TLC Launching Benefits Approach in 2010

Changes are coming to TLC. We’ve been dropping hints about it – in the 2007-08 annual report, at the Green Jamboree in June, in July’s member survey. The time for hinting is over. It’s time for straight talk.

The changes will be in how we communicate and how we work, and they boil down to this: TLC will redirect its focus from simply preserving land to meeting the needs of people in our region through the benefits of land conservation—undertaking what we’re calling the Benefits Approach to conservation.

The Benefits are:

• Clean water

• Local farms and food

• Wildlife habitat

• Connecting people with nature

Why change a good thing? To become more relevant now, and to continue to be relevant 25 years from now is why.

Here’s a scoop: Not enough people in the Triangle know about TLC. Here’s another: Of those who know about TLC, not enough are supporting the organization.

The US Census estimate for 2008 says that more than 1.1 million adults live in our six Triangle counties. Only about 3,000 of those people are members of TLC. That’s less than one percent of the adults of this region. That’s less than half-a-percent. In fact, it’s about 0.26 percent.

Really? Just one-quarter of one percent of the adults in the Triangle support TLC?

Yup.

Don’t get me wrong. These 3,000 people have done great things. Blazed the path. Lit the way. Dug the trench, lugged the stone and poured the concrete for a solid rock foundation. They’ve done so much.

Now it’s time to widen the circle. So we’re trying something new.... Something that we think will make the organization more relevant to more people. Talking to people about how our work benefits them. And taking actions that provide clear benefits.

Does this mean we’re changing everything? No. Let’s go back to that explanation of the Benefits Approach: “meeting the needs of people in our region through the benefits of land conservation.”

There it is, spelled out in bold. Our work is land conservation. But there are many ways to conserve land, and as many ways to target what land to conserve. Once land is conserved, there are as many options for how to steward it. We’ll be exploring these options, and choosing the ones that provide the most benefit to the people of this region.

We’re just at the beginning of this process. Over the next year we’ll be setting goals and defining measurements to make sure we’re meeting those goals through time.

All the while we’ll be talking with you about it—in the newsletter (including a spotlight on one Benefit in each issue next year), in the E-News, on the website. Part of “talking with you” is listening to you, and we’ll be doing that too as we start down this road.

We think you’ll like what we’re doing. And if we’re right, now your neighbors will too.

Triangle Land Conservancy's Mission and Public Benefits

TLC’s mission is to protect important open space – stream corridors, forests, wildlife habitat, farmland, and natural areas – in Chatham, Durham, Johnston, Lee, Orange, and Wake Counties to help keep our region a healthy and vibrant place to live and work.

Wildlife Habitat
Natural areas and well-managed forests support healthy ecosystems and balance our built environment by providing habitat for native plants and animals. This habitat supports opportunities for research and education that reveal how human activities change the natural world that we depend on for food, air, water, and our very lives.
TLC will

• identify and protect important natural areas and managed forests

• require conservation plans on all TLC-protected natural areas and managed forests

• encourage and help partner organizations protect such land.

Clean Water
Abundant clean water is essential. People drink water, eat fish that grow in it, and use it for agriculture, industry, and recreation. Clean water is also an essential component of habitat for native plants and animals. Population growth in our community increases demand for clean water – we use more than ever before – while associated pollution has compromised the supply.
TLC reduces threats to clean water by

• protecting land along streams

• practicing and encouraging land management that keeps soil and pollutants out of streams

• leading the development of more effective, collaborative approaches to protecting water.

Local Farms & Food
Well-managed farms and associated woodlands enhance our communities by producing food, wood products, and other crops; by sustaining rural agricultural economies; and by providing clean water, wildlife habitat, scenic vistas, and educational opportunities. Local farms can also supply fresh food to local markets. Yet, farms and their heritage are vanishing from our landscape; once gone, they are unlikely to return.
TLC will

• work with farm owners to protect their land so they can stay in business

• require conservation plans on all TLC-protected farms

• provide opportunities for education, research, and food, crop, and timber production on TLC-owned farmland

• encourage and help partner organizations protect farmland that may be used for these activities.

Connecting People with Nature
Connecting people with nature is essential as we look to balance our increasingly indoor, urban lives. Opportunities for outdoor exercise, fresh air, contemplation, and relief from stress support our health and vibrancy while reminding us of our place in the natural world.
TLC increases opportunities to make healthy choices and practice good stewardship by

• protecting natural areas, well-managed farms and forests, and land along streams

• creating trails, greenways, community gardens, and related education centers

• helping create parks and regional land and water trail systems

• working with partners to ensure that all people have convenient access to these amenities.