Urban Conservation & Community Resources

Across the country, community residents and organizations are working to protect land, expand access to nature, strengthen neighborhoods, and create lasting community assets. The Conservation Fund’s Urban Conservation & Community resources are designed to help practitioners turn community vision into lasting impact. 

Our new guides explore critical elements of community conservation — from securing long-term site control and stewarding land for future generations to creating equitable workforce opportunities that connect people to the investments happening in their communities. Together, they equip practitioners with tools and lessons from the field that can help move projects from promising ideas to durable, community-serving assets. 

Securing Land for Community Benefit: A Guide to Site Control 

Communities thrive when they have lasting and durable site control of parks and green space that serve a public benefit. From parks and open green spaces to community gardens and green stormwater infrastructure — these are places built by and for residents. Site control can take many forms, and the right approach often depends on a project’s goals, timeline, financing, and long-term stewardship needs. 

Investing in People and Place: Strategies for Equitable Workforce Development 

This guide explores practical strategies for connecting conservation investments with workforce development goals. It is intended to help communities, conservation organizations, public agencies, and other partners design projects that deliver both environmental benefits and meaningful economic opportunities for the people who live in and care for these communities. 

Urban Conservation & Community Lunch and Learns

Find webinars on everything from fundraising, to grant management, to social media on the UCC YouTube Channel. 

Join the Land Trust Alliance’s Urban Conservationist Peer Network 

This network gives land trust staff, board members, and their affiliates a place to connect around crucial urban conservation issues. By joining this cohort, you can help more organizations grow the skills, knowledge, and resources needed to pursue durable and lasting site control in their communities.  

The Urban Conservation & Community program is a proud sponsor of this peer network.