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ALPINE Webinar Series Continues into Spring 2022
ALPINE will be offering webinars in the spring of 2022. Here is the schedule for the first two:
Accelerating Climate Action Through Higher Education: An Introduction to Second Nature presented by the CEO, Tim Carter.
Wednesday, January 26, 2022 12:30 – 1:30 pm
From its founding, Second Nature has worked to expand higher education’s ability to solve pressing sustainability challenges. Since 2006, its focus has been to address the largest environmental challenge that civilization has faced: global climate change. Launched in 2006, the Presidents’ Climate Leadership Commitments initiative is now the longest standing voluntary carbon reduction program in the world. Through the Commitments initiative and its Climate Leadership Network, Second Nature today works with over 600 universities and colleges, and more than 4,000 faculty and administrators in the US to help make the principles of sustainability fundamental to every aspect of higher education. Read more about Second Nature here.
In the January 26 ALPINE webinar Tim Carter, CEO of Second Nature, will offer an overview of the organization's major initiatives, advocacy work and climate leadership activities.
Register Here for the January 26, 2022 webinar featuring Second Nature.
An Introduction to the Institute for Integrative Conservation at The College of William and Mary, presented by Robert Rose, the Director of the Institute
Wednesday, March 9, 2022 12:30-1:30pm ET
In 2020, the College of William & Mary launched the Institute for Integrative Conservation (IIC) thanks to a $19.3 million alumni gift. The IIC is set up as a cross-disciplinary entity to position the university as a global leader in transformational research to protect ecosystems and safeguard world populations. It aspires to cultivate leaders who will drive policy, advance advocacy and inspire action at the local, national and international levels. The institute supports multidisciplinary teams of faculty, staff and students to address conservation issues in a multitude of ways. In collaboration with academic and conservation partners, the IIC plans to design an entirely new curriculum for training the next generation of conservation leaders. Along with conservation science, students will develop skills in design thinking, business processes and management, finance, regulatory frameworks, and fundraising, and be expert communicators who can relate to a diversity of audiences and cultures. Read more about the IIC here.
Register Here for the March 9 webinar featuring the IIC.
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2022 ALPINE Summer Institute Now Accepting Applications
Enrollment for the 2022 ALPINE Summer Institute is now open. This program, which will include once-a-week virtual sessions between early June and early August next summer, will also (if public health conditions allow) feature a face-to-face meeting at the Schoodic Institute in Winter Harbor, Maine from June 24 to 26, 2022.
Undergraduate and graduate students, as well as young professionals with a wide variety of academic backgrounds and levels of experience, are eligible to apply for the program. The Institute is designed for those who are interested in getting in-depth exposure to the practice of large landscape conservation in New England. Previous participants have come from a range of public and private colleges and universities as well as large and small conservation organizations. No New England residency or affiliation with a New England college, university, or conservation organization is required.
The Summer Institute will include presentations, discussions and writing assignments. Guest speakers from such organizations as the Harvard Forest, the International Land Conservation Network, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, the Maine Coast Heritage Land Trust, and the Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust will join the class to share their insights and experience from the field. One full session will be devoted to a discussion of diversity and inclusion in the field of conservation.
Participants must:
- Be able to attend all sessions of the program
- Provide their own transportation to and from the Summer Institute weekend at the Schoodic Institute in Maine.
There will be no cost to the students for the program instruction associated with the ALPINE Summer Institute. For the in-person weekend at the Schoodic Institute, all lodging and food will be provided at no cost to the participant.
Students will be asked to present a land conservation focused research project to complete the program. Examples of past participant projects can be seen here. Upon completion of the workshops, students will receive a certificate from the ALPINE Summer Institute.
View the application here.
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ALPINE Members Present at the AASHE Conference and Second Nature
 In the third quarter of 2021, several ALPINE network participants made presentations to the AASHE conference, and to an online meeting hosted by the Second Nature network. Presenters urged colleges and universities to extend their work beyond campus sustainability to embrace the urgent call for transformative action regarding climate, biodiversity and human well-being.
The AASHE presentation, entitled The Future of Life on Earth: A Case for Academia’s Role in Advancing Conservation and Biodiversity to Address Climate and Human Health, was presented by: Tom Kelly, Executive Director of the Sustainability Institute and Chief Sustainability Officer at University of New Hampshire; Mele Wheaton, research scholar in the Social Ecology Lab at Stanford University and Caroline Beckman, student researcher; David Foster, Senior Conservationist at the Harvard Forest and Marianne Jorgensen, ALPINE network manager. The Powerpoint presentation is available here.
The Second Nature presentation, entitled The Importance of Academia’s Role in Advancing Conservation and Biodiversity to Address Climate Change and Human Health, introduced the audience to the 30x30 initiative and its connection and importance to climate, environmental justice and human health objectives. The authors called on institutions to pivot to engage in their communities, regions and nationally to be involved in land stewardship and conservation as natural climate solutions. View this Second Nature Webinar presented by David Foster and Marianne Jorgensen here.
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Learning Land Justice, Centering Community, and Advancing Conservation at the 2021 RCP Network Gathering
Hosted by the Highstead Foundation and the RCP Network, the virtual Gathering program consisted of a keynote address and two moderated panel discussions designed to advance conversations on equity and Land Justice by raising awareness and understanding of the legacy of racism and white supremacy in conservation and examining actionable approaches for addressing this history while advancing land conservation goals. Dianne Russell, president of the Institute for Conservation Leadership led breakout sessions for peer connection and learning with a focus on what’s working to advance Land Justice across conservation and environmental organizations.
The Gathering is the product of a coordinated effort of five networks aligned with the broader Wildlands, Woodlands, Farmlands, and Communities vision: The Regional Conservation Partnership (RCP) Network; the Northeast Forest Network; Academics for Land Protection in New England (ALPINE); Food Solutions New England; and the Conservation Finance Network. Leaders from these five networks aided in drafting the event program and panels and in nominating moderators and speakers who brought broadened and essential perspectives to the day.
Read the event recap here.
You can view recordings from the RCP Network Gathering at the sites listed below.
- Keynote Address: Environmental Legacy: Justice, Land Use, and a History of Connection, Parker McMullen Bushman
- Panel I: What Does Land Justice Mean, and How Does it Affect My Communities?
- Leopold Conservation Award: Presented to Choiniere Family Farm of Highgate Center, Vermont
- Panel II: Guiding Principles for Scaling up Community-Driven Land Justice and Conservation Outcomes
- Full Recording: 2021 Regional Conservation Partnership Network Gathering
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2021 ILCN-ELCN Global Congress Held December 8-10
The 2021 Global Congress of the International Land Conservation Network (ILCN) and the European Land Conservation Network (ELCN) was held December 8-10, 2021. The Global Congress brought together an international community of private and civic land conservation practitioners to advance their work and build capacity by sharing expertise in conservation finance, law and policy, organization and governance, land stewardship, large landscape conservation, and conservation technology.
The event was held virtually, and included some 35 sessions and programs. Organizers report that the Global Congress attracted about 920 registrants from 89 countries. Some 130 speakers appeared in the presentations. The keynote panel included Andrew Bowman, President of the Land Trust Alliance; Sally Jewell, a Nature Conservancy Global Board member and former US Secretary of the Interior; Zhang Li, Professor at Beijing Normal University and Secretary-General of the SEE Foundation (SEE standing for the Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology Foundation, one of the largest Chinese nature NGOs); Luthando Dziba, Director of Conservation Services for South African National Parks; and Jorg Andreas Kruger, President of NABU (the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union). Miquel Rafa, the Director of Territory and Environment at the Fundacio Catalunya - La Pedrera, accepted a Conservation Visionary Award on behalf of the people of Catalonia who have, in the past 50 years, protected nearly 32% of their province's territory.
Recordings are available to people who registered before the event deadline here.
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Events
2022 Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference
Thursday March 24 – Saturday March 26, online
The theme this year is "Communicating Conservation: Building the Message for the 21st Century". Watch for registration information early in 2022!
This spring, Highstead and The Conservation Finance Network will be producing a series of Conservation Finance Learning Labs. The webinars will take place from December 2021 to April 2022, and will feature panel discussions, case studies, and networking opportunities for participants to take a deep dive into tangible, innovative approaches to conservation funding and financing. The concepts and lessons learned from the case studies presented will be broadly applicable to practitioners everywhere. Click here for more information
Turning Over Rocks: Underutilized Sources of Funding
Tuesday, January 11th at 2 PM ET
Focus on underutilized sources of federal funding and financing, what to track, and how best to anticipate them (CIG, RCPP, LWCF, IFNF, etc.).
Part III: The Power of Debt: Borrowing Money to Save the World
Tuesday, February 8th at 2 PM ET
Focus on the benefits and sources of debt alongside repayment pathways (PRIs, SRF, revolving loans, etc.).
Corporate Engagement: Successfully Selling your Project
Tuesday, March 8th at 2 PM ET
Focus on cracking the nut for corporate engagement, considering advocacy as an underutilized form of corporate support, and a key aspect of the pitch.
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News
UNESCO’s Future of Education Report
This report discusses the role Universities must assume to respond to crises in democracy, social fragmentation and climate change by rethinking their missions to innovate in teaching and push further on open access in research, ensuring they are not seen as “elite institutions that exist to serve elites”. Education – the way society organizes teaching and learning throughout life – has long played a foundational role in the transformation of human societies. It connects us with the world and to each other, exposes us to new possibilities, and strengthens our capacities for dialogue and action. But to shape peaceful, just, and sustainable futures, education itself must be transformed. Read the UNESCO report here.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Biodiversity and Climate Change Report
This co-sponsored IPBES-IPCC workshop report examines the fundamental intertwining of biodiversity and climate and its impacts on people’s quality of life and makes a case for why climate policy and biodiversity policy must be considered jointly to meet these challenges.
Read the report here.
Rethinking Carbon Neutrality in Higher Education by Alex Barron, Aaron Strong, and Lucy Metz
Higher education commitments to neutrality were built around a framework developed in the early 2000s to help businesses take early climate action. That framework focuses on direct fossil fuel use and purchased electricity, allowing institutions to buy off-site reductions on a voluntary market — including carbon “offsets” to balance out continuing emissions and thus achieve net neutrality. This article discusses whether net carbon neutrality, and the approach to it is the most productive focus for institutional climate action.
Read article here.
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ALPINE is looking for resources that we can share with our network. If you teach or do research on any aspect of land conservation or work with land conservation organizations, please share your syllabi or example with us.
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