By John Lounds

What would it take for Canada’s land trusts to dramatically accelerate their conservation impact? That’s the question I set out to answer in More, Better, Faster, Together, a new paper supported by the Metcalf Foundation. After more than three decades in this sector, I wanted to take an honest look at where Canada’s land trusts stand today and what it will take to move them forward.

A moment of opportunity

Land trusts have already protected more than a million hectares of critical habitat across the country. Now several forces are converging to make much more possible. Charitable bequests are at record highs as the population ages. Governments are looking for partners to help meet ambitious goals like the federal 30×30 target. And in the communities where land trusts work, calls for Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples are growing.

The potential is significant. By my estimate, if Canada’s 60 largest local and regional land trusts doubled their rate of conservation every five years over the next two decades, they could protect nearly two million additional hectares in southern Canada, where biodiversity is under the greatest pressure.

What it will take

Getting there will require some big shifts: from volunteer-based operations to staff-supported organizations, from one-off campaigns to multi-year fundraising, and toward greater collaboration and entrepreneurial thinking, including what I call “confederations of campaigns.”

Read the paper

The paper draws on what I’ve seen work over a long career in land conservation. My hope is that it sparks a real conversation among land trust leaders, boards, funders and governments about how we grow together. I’d welcome your thoughts.

John Lounds is Director of Business Development at the Centre for Land Conservation.