Valley Conservancy planting trees to help combat climate change

Talking about climate change is increasingly important. To be successful we need to link the challenges to solutions, be authentic in how much nature-based solutions can do, and find ways for people to get involved.

Carol Abrahamzon, Executive Director of the Mississippi Valley Conservancy, met with the local TV station to talk briefly about a restoration project they are working on.

“Abrahamzon says these trees are essential to providing a healthy habitat to the Coulee Region. The trees to be planted at the Conservancy’s Trempealeau Lakes nature preserve include swamp white oak, silver maple, and river birch.

Abrahamzon says that the selected tree species are native to the Driftless Area and will adapt well to this site and require little care after they become established. All of these benefits strengthen the land’s resilience to a changing climate…”

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Folks And Solar
Judy Anderson

Can agriculture and solar co-exist?

Katie Jilek grew up on a farm, graduated from LEAD New York (an agricultural leadership program), and serves as the Agricultural Stewardship Association's Communication and Outreach Manager.

As New York faces a future that includes wetter winters, and periods of more frequent droughts during the summer, farming continues to be a challenging livelihood. For many farmers looking to retire, as well as new or younger farmers, the economics of agriculture is increasingly a focal point as they plan their future. According to American Farmland Trust’s Farms Under Threat report, New York lost over a quarter million acres of farmland in sixteen years (2000 – 2016).

The loss of NY’s farmland is concerning. But imagine if farmers had an income stream that helped cover rough years caused by drought, flooding, and erratic weather. That’s part of a shift underway to rethink solar development that works for farmers and farming, rather than taking land out of production.

While I think we can all agree that no one wants to see solar panels on good farmland if it takes that farmland out of production, Farmer First Solar changes that paradigm and prioritizes designs that allow for greater farming options, increased farm viability, and soil health…

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Meg And Friend
Judy Anderson

Climate change is here. Nature-based solutions can help.

In 2017, Openlands completed a strategic plan to guide [their] work in communities and across our region. [Their] vision for the region is a landscape that includes a vast network of land and water trails, tree-lined streets, and intimate public gardens within easy reach of every city dweller. It includes parks and preserves large enough to provide natural habitat and to give visitors a sense of the vast prairies, woodlands, and wetlands that were here before the cities. Climate action is part of this effort.

Openlands works across the Chicago metropolitan region to advance nature-based solutions to climate change, improve the health and well-being of communities, and create a more verdant region for all.

Learn more about [their] work and how you can get involved to help make a more sustainable, equitable region with Openlands…

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Forest
Judy Anderson

Exploring carbon sequestration

By permanently protecting forests, and increasing carbon sequestration, Whatcom Land Trust is working diligently to increase climate resiliency. In partnership with local governments, tribal leaders, businesses, and individuals, they are all working towards a local solution to the global issue of climate change.

“[They] are following the model from other land trusts. There is a cost for land trusts to manage forests for increased carbon sequestration. [They] aren’t a commercial forestry operation and need revenue in order to manage forests.

Carbon offsets and the carbon market can provide resources for land trusts to restore large commercial forest landscapes, and support the ongoing cost of stewardship and restoration that a land trust is responsible for.

Whatcom Land Trust would only take on a carbon sequestration project that supports our mission, improves the forest ecosystem, and sequesters more carbon than it would otherwise…”

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Rally

National Land Trust Conference: September 6 – 9, 2023

It's not too soon to budget for attending Rally. Some land trusts find donors to underwrite the costs. Others, like me, have to budget for it as part of our conservation efforts on a personal level. Regardless, it's worth it.

Rally is where over 1,500 people who share your passion for conservation will re-energize and inspire you.

Join the Land Trust Alliance in Portland in September for a gathering packed with diverse topics to explore and great colleagues and friends to learn from and share with. Rally has all of the resources you want to take your conservation skills further. There’s no better way to invest in your future.

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Sheep
Judy Anderson

Douglas County sheep farm working to restore soil and build community, agrivoltaics

"We are an integrated farming business, but we also aggregate and provide market access for other farmers. So instead of having to rely on just a few commodities, smaller farms can diversify their portfolio. When they can diversify their portfolio they have more power over the economics of farming and they can make those changes that help conserve soil.” Another aspect of Jacqueline’s collaborative vision for healthy ecosystems and agriculture economies is agrivoltaics — which involves the simultaneous use of land for both solar power generation and agriculture..."

“Co-locating farming and clean energy production on agricultural land creates rural economic resiliency, provides land access for new and underserved farmers, and builds vital agricultural infrastructure. Unlocking these bottlenecks will create food security that allows small farmers to compete in a global extractive market while focusing on restorative farming practices that heal the land”…

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