“Traveling across America to meet individuals protecting the places people love, and sharing their stories.”

Unity to Wisdom podcasts can now be found on iTunes.  If the link does not work for you, please let me know.  You can also find the podcasts by searching directly on iTunes.

The first two podcasts are not showing up and I will get that fixed as soon as possible.

Update: The first two files are now availble via iTunes as well.

Buy, Restrict, Resell.  But what happens when the old farmhouse on the property burns down just days before you close on the sale?  This is a great story of the unexpected challenges that a land trust can face.  And it happened to one of the oldest land trusts in Maine — Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association, which is celebrating their 40th anniversary this year.

How did it all work out?  What other stories do they have to share?  Listen in and find out, and then check out their website for more information.

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Learn more about the Land Trust Alliance’s ADVOCATES network.

Notes: Intro and outgo music is from Tempest (de havilland vampire) by The Brothers Femme.

What happens when a deal is dependent on selling a house on the property and the house burns down?

Well, you will just have to wait and see.  (My audio editor hit an error so I need to re-edit the file with my interview with Maureen Hoffman of Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association — but I can tell you it will be worth listening to)

They have only completed two projects, therefore they must be a small land trust, right?  Not when the two projects have protected tens of thousands of acres.  And their third project, which they are working on right now?  Over 20,000 acres.

How can a small land trust in a small town accomplish so much?  Listen in and find out, and then check out their website for more information.

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The workshop that Mark is presenting at Rally is session A19

A special note of thanks to Lindsay Wheaton, who is not only president of the Board of Directors for Downeast Lakes Land Trust, but also runs Grand Lake Lodge.  If you travel up to Grand Lake Stream, I strongly suggest you spend a night in one of their cabins.

Notes: Intro and outgo music is from Tempest (de havilland vampire) by The Brothers Femme.

At noon I was wandering arround Belfast, Maine looking for lunch.  As I randomly  turned a corner, I saw a sign for Maine Farmland Trust.  I stopped in and said hello.  Unfortunately I did not have my camera or audio recorder with me.  In the front of their office is an art gallery which they are setting up for a new display.

A pleasant surprise.  I never seem to be too far from a land trust.

After spending the weekend at Acadia National Park (a product of extraodinary conservation efforts in the eary 20th century), I traveled to Unity, Maine to visit with the Friends of Unity Wetlands.  This was the first land trust on my journey, and it served as a great starting point.

I attended Unity College before the Friends of Unity Wetlands was established.  It is wonderful to see that there is now a land trust there succesfully protecting the surrounding area.

Rick Lawrence, a founding board member, drove me arround to show me some of the properties the land trust has protected. We then returned to their office where I had a chance to talk with him.

Listen to our conversation and then check out thier website for more information.

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A special note of thanks to Unity College for allowing me to spend a night on campus — the new dorms are really nice.

Notes: Intro and outgo music is from Tempest (de havilland vampire) by The Brothers Femme.

You can listen to Jessica Schley interview me.  We discuss my sabbatical, how I came to learn about the Land Trust Alliance, and my different jobs at the Alliance over the years.

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Notes: Intro and outgo music is from Tempest (de havilland vampire) by The Brothers Femme.

My first podcast.  Jessica Schley is a student at University of California – Berkeley, and interned at the Land Trust Alliance for the past few months.  She has a great passion for land conservation.

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Notes: Putting this first podcast togehter has been a great learning experience. I made a mistake with the audio editing software and had to start over at one point, so I don’t think I will make that same mistake again. Please provide feedback in the comments on the interview or on the podcast. I like the song played at the begining and end Tempest (de havilland vampire) by The Brothers Femme, but I think the selection for intro might be too slow.

As the countdown clock on the side of my blog indicates, there is less than one month until my peregrinations begin.   My itinerary needs to be updated, and there are a few more land trusts I still need to contact, but for the most part everything is falling into place.

Each of the land trusts I have contacted has been wonderfully enthusiastic about my plans to visit with them.   My coworkers have also been very helpful and supportive (but maybe they are just happy to get rid of me for two months).

Yesterday I recorded my first interview with Jessica Schley.   Jessica is an American Studies and Conservation and Resource Studies double major at UC Berkeley.   Her internship was with the Public Policy department here at the Alliance.   She has a powerful passion for land conservation that emanates from her connection to her family’s ranch in California.

After talking with her, she turned the tables and asked me a number of questions.

I plan to get the podcast up this weekend.

I get nervous when I share my sabbatical plans with others these days.

Why? Because often people will have a list of land trusts that I just have to visit. There are just so many great land trusts out there, and everyone wants to add their favorite(s) to my list.

I could spend my entire sabbatical visiting just one region (or in some cases just one state) and still not get to meet with all the great land trusts in the area. But of course I set an ambitious schedule for myself to get from Maine to Montana. That means there is a lot of driving that takes away from my time visiting land trust (and, regrettably, adds to my carbon footprint). It does allow me to visit some places that are important to me, and to meet with a large variety of land trusts along the way.

My plans are coming together, so please keep an eye on my itinerary.

So I apologize if I don’t make it to your land trust, or to your favorite land trust.