Seminar description:

Discover the unique agriculture and agrotourism in the Boyertown area.   Conservation best management practices and sustainability will be highlighted, as well as spotted lanternfly research.  Participants will learn about diversifying operations and adapting to new technologies, crops, and consumer preferences and how these fit with existing operations and the history of the region. [Eligible for .4 PRPS CEUs]

Tour stops include: 

Wild Fox Farm

• Wild Fox Farm: CBD and hemp production on an organic farm that also operates a CSA. 
• Butter Valley Harvest: A hydroponic vegetable facility on an existing family farm. 
• Colebrookdale Railroad: A scenic railroad partnering with local businesses and farms to revitalize the area’s tourism. Includes lunch. 
• Manatawny Creek Winery: A winery that still grows its own grapes and is a hub for spotted lanternfly research. Includes optional winetasting. 

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Seminar description:

Participants will explore the forests, fields, and farmlands of landscape-scale conservation efforts converging in Southern Berks County, including the Highlands Region, Hopewell Big Woods and the Delaware River Watershed Initiative. Hike a portion of the Horse-Shoe Trail and tour a fruit farm. Along the way, attendees will learn about multiple strategies used for land and water protection in this region through federal, state, county, and private funding programs.  [Eligible for .3 PRPS CEUs]

Tour stops include:

Weavers Orchard

• Weavers Orchard: Have lunch while learning about the orchard’s position as a node in Berks County’s ag economy. After lunch participants will walk to adjoining property to learn about restoration projects and easements in the DRWI Schuylkill Highlands cluster.  
• Drive by Love Farm. Speakers will cover the Love Farm restoration project. 
• Buck Hollow. Includes an introduction to the site, as well as a guided hike to and along the Horse-Shoe Trail.  Participants will hear about site management and the importance of forested headwaters for maintaining and improving water quality. 
• Drive by other points of interest. Including an emerging land protection cluster around Gibraltar Hill, with context from presenters. 

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Seminar description:

Kent Himelright, watershed specialist with Berks County Conservation District, and Larry Lloyd, Senior Ecologist with Berks Nature, will lead participants on an adventure as they highlight exceptional stormwater and source water protection projects in Berks County. [Eligible for .275 PRPS CEUs]

Tour stops include:

Little Cacoosing Creek

• Papermill Dam, located at Cacoosing creek (slated for removal to restore and enhance habitat). Participants will hear from American Rivers, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, and Berks Nature regarding the dam removal process and the corresponding benefits to water quality, wildlife habitat, aquatic passage, and stormwater capacity. 
• Kreider Family property.  Presenters from Stroud Water Research Center and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will join us to discuss work completed on the property, and the benefits of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) and the Farm Stewardship Program. A brief walking tour will highlight implemented best management practices. 
• Wilson West School. Participants will tour a stream restoration project on the Little Cacoosing Creek.  The project addressed channel instability and anthropogenic channel alterations by removing floodplain legacy sediments and restoring stream flow to historical channels; it also enhanced hydrological connections to precolonial hydrologic soils, and increased floodplain capacity. Inherited by Lower Heidelberg Township, the project is part of their overall MS4 Pollution Reduction Plan.   

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Session description:

The work of land conservation often takes place outdoors and away from the office – whether monitoring land holdings and easements, collecting data to improve land management, or reporting on conditions and assets, this work can be made more efficient with the use of location data and GIS. Using simple, configurable applications, users of all skill levels can digitally transform their field operations by modernizing paper workflows and ensuring the use of authoritative data in the field. This presentation will introduce ESRI tools for field data work, including ArcGIS Field Maps, as well as the ArcGIS Online infrastructure to support these workflows. As an example in practice, The Nature Conservancy will describe how ArcGIS supports their preserve monitoring and reporting workflows, both in the field and in the office. [Eligible for .1 PRPS CEUs] [Eligible for 1 Cat1 CFE]

Speaker information:

Rachel Weeden | Regional Manager, ESRI

Bio: Rachel Weeden is the Mid-Atlantic Regional Manager at Esri, a role where she combines her interests in geography, applied technology and improving government services. Prior to Esri, she worked for the City of Philadelphia and Chester County PA as a GIS Specialist, a career path introduced to her as a Geography undergraduate at Penn State University.

Jacob Leizear | Conservation GIS Specialist, The Nature Conservancy, Pennsylvania/Delaware Chapter

Bio: Jake Leizear is the Conservation GIS Specialist for the Pennsylvania/Delaware Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Starting with TNC in August 2022, Jake has 6 years of experience in cartography, conservation GIS, DEIJ work, and spatial prioritization analyses. Jake’s role at TNC focuses on supporting the stewardship, urban, freshwater, and coastal teams of the chapter maintain existing preserves and identify new opportunities for conservation in Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Session description:

This workshop will introduce people to basic concepts in Wilderness First Aid, train people in basic life saving methods, and discuss accident prevention and response planning considerations.  This will not result in a certification but will instruct participants in basic life saving measures and will encourage participants to enroll in a certification course. [Eligible for .2 PRPS CEUs] [Eligible for 2.5 Cat2 CFEs]

Speaker information:

Keith Williams | Community Engagement Coordinator, Lancaster Conservacy

Session description:

The land protection and stewardship roundtable is open to people involved with acquiring and stewarding land and conservation easements.

The Wednesday evening reception (5-7PM) will take place at The Rookery at the Nature Place. Home to Berks Nature’s headquarters, The Nature Place is a LEED Gold certified building and sits among nearly 100 acres in Reading’s beautiful Angelica Creek Park. Shuttle will be available to take conference attendees to and from the reception.

The Nature Place, Berks Nature.

Learn more about The Nature Place.

The Rookery at The Nature Place, Berks Nature.

Keynote Speaker, Dr. Michael Mann

Dr. Michael E. Mann is Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania, with a secondary appointment in the Annenberg School for Communication. He is director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media (PCSSM). Dr. Mann received his undergraduate degrees in Physics and Applied Math from the University of California at Berkeley, an M.S. degree in Physics from Yale University, and a Ph.D. in Geology & Geophysics from Yale University. His research interests include the study of Earth’s climate system and the science, impacts and policy implications of human-caused climate change. Dr. Mann is author of more than 200 peer-reviewed and edited publications, numerous op-eds and commentaries, and five books including Dire Predictions: Understanding Climate Change, The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines, The Madhouse Effect: How Climate Change Denial is Threatening our Planet, Destroying Our Politics, and Driving Us Crazy, The Tantrum that Saved the World and The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet.

Feature on our plenary dignitaries.

Session description:

How can data reframe the ways we approach conservation and our approaches to communication and engaging with the communities we serve? 

With the support of the Land Trust Alliance and the Open Space Institute, a team from French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust and University of Pennsylvania is developing a public-facing GIS-based tool which will help reframe open-space preservation as a regional climate resilience imperative. This tool will incorporate the latest land-use data and projections available and localized downscaled rainfall projections (developed in cooperation with Chester County and local utility partners) to model and visualize the expected downstream impacts of greater and more intense precipitation on communities, including downstream Environmental Justice communities along the Schuylkill River. 

In this session, speakers involved in the project will outline their technical and narrative approach and demonstrate key elements of the product, with the intent of prompting a facilitated interactive discussion with session attendees. [Eligible for .1 PRPS CEUs]

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Karl Russek | Conservation Coordinator, French & Pickering Creek Conservation Trust 

Bio: Karl Russek is Conservation Coordinator at French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust, with over 30 years’ experience managing projects at the intersection of environmental science, policy, and finance in the US and internationally.  He served as the Director of Programs and Applied Research at the Water Center at the University of Pennsylvania, where he remains a Senior Advisor.  Education: Master of Science degree in Environmental Quality Science, University of Alaska. 

Co-Speaker #1: Shandor Szalay | Principal, SJS Consulting 

Bio: Shandor Szalay is a water resources scientist and Principal of SJS Consulting with over 25 years’ experience with watershed management and restoration nationally, including at F. X. Browne, Inc., AKRF, and Arcadis. He is a Senior Advisor at the Water Center at the University of Pennsylvania and an Adjunct Professor at Villanova University. Education: University of Minnesota; SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. 

Co-Speaker #2: Alex Cartwright | Water Resources Analyst, The Water Center at Penn 

Bio: Alex Cartwright is a Water Resources Analyst at the Water Center at the University of Pennsylvania and a Design Fellow at PennPraxis. Education: Currently a dual-enrolled graduate student in the Master of Environmental Studies Program and Program in City and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania. B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, minor in Economics, The University of Texas at Austin.

Session description: 

As utility solar potentially expands its presence in most counties across PA, there is a growing interest in finding new approaches to preserve agricultural heritage and current levels of production.  Utility scale solar can have a significant impact on present agricultural systems and practices.  This session will look at ways in which agriculture can be prioritized at the local level, while allowing some planned solar development to be built.  The focus is to optimize agriculture and offer new perspectives when landowners are considering their possible energy production options.  Offering solar energy companies agriculture-centered lease language, with added energy production, reroutes the current model focused on energy production with the possible option of agriculture.  How are township and county solar zoning ordinances linked to this process?  And how more broadly can agricultural communities benefit from this evolving way of considering utility scale solar in PA? 

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Thomas Murphy

Bio: Tom Murphy, recently retired Director of Penn State’s Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research (MCOR).  Tom has 38 years of experience working with public officials, researchers, industry, government agencies, and landowners during his tenure with the Extension branch of the University. His recent work has been centered on educational consultation in energy transitions, specifically at the convergence of shale gas, hydrogen, and renewables, with a more recent emphasis on utility-scale solar. In his role with MCOR, Tom has provided leadership to a range of Penn State’s related energy outreach events and research activities.  Currently he is working in partnership with the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors on the local implications of utility-scale solar energy across the Commonwealth.

Session description: 

As the prices of critical land transactions continue to rise, conservation organizations can implement creative approaches to securing and funding conservation efforts in areas with high development pressures. Understanding the needs of the seller—along with real estate experience—had allowed Allegheny Land Trust (ALT) to secure several large, long-term projects. Approaches to be covered here include: partnering with conservation buyers, local conservation groups, and government agencies; negotiating a near two-year fundraising period; and, two recent creative approaches to leveraging matching funds to secure projects while still meeting LTA Accreditation Standards. [Eligible for .1 PRPS CEUs]

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Alyson Fearon | Vice President of Land Conservation, Allegheny Land Trust 

Bio: Alyson Fearon has over 22 years of combined work experience in various roles with the military and private sector. She joined ALT in 2017 as an intern, accepted a full-time position in 2018, and was promoted to her current role in 2022. Alyson is the ALT lead on: land acquisition; land use research projects; resiliency efforts like carbon credits; and, non-traditional conservation efforts of community garden preservation, green infrastructure, and other urban greening efforts. Alyson is one of ALT’s GIS professionals and works with WPRDC to develop the Greenprint Tool. Certifications: Sustainability Excellence Associate (SEA); Climate Change Professional (CC-P). Adjunct Faculty: Chatham University. Education: BS, Environmental Science (Sustainability); Master of Sustainability, and Master of Business Administration, Chatham University. 

Session description: 

Cloud storage… if you weren’t thinking about it before COVID, you almost certainly are now. Lancaster Conservancy made the switch to the Cloud because their VPN-based system was inefficient and often broke down, and over the last two years have been upgrading all their technology. Brandywine Conservancy felt an increased need to go paperless after a hurricane in 2021 flooded their office, and they are just beginning their journey to the Cloud. This is a two part session in which: (1) Lancaster Conservancy will share their journey and lessons learned migrating a physical server, phone system, and server-based accounting system to a fully functioning, collaborative, Cloud-based suite of services; and, (2) Brandywine Conservancy will facilitate a round-table style discussion on concerns, ideas, and best practices for land trusts committed to going paperless.  Come prepared with your questions if you have them, and ready to share your own experiences with Cloud-based work. 

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Jenn Teson | VP of Operations & Conservation, Lancaster Conservancy 

Bio: Jenn Teson joined Lancaster Conservancy in 2017, starting in the land acquisition department, developing and implementing strategic conservation goals. Today, as VP of Operations & Conservation, she is responsible for ensuring all facets of the Conservancy are running smoothly and equipped with proper information, data, and technology. She came to the Conservancy with experience ranging from community sustainability to threatened species research and conservation, and is thrilled to put her skills to work facilitating conservation for the Conservancy. In her spare time, she enjoys horseback riding and nature photography, especially on the Conservancy’s preserves. Education: Masters degrees in both Public Affairs and Environmental Science, Indiana University. 

Co-Speaker #1: Susan Charkes | Lead Planner, Brandywine Conservancy 

Bio: Susan Charkes joined Brandywine Conservancy in 2016 in the easement stewardship department. Since 2021 she has been in the Land Conservation department, which is responsible for acquiring and facilitating acquisition of conservation easements and fee owned properties. She previously worked as executive director of a Maryland land trust, and as environmental planning specialist in a New Jersey watershed association. Prior to that she worked in information management and as a practicing attorney. Her diverse experience has been helpful in planning Brandywine’s transitions to cloud-based easement database and paperless land conservation/stewardship records management. She has also written several books on nature and the outdoors. Education: BA (English) University of Chicago, JD Columbia University, MLS (Information Science) Rutgers University.  

Co-Speaker #2: Kevin Rolfs | CFO, Lancaster Conservancy 

Bio: Kevin Rolfs joined the Lancaster Conservancy in September 2021. As the CFO, he is responsible for all accounting, finance, risk management, and human resources functions of the Conservancy. He was also tasked with implementing a new ERP/accounting system and using technology to improve the Conservancy’s financial systems. Kevin came to the Conservancy as a licensed CPA with experience working on the tax side of public accounting and in the investment management industry in Chicago.  Outside of work, he enjoys travelling, backpacking, and his newfound hobby of bouldering. Kevin graduated from the University of Notre Dame with degrees in accounting and mathematics in 2014. 

Session description: 

This is a workshop for Board members and Executive Staff. Every Board member should play a role in fundraising, but not every member of the Board has to add to the fundraising equation in the same way. The Triple A Board model is a construction created by Kaye Sprinkel Grace about 15 years ago. The As stand for ‘Ambassadors’, ‘Advocates’, and ‘Askers’ – three roles Board members can play in fundraising. While being able to ask for charitable gifts is important, not everyone needs to be an asker. The Triple A construct gives us a way to talk about each member’s interests and competencies and how to best utilize them as part of an organization’s development team. This session will review these different roles and ask each attendee to identify themselves within those roles. Participants will leave with new tools for assessing who has what skills on their Boards, and whether or not further recruitment or training might be helpful.

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: David Allen | Consultant, Development for Conservation 

Bio: Development for Conservation assists conservation organizations raising money from individual donors by improving renewal, cultivation, and major gift systems. David Allen brings more than 30 years experience to the practice, including thirteen with The Nature Conservancy. He has devoted his professional career to helping conservation organizations and land trusts pursue excellence in all aspects of their conservation endeavors. David is a skilled seminar presenter, particularly in major gift fundraising. Specialties include development audits, board training, and campaigns.

Session description: 

This session provides a section by section review of a title binder, with explanation following regarding how each section relates to insuring a title.  Ms. Miller will explain how things that turn up on the title search need to be handled and how they affect the property’s title.  Session includes a power point presentation and hand outs prepared so participants can try to answer questions that might be asked.  Time permitting, participants will engage in a roundtable discussion. 

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Tina Miller | Settlement Officer, Sentry Abstract Company 

Bio: Tina is a settlement officer with 33 years of experience in the title insurance industry, 28 of those years with Sentry Abstract Company, where Tina started as a processor and worked her way up to settlement officer. She is detail oriented, which is so important when it comes to completing a real estate transaction correctly. Tina prides herself on treating each of her clients as if they are her only priority and repays their loyalty with customer service they have come love. Tina works on her own files from start to finish so by the time they get to settlement all title issues, document problems, and other challenges have been handled. 

Session description: 

The Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP) empowers family landowners to sustainably manage their forests and mitigate climate change. To engage landowners, FFCP works with partners across the conservation community, including the North Branch Land Trust and Brandywine Conservancy. This session will cover progress and learnings to date from these partnerships and will equip land trusts to educate their landowners, members and boards on opportunities in the carbon markets. Additionally, the session will cover how the Family Forest Carbon Program works, including eligibility, payments and process for landowners. [Eligible for .15 PRPS CEUs] [Eligible for 1 Cat1 CFE]

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Jonathan Shears | Partnerships Manager, Family Forest Carbon Program, American Forest Foundation 

Bio: Jonathan Shears serves as Partnerships Manager for the Family Forest Carbon Program, where he focuses on ways carbon sequestration can complement the work of other forestry and conservation organizations. Before AFF, Jonathan worked as an Environmental Educator serving the inner city students of Washington, D.C. Jonathan enjoys hiking, fishing, kayaking and cooking. 

Co-Speaker #1: Ellen Ferretti | Executive Director, North Branch Land Trust 

Bio: Ellen Ferretti was recently named Executive Director of the North Branch Land Trust. Ellen brings more than 30 years of natural resource management and conservation experience to this position. She comes to North Branch from the Brandywine Conservancy in Southeast PA where she was Director for 5 ½ years. Prior to Brandywine, Ellen served as Secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (PA DCNR) and, previously as Deputy Secretary for Parks and Forestry, the first woman to hold both positions in PA government. Ellen is from Northeast Pennsylvania and, with this new position at North Branch Land Trust, comes home excited to work in partnership with others to protect, conserve and enjoy the region’s forests, fields, streams, rivers, farms, and outdoor legacy.  

Co-Speaker #2: Karley Stasko | Marketing & Development Director, North Branch Land Trust 

Bio: Karley Stasko, a NEPA native from Ashley, brings experience with outreach and volunteer management from her time in a university fine art gallery, and provides youthful perspective on conservation marketing and development. When not working at North Branch, Karley is a chronic hobbyist who enjoys beekeeping, foraging, cooking, sewing, and weaving. 

Co-Speaker #3: Evan Hunt | Easement Steward, Brandywine Conservancy 

Bio: Evan Hunt is a conservation easement steward at the Brandywine Conservancy. Originally from southeastern PA, Evan has been heavily involved in environmental conservation throughout the region. His experiences include ecological restoration, native plant propagation, and land stewardship. Education: Ursinus College. 

Session description: 

This session will feature lightning talks from land trusts using Landscape land conservation software.

Lightning talk subjects include:

• Baseline Photo Collection and Creating Reports: collecting baseline data, creating photo sheets, making custom reports;
• Annual Monitoring Workflow: assigning site visits, collecting data offline in the field, generating monitoring reports;
• Monitoring Schedule Dashboard and Managing Volunteer Monitors: tracking annual monitoring status, managing volunteer monitors;
• What’s New?: Landscape just released a new version with a new look and many new features. Let’s take a quick tour!

Built by former land trust professionals, Landscape is a connected web and mobile app for the full range of conservation work from acquisition to stewardship. More than 200 land trusts and conservation organizations in North America use Landscape. This session was structured based on requests from the local land trust community, who would like to learn more about Landscape. [Eligible for .15 PRPS CEUs]

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Dan Ford | Product Manager, Landscape 

Bio: Dan Ford is the Product Manager for Landscape. Previously, Dan worked at a regional land trust, Heritage Conservancy, focusing on leveraging technology for property acquisition and stewardship. He built his knowledge in conservation and tech while working in environmental consulting and software development for civic, social, and environmental impact. He has presented at conferences around the country and abroad about technology. Dan loves to learn, and spends most of his free time [after the kids go to sleep] studying new software technologies, designing maps, and planning his next backpacking trip—he encourages you to ask him about his favorite backpacking spot. 

Co-Speaker: Andrew Kirkpatrick | Director of Stewardship, Willistown Conservation Trust 

Bio: Director of Stewardship, Willistown Conservation Trust, Newtown Square; founding member, DEIJ Council of Land Trusts. He is passionate about using the tools and resources of conservation land trusts to connect with and support communities of color in their land protection needs. Recently completed, Executive Leadership program in Social Impact Strategy, University of Pennsylvania, where he learned about community collaboration, building movements for social change, and tools for creating social impact. Currently leading PA DEIJ Council of Land Trusts to become a new non-profit network to facilitate collaboration between land trusts and community based organizations across Pennsylvania. Lives in the Germantown section of Philadelphia with his family. 

Co-Speaker: Susan Charkes | Lead Planner, Brandywine Conservancy

Bio: Susan Charkes joined Brandywine Conservancy in 2016 in the easement stewardship department. Since 2021 she has been in the Land Conservation department, which is responsible for acquiring and facilitating acquisition of conservation easements and fee owned properties. She previously worked as executive director of a Maryland land trust, and as environmental planning specialist in a New Jersey watershed association. Prior to that she worked in information management and as a practicing attorney. Her diverse experience has been helpful in planning Brandywine’s transitions to cloud-based easement database and paperless land conservation/stewardship records management. She has also written several books on nature and the outdoors. Education: BA (English) University of Chicago, JD Columbia University, MLS (Information Science) Rutgers University.  

Co-Speaker: Jonathan Denlinger | Conservation Easement Monitoring Assistant, Lancaster Farmland Trust

Bio: Jon began working part-time with Lancaster Farmland Trust (LFT) during Spring 2022. The majority of his responsibilities with LFT focuses on easement monitoring of the >560 preserved farms for which they hold easements. Jon and his family live on a 7^th generation-owned farm in Lancaster County where they raise (on a small scale) grassfed beef, sheep, goats, and chickens.

Co-Speaker: Aiden Das | Land Protection & GIS Specialist, Lancaster Farmland Trust

Bio: Aidan is responsible for easement acquisition projects, easement stewardship, compiling baseline documentation for newly preserved farms, and managing LFT’s Geographic Information System. She also utilizes her Remote Pilot license by flying the organization’s drone. Aidan graduated from Miami University of Ohio with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Environmental Science and a GIS Certificate. Her previous experience includes interning for a land trust in Southwest Ohio where she monitored agricultural land under easement and discovered her passion for land preservation. Aidan enjoys kayaking, hiking, traveling, yoga, and exploring Lancaster County in her free time.

Session description: 

New to land conservation? Whether you’re a new board member, staff, or volunteer, this session will bring you up to speed on land conservation concepts. Learn the basic tools of the trade—how land trusts responsibly acquire and steward land and easements. [Eligible for 1.5 substantive CLE credits]

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Kate Gonick | Senior VP of Land Protection & General Counsel, Lancaster Conservancy 

Bio: Kate Gonick serves as the Senior VP of Land Protection & General Counsel for the Lancaster Conservancy. After practicing land use law in Lancaster County for over 30 years Kate joined the Conservancy in 2008. She previously worked on planning with Brandywine Conservancy and The Pinelands Commission and established a program and taught Archaeology and Anthropology at Cheyney University. Kate has worked on public water, stormwater, and municipal issues for decades and has represented authorities, landowners, and municipalities. Education: BA, Sweetbriar College; MA, Anthropology/Archaeology, Temple; J.D., Penn State University Dickinson School of Law. 

Co-Speaker #1: Dawn Gorham | Director of Land Preservation, Wildlands Conservancy 

Bio: Before joining Wildlands in summer 2015, Dawn was Executive Director of Pocono Heritage Land Trust. She was responsible for the planning and implementation of a comprehensive land conservation program, as well as the day-to-day management of the small land trust. Today, Dawn’s years of land conservation expertise are supporting Wildlands’ mission to protect critical natural areas and waterways. She resides in the Poconos. Education: Ph.D., Environmental and Forest Biology, SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry.

Session description: 

Change is inevitable and can feel like it comes at us quickly. How, then, can leaders guide their organizations through the challenges of rapid change? This workshop will introduce participants to the principles of adaptive leadership, including tips for staying grounded and focused, and helping your organization adapt and innovate. 

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Peter Lane | Institute for Conservation Leadership 

Bio: Peter Lane is an organizational consultant with more than 20 years of experience. He is also a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC) trained at the Mayo Clinic. Peter works with individuals and teams that are committed to ongoing learning, reflection, and making positive change for themselves and their organizations.  Prior to his work as a consultant, Peter worked for 18 years as director of programs at the Institute for Conservation Leadership where he led the development of the Institute’s successful Leading from Within program and designed and facilitated organizational capacity-building projects. Peter facilitates planning processes, designs, and facilitates retreats, and provides coaching to teams and individuals.  He is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Facilitators Network. Education: B.A., Clark University; M.Ed., University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 

Session description: 

This is a fundraising basics workshop based on four fundraising “systems” common to most nonprofit fundraising programs: Marketing, Renewal, Giving Leaders, and Major Gifts (including planned giving). The content defines the terms and includes strategies for success in each section. This is perfect for staff and Board members new to fundraising and/or staff in non-fundraising positions who want to learn a little more about how fundraising works.

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: David Allen | Consultant, Development for Conservation 

Bio: Development for Conservation assists conservation organizations raising money from individual donors by improving renewal, cultivation, and major gift systems. David Allen brings more than 30 years experience to the practice, including thirteen with The Nature Conservancy. He has devoted his professional career to helping conservation organizations and land trusts pursue excellence in all aspects of their conservation endeavors. David is a skilled seminar presenter, particularly in major gift fundraising. Specialties include development audits, board training, and campaigns.  

Session description: 

This roundtable provides an opportunity for land trust board and staff to share violation stories and learn from others who have experience in defending their easements. We will discuss protocols and policies for addressing violations including when and how to communicate with the landowners and the media, use of Terra Firma, and litigation. This session will be moderated by Steve Schiffman, experienced land trust counsel and litigator, and Andy Loza, executive director of WeConservePA. 

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Andy Loza | Executive Director, WeConservePA 

Bio: Andy Loza has served since 2000 as executive director of WeConservePA where he leads public policy efforts, plans and implements technical assistance and educational programs, writes and edits technical guidance, and directs a terrific staff. His work is informed by seven years as a land trust executive director and leading land use planning, environmental, conservation, and economic development, and trail initiatives for county government. Education: degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and Lehigh University. 

Co-Speaker: Steve Schiffman | Schiffman, Sheridan and Brown, PC  

Bio: Steven J. Schiffman concentrates his practice in the fields of business, taxation (including business and estate planning and administration), commercial loans, bank asset recovery and workout, and non-profit corporation law. He also provides counsel in the areas of general litigation, real estate, and personal injury. Mr. Schiffman acts as a tax lawyer to both non-profit and for-profit corporations. Since 1996 he has been General Counsel to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. He is a member in the R.A.P. Agency, LLC and practices residential and commercial real estate law. He is a frequent lecturer to professional groups as well as local and statewide organizations on matters such as estate planning, nonprofit corporation law, and land trusts. Mr. Schiffman is admitted to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, United States Tax Court, and the United States Supreme Court. Formerly: Assistant Attorney General, Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Education: BS (with distinction), Penn State University; JD (magna cum laude), Capital University School of Law; Master’s of Law in Taxation, Temple University School of Law. 

Session description: 

Our planet is facing the dual crises of rapid climate change and biodiversity loss. Change is happening all around us, including in the forest. Forests are under increasing stress from a host of impacts (invasive species, deer browsing, poor management practices, climate change). Will our forests be able to withstand these attacks? Can we help them adapt to these changes? 

Forests are also critical  for absorbing and sequestering carbon dioxide (CO2). We can conserve and improve the management of our forests to increase CO2 sequestration and storage — a concept known as Natural Climate Solutions.  For forests to fulfill their carbon sequestration and storage potential, they must also be resilient to the myriad of climate and non-climate related factors threatening them. 

This presentation will cover: 

1. How and where forests sequester and store carbon;
2. Management strategies to increase carbon storage and sequestration;
3. How forest carbon can be monetized through carbon credits;
4. What makes a forest resilient; and,
5. When management is necessary to enhance resiliency. 

The presentation will cover tradeoffs that landowners and managers must weigh when considering climate-smart forestry goals alongside their other conservation objectives.  The importance of balancing forest carbon goals with other forest resource considerations will be stressed throughout the presentation. [Eligible for .15 PRPS CEUs] [Eligible for 1.5 Cat1 CFE]

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Kevin Yoder | Director of Land Management, The Nature Conservancy in Pennsylvania and Delaware 

Bio: As the Director of Land Management, Kevin oversees the stewardship of TNC preserves and conservation easements in Pennsylvania and Delaware, works with conservation partners to sustainably manage Pennsylvania’s forests, and administers TNC’s forest carbon projects in Pennsylvania.  His career has revolved around the integration of wildlife management and forestry, with an emphasis on sustainably managing privately-owned forestland.  Kevin is interested helping landowners manage their land sustainably and developing tools and programs that help fund conservation. 

Session description: 

On September 1-2, 2021, southeastern Pennsylvania was hit by Hurricane Ida. With its location along the Brandywine Creek, Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art’s 15-acre campus was one of the settings hardest hit. While usual flood precautions were put in place prior to the storm, several structures (including their contents) were damaged by flood waters.  This session will provide an overview of Brandywine’s experience with the flood, from preparations to immediate 24-72 hour response and long term recovery. Topics include helpful land trust practices and tips on planning, preparation, file recovery, and restoration.  The session will also focus on how this experience is shaping the future of Brandywine’s work with its Climate Resiliency Initiative, work Brandywine has been doing previously but now is formalized to address both climate mitigation and climate adaptation. [Eligible for .15 PRPS CEUs]

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Stephanie Armpriester | Director of Conservation and Stewardship, Brandywine Conservancy 

Bio: Stephanie Armpriester is Director of Conservation and Stewardship at Brandywine Conservancy. She has over 13 years of experience in the non-profit, private, and public sectors in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, and New Jersey. Armpriester oversees Conservancy operations with Co-Director Grant DeCosta, as well as manages the Land Conservation and Easement Stewardship programs, and half of the Conservancy’s Preserves.   She specializes in agricultural and conservation easement preparation, historic preservation, and land use planning. Previously, she worked with landowners to preserve their land in perpetuity via conservation easements, as well as provided technical assistance to municipalities and others on innovative solutions for both cultural and water resource protection issues. Education: Masters, Historic Preservation Planning, Cornell University. 

Co-Speaker: Grant DeCosta | Director of Community Services, Brandywine Conservancy 

Bio: Grant DeCosta is the Director of Community Services at the Brandywine Conservancy. He has over 16 years of experience in conservation and environmental policy work in the non-profit, private, and public sectors in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. Mr. DeCosta specializes in land use planning, conservation, and implementation of land restoration projects for water quality improvement. In his role at the Conservancy, Grant works with landowners, municipalities, regulators and policy makers to provide a holistic approach to natural resource conservation and protection. Education: B.S., Forestry and Wildlife Science, Virginia Tech. 

Session description: 

Pre-colonial Native American practices of agroforestry offer promising models for the restoration of forests in stream corridors and open spaces. Implementing these models requires overcoming institutional structures built around field crops. Economic policies often legitimate these structures by mythologies with dubious historical credentials. Archaeological evidence shows that for much of our region’s history, indigenous peoples depended heavily on the active management of forests for nuts and other tree products. Complementary models are illustrated by the Keystone Tree Crops Cooperative. The KTCC builds on the legacy of the John Hershey nursery of growing nuts and grafting new specimen trees. The KTCC formed in 2020 to “bring together growers, gatherers, processors, distributors, and enjoyers in the Mid-Atlantic region.” KTCC is creating new economic drivers for harvesting, processing, and retail food production by providing dedicated locations for storage and processing of nuts into oils and flours. By encouraging the integration of tree crops into private gardens, public lands, riparian buffers, and urban forests, it also is helping to maintain valuable cultivars. Tree crops also provide vital ecosystem services to maintain the viability of these habitats. Natural forest evolution helps assure the future of tree crops despite the extremes of weather and climate change. [Eligible for 1.5 Cat1 CFEs]

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Allen Kerkeslager | Associate Professor of Ancient and Comparative Religions, Saint Joseph’s University

Bio: Allen Kerkeslager is Associate Professor of Ancient and Comparative Religions at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.  After fieldwork in the Middle East and a number of years of teaching courses on cultures in the ancient Mediterranean, his research interests have begun to shift toward the ecologies of indigenous peoples.  His training in anthropology, archaeology, and ancient history informs this effort, as does his experience as co-founder and board member of a watershed group focused on the upper Genesee River (2008-2020).  Since 2008, he has been the liaison between NY and PA for the Triple Divide Trail System (TDTS), an emerging eco-corridor designed as a strategy for incentivizing watershed conservation by creating infrastructure for outdoor recreation and rural economic development.  The core of its connectivity is a multi-use trail system that currently extends 235 miles from Lake Ontario in Rochester, NY, to the Susquehanna River in Jersey Shore, PA, via the triple continental divide in Potter County, PA. Education: PhD, the University of Pennsylvania. 

Co-Speaker #1: Louise Bugbee | LMSuppan, LLC, & Northampton County Parks 

Bio: Louise Bugbee is an independent consultant with over 20 years’ experience managing grant funded programs and projects, including 17 years as a Penn State Extension Educator. She is currently supervising collaborative projects for the Northampton County Parks Department. She spearheaded the development and installation of the Hershey Conservatory in the County Park and continues to oversee its expansion.  Louise has facilitated planting projects with municipal and private property owners as a coordinator for the Watershed Coalition of the Lehigh Valley. She is a board member of the Pennsylvania Nut Growers Association. Education: MA in Public Health. 

Co-Speaker #2: Matthew Holt | Stillwater Earthworks

Bio: Matthew Holt is a member of the Keystone Tree Crop Cooperative and a land steward residing in the Angelica Creek watershed. As the owner and operator of Stillwater Earthworks, Matthew implements regenerative land use principles to install stormwater management systems, edible landscapes, and permaculture designs across the Mid-Atlantic.  He also propagates a plethora of perennial, edible and medicinal plants.

Co-Speaker #3: Zach Elfers | Future Forest Farm  

Bio: Zach Elfers is a land steward in the peavine woodlands, along the Lower Susequehanna River. Zach has been nurturing and grafting Hershey Trees for several years. He grafted many of the trees in the Conservatory in Northampton County from Hershey stock. He owns and operates Future Forest Plants in Airville, PA where he grows with and works with nuts, fruits, and roots of the bioregion.  Zach is a co-founder of the Keystone Tree Crops Cooperative. 

Session description: 

While many nonprofit organizations want to create a diverse board of directors that values and engages all members, the journey to do so is complex and challenging.  This interactive workshop is designed to look at what it means to create and engage a diverse board and why it matters to your organization. You will also explore useful tools and approaches to recruiting and involving a diverse group of board members.   

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Peter Lane | Institute for Conservation Leadership 

Bio: Peter Lane is an organizational consultant with more than 20 years of experience. He is also a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC) trained at the Mayo Clinic. Peter works with individuals and teams that are committed to ongoing learning, reflection, and making positive change for themselves and their organizations.  Prior to his work as a consultant, Peter worked for 18 years as director of programs at the Institute for Conservation Leadership where he led the development of the Institute’s successful Leading from Within program and designed and facilitated organizational capacity-building projects. Peter facilitates planning processes, designs, and facilitates retreats, and provides coaching to teams and individuals.  He is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Facilitators Network. Education: B.A., Clark University; M.Ed., University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 

Session description: 

We all understand that individual cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship is the way we will raise more significant money. But how do you do that? What does “moves management” even mean? How do we get started? This workshop is for staff and Board members who want to explore donor cultivation planning. How to make the most out of first contact. How to think through the questions we want answered before we ask. How to plan donor communication that meets each individual’s needs. Sure, it’s more art than science, but David’s practical, step-by-step approach can help us build the solid donor relationships that will carry our land trusts far into the future.

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: David Allen | Consultant, Development for Conservation 

Bio: Development for Conservation assists conservation organizations raising money from individual donors by improving renewal, cultivation, and major gift systems. David Allen brings more than 30 years experience to the practice, including thirteen with The Nature Conservancy. He has devoted his professional career to helping conservation organizations and land trusts pursue excellence in all aspects of their conservation endeavors. David is a skilled seminar presenter, particularly in major gift fundraising. Specialties include development audits, board training, and campaigns.  

Session description:

Some land trusts insert private transfer fee provisions into their conservation easements that trigger a payment to the land trust when an eased property changes ownership. Sometimes referred to as a stewardship conveyance fee, stewardship transfer fee, or stewardship funding covenant, these can be a percentage of the sales price or a set amount. The fees support the long-term stewardship of eased property and serve as a tangible reminder to the new owners of the restrictions of the easement. 

Join us for a panel discussion bringing together land protection and easement staff from French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust, Willistown Conservation Trust, and Natural Lands to discuss the particulars of how each land trust incorporates realty transfer fees into their easements, how the fees are collected, and answer frequently asked questions. [Eligible for 1 substantive CLE credit]

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Erin McCormick | Director, Conservation Easements Program, Natural Lands 

Bio: Erin is responsible for oversight and administration of Natural Lands’ easement program, including monitoring, enforcement, amendments, and engaging with easement landowners and partners. Erin has been with Natural Lands since 2006 and has also worked on securing easements and fee simple acquisitions in strategic landscapes throughout the entire Natural Lands’ service region in eastern Pennsylvania, consulting with municipalities on open space acquisition, and working on land transfers to government agencies. Prior to joining Natural Lands, she clerked for the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center (now Earthrise Law Center) in Portland, Oregon, one of the leading environmental law clinics in the country. Education: BA, Biology, Rutgers College-Rutgers University; JD, Lewis & Clark Law School, licensed to practice law in New Jersey. 

Co-Speaker #1: Pam Brown | Conservation Director/Hopewell Big Woods Coordinator, French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust 

Bio: Pam joined French & Pickering in 2004 as a Trails Consultant and became Conservation Director in 2006, overseeing all aspects of land protection from landowner outreach, to grant and easement writing, to managing closing transactions. Most recently, she assumed the role of Hopewell Big Woods Partnership Coordinator. Pam is also co-founder of the West Vincent Land Trust. Formerly: West Vincent Township Open Space task force and Open Space Advisory Committee; professional photographer and small business owner/operator. 

Co-Speaker #2: Erik Hetzel | Director of Land Protection and Public Grants, Willistown Conservation Trust 

Bio: Erik began working for the Trust in 2014, bringing with him over 25 years of planning experience in both public and private organizations. As the Director of Land Protection and Public Grants, Erik handles the development and execution of private conservation easements held by the Trust, the acquisition of public lands to add to our nature preserves, and grant funding to support these land conservation projects. Additionally, Erik sings and plays in the Hetzel Brothers Band. When not planning or jamming, he enjoys time outdoors with his sons and wife. 

The Lifetime Conservation Leadership Award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to conservation in Pennsylvania over the course of their life.  Since its establishment in 2004, the award has honored both conservation professionals and volunteers for their commitment to and leadership in conservation.

For the first time, and owing to disruptions brough about by the COVID 19 pandemic, WeConservePA will award two individuals with this distinction at the 2023 Pennsylvania Land Conservation Conference in Reading. The awards ceremony occurs during the Thursday night reception, 5-8pm, on April 27 at the DoubleTree Reading. WeConservePA congratulates this year’s recipients, Karen Martynick and David Shields. More information about the award winners can be found here.

Seminar description: 

Join Pat Pregmon and Lauren Pregmon-Tetreault of Pregmon Law Offices for a highly interactive session using hypothetical situations to highlight issues addressed in each article of the Model Conservation Easement, as well as landowner concerns and atypical situations dealt with in the commentary and supplemental materials (a reprise of the seminar presented in 2022). [Eligible for 2.5 substantive CLE credits]

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Lauren Pregmon-Tetreault | Pregmon Law Offices 

Bio: Lauren Pregmon-Tetreault joined Pregmon Law Offices in 2000 after two years working as an associate in the real estate department at the Atlanta, Georgia-based law firm Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs.  Member: Pennsylvania and Bucks County bar associations; Trustee, Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  Education: Bachelor’s, Kenyon College; legal degree, Wake Forest University. 

Co-Speaker: Patricia Pregmon | Pregmon Law Offices 

Bio: Pat has been practicing real estate law for over 35 years. Recognized both in Pennsylvania and nationally as a leading authority on conservation law, she serves on the Policy Advisory Committee of WeConservePA and the Conservation Defense Advisory Committee of the Land Trust Alliance. A prolific writer, she has published many guides explaining the principles of conservation law and the ways it can be used to protect natural and scenic resources and preserve availability of land for public enjoyment.  Most notably, Pat is the principal author of The Model Pennsylvania Conservation Easement and Commentary, a key publication of WeConservePA. The Model Conservation Easement and other model documents Pat has crafted have been adopted by land trusts throughout the United States. 

Session description: 

An “ask the experts” style session where participants can ask their burning questions and discuss sticky appraisal issues with an appraiser. There will be an opportunity for participants to submit questions in advance.  

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Gregory Snyder | ARA – Accredited Rural Appraiser, Snyder Appraisal Associates 

Bio: Gregory L. Snyder, ARA, has 35 years agricultural and rural real estate valuation experience. Greg is president of Snyder Appraisal Associates, Inc., a Lancaster, PA-based appraisal company founded in 2000. Greg’s work is focused on Conservation Easement appraisals, USFLA (Yellowbook) appraisals, IRS compliant appraisals for real property charitable contributions, as well as specialized agricultural and rural property valuation. Formerly: Keystone Farm Credit (fourteen years), loan officer, then staff appraiser. Member: past District 1 Vice-President, and certified instructor, ASFMRA; Pennsylvania Farm Bureau; WeConservePA; Land Trust Alliance. Education: BS, Animal Industries, Penn State University; Accredited Rural Appraiser (ARA) designation, American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. 

Co-Speaker: Mike Burket | Principal, Burket Appraisals 

Bio: From 1997-present, Mike has performed appraisal reports relating to residential, agricultural and commercial properties in Blair, Bedford, Cambria, Centre, Clearfield, Fayette, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Indiana, Somerset, and Westmoreland counties. Over the past twenty-four years, Mike has appraised or assisted in appraising rural residential and hobby lifestyle farms, dairy farms, poultry and hog operations, timberland, sawmills, grain facilities, and recreational properties.  Member: Board, ASFMRA. 

Session description: 

Community gardens in cities provide much needed green space for communities that often lack access to nature. Establishing, supporting, and maintaining these vital spaces for neighborhoods is a multi-step process that requires community engagement, stewardship, land use planning and protection, and the establishment of partnerships.  

Neighborhood Gardens Trust (NGT) and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) provides a suite of distinct but complementary sets of services to community-managed gardens and green spaces across the city of Philadelphia. PHS focuses on providing technical assistance, capacity-building and leadership support, supplies, and materials to community gardens through its stewardship model and City Harvest program. PHS works in tandem with the land trust NGT which focuses on securing and protecting long-term land tenure for community gardens, holding title or long-term leases, providing liability insurance, and generally assuming the responsibilities of property owner. Together, these two organizations help to ensure that the gardens thrive each growing season and in perpetuity. 

A key takeaway for the session will be learning about how two Philadelphia nonprofit organizations with different goals for community gardens collaborate to support preservation and long-term community stewardship of green spaces to cultivate social connection, livable environments, and healthy food across Philadelphia. [Eligible for .1 PRPS CEU]

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Justin Trezza | Director of Garden Programs, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society 

Bio: Justin joined PHS as its Director of Community Gardens Program in 2017 after having worked with several agroecological and grassroots organizations. Justin works closely with the City Harvest initiative to support community and cooperative gardens throughout Philadelphia for a successful growing season. Justin has spent the last 15 years focusing on equitable and sustainable food systems locally and internationally with a focus on Central America. Prior to PHS: Executive Director, Norris Square Neighborhood Project; Program Director, Sustainable Harvest International. Education: B.A., International Affairs and Socio-cultural Anthropology, George Washington University; Nonprofit Executive Leadership Certificate, Bryn Mawr College; permaculture design certificate. 

Co-Speaker: Jenny Greenberg | Executive Director, Neighborhood Gardens Trust 

Bio: Jenny Greenberg is Executive Director of the Neighborhood Gardens Trust (NGT), whose mission is to acquire and preserve community gardens and shared open spaces to enhance quality of life in Philadelphia’s neighborhoods. NGT owns or leases 50 gardens across Philadelphia and is currently working to expand its land preservation work to secure 70 gardens by 2025. Previously: developed funding strategies and grant proposals for public access projects with the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation, including over $9 million for the implementation of parks, trail, and creative placemaking projects on Philadelphia’s Central Delaware River Waterfront; also, Cooper’s Ferry Partnership (2001-2010), partnered with local organizations to develop and implement neighborhood plans for redevelopment of hundreds of acres of formerly industrial, vacant waterfront land. 

Session description: 

This will be a panel discussion amongst organizations that are at the forefront of connecting communities with conservation through a variety of practices including land commons, hybrid conservation/community land trusts, land rematriation, cultural use agreements, and other ways of meaningfully centering communities in their work.  The focus will be on engaging and working with BIPOC communities and meeting their needs as they seek to take control of saving land that is important to them. The panelists so far include The Agrarian Trust and Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust. Other panelists may include the Athens Land Trust, Stowe Land Trust, and Community Justice Land Trust. 

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Andrew Kirkpatrick | Director of Stewardship, Willistown Conservation Trust 

Bio: Director of Stewardship, Willistown Conservation Trust, Newtown Square; founding member, DEIJ Council of Land Trusts. He is passionate about using the tools and resources of conservation land trusts to connect with and support communities of color in their land protection needs. Recently completed, Executive Leadership program in Social Impact Strategy, University of Pennsylvania, where he learned about community collaboration, building movements for social change, and tools for creating social impact. Currently leading PA DEIJ Council of Land Trusts to become a new non-profit network to facilitate collaboration between land trusts and community based organizations across Pennsylvania. Lives in the Germantown section of Philadelphia with his family. 

Co-Speaker: Johanna Rosen | Commons Alliance Facilitator, The Agrarian Trust 

Bio: Johanna Rosen brings her passion for fostering connections and commitment to advancing racial and economic justice and community control of land to Agrarian Trust’s work through the Commons Alliance. Previously: Equity Trust, collaborating with farmers and land trusts to ensure affordability and security of farmland through shared ownership arrangements that benefit communities and promote equity; Food Solutions New England network, Community Organizer and Communications Coordinator. She spent over a decade working in urban agriculture and farm-based education in Philadelphia. Co-founder, Director, Mill Creek Farm. Jo grows food and stewards seeds on Pocumtuc land in Massachusetts. 

Co-Speaker: Kim Hachadoorian | Manager, Stream Stewards (The Nature Conservancy)

Kim Hachadoorian has been working with The Nature Conservancy in Pennsylvania and Delaware since 2016 managing Stream Stewards, a Community Science water quality monitoring program in partnership with First State National Historical Park in Wilmington, Delaware. In addition to managing a team of adult volunteers, she works with youth to engage them in hands-on watershed stewardship experiences and expose them to Green Jobs opportunities. As an active member of the Alliance for Watershed Education, a collaborative of 23 member centers in PA, DE and NJ, Kim supervises a Watershed Fellow each summer to lead efforts in community engagement and outreach in the local watershed. Kim is passionate about democratizing science, connecting people to nature and working to create a more just and equitable future.

Session description: 

Visual communication is critical to conservation work. As we share ever more content through videos, social media, and interactive websites, we increasingly depend on images to tell our stories. 

As students we spent years learning grammar for our writing. But few of us were taught graphic grammar—the language, structure, and syntax of visual communication. 

Just like writing grammar helps us get our point across, so too does graphic grammar. In this session, you’ll learn basic graphic grammar rules like color, contrast, and focal points and how to apply them to your designs. 

Not an artist? Not a problem. Neither am I. These design basics are something everyone can use. Whether you make social media posts, design interpretive signs, or just want to improve your next PowerPoint, come learn practical techniques to level up your communications. 

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Joshua VanBrakle | Recreation and Conservation Advisor, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources 

Bio: Josh VanBrakle was told by every art teacher he ever had that he “can’t draw.” But in his job as a recreation and conservation advisor at DCNR, he has become a graphic designer who routinely creates fact sheets, infographics, videos, interactive websites, and more. 

Session description: 

French Creek Valley Conservancy was successful in its bid for French Creek to be named  2022 PA River of the Year, but a foundation for this achievement was laid well in advance. The results have included more than 30% growth in membership, nearly doubling their email list, and other significant gains in engagement. FCVC Executive Director Brenda Costa will present the marketing strategies used to rebrand and build the land trust, and to motivate and engage French Creek’s rural communities. The program will cover strategies ranging from simple, free, and easy-to-higher cost (and risk), and explain how even the smallest organization can apply these methods. 

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Brenda Costa | Executive Director, French Creek Valley Conservancy 

Bio: Executive Director, French Creek Valley Conservancy, (2016-present). Licensed professional geologist, environmental consultant, groundwater issues (sixteen years). Consultant, offshore oil and gas exploration in the Gulf Coast, North Sea, and Norwegian Sea (five years). WeConservePA Policy Advisory Committee, PA Water Trail Executive Partners Committee. Director, Board of the Pennsylvania Council of Professional Geologists (four years). In her spare time, she enjoys kayaking throughout the watershed she works to conserve. Education: BS, Geology, Allegheny College; MBA, Marketing concentration, Penn State. 

Session description: 

This session examines the importance of the relationship between a forester and real estate appraiser to determine the market value of a wooded tract, giving participants a description of the process a forester completes to develop a timber valuation report (timber cruise). The session will also explore how a real estate appraiser develops an appraisal of a timber property, showing how the timber valuation is used to determine numerous varieties of value with a wooded tract. Differences between a timber tract and a wooded recreational tract will also be discussed. [Eligible for .15 PRPS CEUs] [Eligible for 1.5 Cat1 CFEs]

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Gregory Snyder | ARA – Accredited Rural Appraiser, Snyder Appraisal Associates 

Bio: Gregory L. Snyder, ARA, has 35 years agricultural and rural real estate valuation experience. Greg is president of Snyder Appraisal Associates, Inc., a Lancaster, PA-based appraisal company founded in 2000. Greg’s work is focused on Conservation Easement appraisals, USFLA (Yellowbook) appraisals, IRS compliant appraisals for real property charitable contributions, as well as specialized agricultural and rural property valuation. Formerly: Keystone Farm Credit (fourteen years), loan officer, then staff appraiser. Member: past District 1 Vice-President, and certified instructor, ASFMRA; Pennsylvania Farm Bureau; WeConservePA; Land Trust Alliance. Education: BS, Animal Industries, Penn State University; Accredited Rural Appraiser (ARA) designation, American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. 

Co-Speaker #1: Shannon Henry | CF – Certified Forester, Silvix, LLC 

Bio: Shannon founded Silvix nearly 30 years ago to provide stewardship planning and timber harvest services to forest landowners in PA. Company goals include connecting forest and land stewards with a variety of sound resources and solutions to meet their goals and ensure the value and health of forests and natural resources for future generations. Shannon’s professional experience includes: work with several PA state agencies and cooperative agencies throughout the US; work in the private timber sales and wood product industries; and, real estate. Certifications: Certified Forester; Forest Fire Warden; Level 1 Burn Boss. He is also a prescribed fire instructor and trainer. Member and Co-Founder: PA Prescribed Fire Council. Education: BS, Forest Science, Penn State University. 

Session description: 

Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties in suburban Philadelphia all have open space programs, but each experienced different growth and development patterns and each has followed a different “trail” to its current approach. Among the challenges are maintaining support for county open space funding, often a crucial match challenge. To make the case that open space is a benefit, and not just an expense, all three counties were part of the original 2011 GreenSpace Alliance and DVRPC led Return on Environment (ROE) study that quantified the economic values of protected lands in the categories of increased property values, provision of ecosystem services, health and recreation benefits, and generation of economic activity. Ten years later, each county has worked with DVRPC again to update their ROE study, including re-uniting preservation minded partners, re-igniting public support for continued public spending on open space, and justifying the creation of new open space programs.   

Come to this moderated discussion to hear the unique path that each of these suburban Philadelphia counties took to address open space needs and respond to public opinion over time, from countering suburban sprawl, to preserving agricultural lands and heritage, to addressing flooding and water quality issues, to improving equity through better access to natural areas for diverse populations, to enhancing resilience and combating climate change. Come prepared to share how your local government responds to changing open space priorities and keeps momentum for your open space programs. [Eligible for .15 PRPS CEUs]

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Patty Elkis | Deputy Executive Director, DVRPC 

Bio: Patty Elkis (moderator), PP, AICP, is Deputy Executive Director at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.  She oversees all planning work at the agency, including long-range planning; transit, bicycle and pedestrian planning; community and economic development; and environmental and smart growth planning; as well as DVRPC’s initiatives in energy, climate change, food system and healthy communities planning.   Patty managed the 2011 ROE study for Southeastern Pennsylvania with the GreenSpace Alliance, and worked closely with Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties on their ROE study updates.  She serves on the board of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary and on the PA Statewide Water Resources Committee.  Education: BA, Anthropology; Master of City Planning, with a Certificate in Appropriate Technology for Developing Countries, both from the University of Pennsylvania. 

Co-Speaker #1: Rachel Griffith | Sustainability Director, Chester County Planning Commission 

Bio: Rachael Griffith is Sustainability Director at the Chester County Planning Commission, providing leadership and coordination between county departments, municipalities and a host of community partners to implement the County’s Climate Action Plan. Additionally, Rachael leads planning efforts related to open space preservation in  the county, including managing the update of Chester County’s ROE report, and provides resources and guidance to municipalities. Member: local Planning Commission; Natural Lands’ Next Gen Council; French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust’s Land Protection Committee. Rachael is a registered landscape architect and certified planner. Education: Master’s in Public Administration, the University of Pennsylvania; BS, Landscape Architecture, Temple University. 

Co-Speaker #2: Steven Beckley | Open Space and Trails Manager, Delaware County Planning Department 

Bio: Steven Beckey is the Open Space and Trails Manager at the Delaware County Planning Department, where he leads efforts to implement their Open Space, Recreation, and Greenway plan. He manages several trail projects, the planning and design of facilities in county parks, and coordinates with County Parks and Public Works on parks and trails. He is staff lead on Delaware County’s Green Space Task Force and the County Trails Alliance. Steve also leads county planning efforts related to open space preservation, assists municipalities and the public, promotes the Delaware County ROE report, and serves on the Delco Green Ways grant program. Steve is a certified planner. Member: Board, Delaware County Conservation District; Delaware County’s Sustainability Plan Natural Resources subcommittee. Education: BS, Environmental Planning and Design, Rutgers University. 

Co-Speaker #3: Bill Hartman | Trails and Open Space Planning Manager, Montgomery County Planning Commission 

Bio: Bill Hartman is the Trails & Open Space Planning Manager for the Montgomery County Planning Commission. Previously, he served as Director of Stewardship for the Willistown Conservation Trust in Chester County and as a landscape architect and planner for Wallace Roberts & Todd, developing large scale master plans for parks and park systems. Prior to that, he served as a landscape architect for the California Department of Transportation where he focused on projects around the San Francisco Bay area. He is a licensed landscape architect. Education: Masters of Landscape Architecture, the University of Pennsylvania; B.A., Biology, Kenyon College.   

Session description: 

People with disabilities – and their caregivers – face significant challenges to enjoying the outdoors and to participating meaningfully in their communities. The “Open to All” guidelines published in 2021 represent the first concerted effort by the Land Trust Alliance (LTA) to begin to close these gaps.  Bringing together representatives of LTA, people with disabilities, and members of local land trusts, the LTA ‘s Council on Inclusive Health and Disabilities spent more than a year defining scope, researching guidelines developed elsewhere, and seeking examples of current best practices.  This presentation will introduce these guidelines, and hopefully spark changes in land trusts across the Commonwealth. “Open to All” considers the full spectrum of opportunities for inclusion: enjoying trails, learning from educational programs, working as volunteers, and becoming involved in governance. The guidelines include case studies putting these principles into practice, and offer specific, practical strategies to get started. By defining disability broadly to include anyone who experiences barriers to enjoying the outdoors as a result of their physical, cognitive, emotional, or behavioral differences, the guidelines directly benefit not only those with physical or sensory disabilities, but also those with intellectual/developmental disabilities or autism, those with other diagnoses (anxiety, depression, PTSD), those struggling with addiction, and even those whose mobility is becoming more limited with age. We believe that the guidelines will be important to shaping the evolution of land trusts in the years to come. [Eligible for .15 PRPS CEUs]

Speaker Information: 

Lead Speaker: Peter Doehring | Founder/Director, Kennett Outdoors 

Bio: After a career leading programs in the USA and Canada helping people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Peter is now an independent researcher/advocate for better policies and programs at the local, state, and national level, while continuing to publish and present internationally.  His focus broadened to children and parents facing significant levels of disability when his daughter Margot was born in 2000 with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD), cerebral palsy, partial blindness, and a seizure disorder. He draws on his experiences helping Margot to enjoy the outdoors by hiking, biking, kayaking, and skiing to help people recognize the potential for those with disabilities to discover joy in nature. A former board chair and interim director of a local land conservancy, he is also a founding member of the Council on Disabilities for Land Trust Alliance, and co-author, “Open to All” guidelines.   

Session description: 

Our Pocono Waters (OPW) is a group of conservation organizations, watershed groups, businesses, and individuals who want to protect the clean and pristine waterways of the Poconos, which serve as the headwaters of the Delaware River. OPW built a robust communications and outreach campaign to educate local elected officials and support community advocacy efforts. In this session, OPW Campaign Manager, Donna Kohut, will share how the campaign utilized various tools (public polling, economic benefit studies, press events, online interactive story maps, outreach toolkits, billboard ads, social media, petitions, webinars, TV ad campaigns, and more) to successfully educate and mobilize around protecting water quality from emerging threats in the Poconos. 

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Donna Kohut | Campaign Manager, PennFuture 

Bio: As the Campaign Manager for the Delaware River Basin at PennFuture, Donna oversees the work and coordination of PennFuture’s campaigns to advocate for clean water protections within the region, including developing, managing, and leading campaigns that support special protection waters and Pennsylvania’s stream redesignation process. Donna also represents PennFuture as the State Lead for the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed in. Before joining PennFuture, Donna spent fifteen years in outdoor recreation and environmental education, immersed in the waters she now protects. 

Session description: 

Today’s complex problems require organizations to work more collaboratively whether that is as part of a network, partnership, or coalition. Unleashing the power of collaborative efforts takes time, new ways of thinking, and applying skills differently than in an organizational setting. In this session, gain practical approaches for collaborative leadership and bring your collaboration challenges to gain a new perspective on how to address them. 

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Peter Lane | Institute for Conservation Leadership 

Bio: Peter Lane is an organizational consultant with more than 20 years of experience. He is also a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC) trained at the Mayo Clinic. Peter works with individuals and teams that are committed to ongoing learning, reflection, and making positive change for themselves and their organizations.  Prior to his work as a consultant, Peter worked for 18 years as director of programs at the Institute for Conservation Leadership where he led the development of the Institute’s successful Leading from Within program and designed and facilitated organizational capacity-building projects. Peter facilitates planning processes, designs, and facilitates retreats, and provides coaching to teams and individuals.  He is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Facilitators Network and received a B.A. from Clark University and a M.Ed. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 

Session description: 

Ryan Hamilton of ClearWater Conservancy and its counsel, Lauren Pregmon Tetreault, will explain how ClearWater used the Model Grant of Purchase Option and Model Grant of Conservation Easement, along with broad public support and community financing, to protect 300 acres of farmland in Centre County. ClearWater’s Slab Cabin Run Initiative raised $2.75M in public and private funds to conserve the Meyer and Everhart family lands located on the State College regional growth boundary between advancing urban development and the region’s most reliable and productive drinking water wells. [Eligible for 1.5 hours of substantive CLE credit]

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Ryan Hamilton | Land Conservation Manager, ClearWater Conservancy 

Bio: As Land Conservation Manager for ClearWater Conservancy, Ryan works with local landowners, volunteers, partner agencies, engaged businesses and stakeholders along with ClearWater staff and board to conserve ecologically important habitats in Central Pennsylvania. Prior to joining ClearWater, Ryan practiced as an environmental, land use, and natural resources attorney in Pittsburgh, providing modest means clients with access to environmental legal services. Education: BA, Philosophy and English, Juniata College; JD, with Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law, Lewis and Clark Law School. 

Co-Speaker: Lauren Pregmon-Tetreault | Attorney, Pregmon Law Offices 

Bio: Lauren Pregmon-Tetreault joined Pregmon Law Offices in 2000 after two years working as an associate in the real estate department at the Atlanta, Georgia-based law firm Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs.  Member: Pennsylvania and Bucks County bar associations; Trustee, Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  Education: Bachelor’s, Kenyon College; legal degree, Wake Forest University. 

Session description: 

Heritage Conservancy and Wissahickon Trails will share case studies of sites once designated as superfund sites that are now public preserves, including the accompanying opportunities, challenges, benefits, and obligations that come with the property. 

During the 1980s, an 80-acre piece of the Atlantic Coastal Plain Forest in Croydon was designated as an EPA Superfund site. Monitored and remediated by the EPA and DEP until 2011, by 2016 Heritage Conservancy acquired the property and immediately got to work improving the space to provide safe public access. The property has become a community asset, and Heritage Conservancy received the 2019 “Excellence in Reuse” award from the EPA. 

In the early 2000s, Wissahickon Trails established the Wissahickon Waterfowl Preserve—to take ownership of a parcel in Ambler heavily contaminated with asbestos. The site was ultimately designated a Superfund site by the EPA, who remediated the asbestos issues. Wissahickon Trails’ involvement enabled a blighted area to become a beautiful asset and a beloved birding spot for the community. Wissahickon Trails will share the story of this acquisition and discuss the obligations and benefits that have come with the property. [Eligible for .1 PRPS CEU]

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Shannon Fredebaugh-Siller | Community Engagement Programs Manager, Heritage Conservancy 

Bio: With published papers on research projects ranging from wildlife disease ecology to species diversity in biofuel agricultural systems, Shannon merges her research scientist background with nature experiences in community engagement programming. She works to connect people of all ages to the natural and historic wonders on Heritage Conservancy’s preserved properties through partnerships and public programming. In collaboration with local schools, she has spent the last six years developing innovative cross-curriculum educational field trips, working with over 1,000 students each year. Member, Alliance for Watershed Education’s Program Innovation Work Group, PA Biological Survey’s Mammal Technical Committee (formerly). An avid native plant gardener with a yard designated as a Monarch Way Station, she also volunteers at a wildlife rehabilitation center and as a Cub Scout leader. Education: B.A., Zoology and Environmental Studies, Ohio Wesleyan University; M.S., Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

Co-Speaker #1: Gail Farmer | Executive Director, Wissahickon Trails 

Bio: Gail brings 20 years of experience in the environmental nonprofit sector, currently as Executive Director of Wissahickon Trails, a community-based nonprofit that has preserved nearly 1,300 acres of open space, manages 12 nature preserves, 24 miles of trails, and engages the communities of the Wissahickon watershed as partners in preserving, stewarding, and enjoying the land and waterways of the Wissahickon valley. Currently: Montgomery County Planning Commission’s Open Space Board; WeConservePA’s Policy Advisory Board; Water Quality Advisory Committee of the Delaware River Basin Commission; Advisor, Wissahickon Clean Water Partnership. Senior Fellow, Environmental Leadership Program, and Community Scholars Fellow, the University of Pennsylvania. In 2018, she received PennFuture’s Woman of Community Engagement and Environmental Education Leadership Award. Education: M.Sc., Environmental and Forest Biology, SUNY College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry, 2001. 

Session description: 

Land preservation and conservation are intrinsically linked and offer land trusts an opportunity to help landowners steward their land to achieve multiple objectives, including soil and water quality. Innovative best management practices and partnerships with technical service providers and government agencies may hold the key to meeting and exceeding landowner objectives. Biofilters are an emerging practice that uses carbon to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations of agricultural stormwater. Research has also demonstrated the ability of biofilters to also capture a variety of emerging contaminants of concerns such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and PFAS. This session provides an opportunity to learn more about what biofilters are and how they may be useful for agricultural conservation. Experts will share their work with farmers and landowners to implement those practices and help increase understanding of how the practices can be used; where they are best suited and most applicable; what challenges they have faced; and what benefits the practices can offer for agricultural conservation. 

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Grant DeCosta | Director of Community Services, Brandywine Conservancy 

Bio: Grant DeCosta is the Director of Community Services at the Brandywine Conservancy. He has over 16 years of experience in conservation and environmental policy work in the non-profit, private, and public sectors in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. Mr. DeCosta specializes in land use planning, conservation, and implementation of land restoration projects for water quality improvement. In his role at the Conservancy, Grant works with landowners, municipalities, regulators and policy makers to provide a holistic approach to natural resource conservation and protection. Education: B.S., Forestry and Wildlife Science, Virginia Tech. 

Session description:

Since 2018, both Berks Nature and Natural Lands have been working on diversity, equity and justice in their workplaces and respective communities. Each organization works in different places, has varied constituencies, possesses unique skills, and has approached the goal of social justice in their own way. The speakers will describe their processes, challenges, lessons learned, outcomes to date, and future plans for advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) within their organizations. The panelists will explore, among other issues:  

1. How has DEIJ affected their organization, its mission, culture and operations;  
2. What have they stopped doing;  
3. What have they started doing differently; and,
4. What do they hope to achieve in the future, both short and long-term. 

Speaker information: 

Lead Speaker: Oliver Bass | President, Natural Lands 

Bio: Natural Lands named Oliver Bass President and CEO in 2019 following a 21-year tenure in communications, outreach, and development with the organization. Oliver’s decade as vice president of communications and engagement saw substantial growth in participation in public programs and volunteerism, elevation of the organization’s public profile, and launch of initiatives to improve equitable access to green spaces in park-deprived communities of our region’s suburbs. He’s strengthened Natural Lands’ commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access, plus added focus to the role that saving land, caring for nature, and connecting people to the outdoors can play in helping to address the consequences of climate change. Prior to coming to Natural Lands, he worked with West Virginia Public Radio and WXPN-FM public radio in Philadelphia, including five years working in the performing arts community in Philadelphia. Member, Land Trust Alliance’s National Land Trust Leadership Council; President, WeConservePA Board of Directors; Executive committee, PA Growing Greener Coalition. Education: Northwestern University. 

Co-Speaker #1: Kim Murphy | President, Berks Nature 

Bio: Kim joined Berks Nature (then Berks County Conservancy) in January 2004.  As president, she works with a dedicated staff to improve and protect our land and water resources, to educate the community about land use and its implications, and to connect people to nature, thus conserving Berks County’s unique cultural and environmental resources for the benefit of future generations. Berks Nature recently completed a nearly $5 million capital campaign for “The Nature Place,” a LEED GOLD certified nature center which opened in September 2017. In 2018 they opened a Nature Preschool. In 2021 the organization received a $28.5 million operating endowment gift and embarked on a $4.5 million expansion of The Nature Place. The Berks Nature team preserves agricultural land, forests, historic landmarks, scenic landscapes, and open space; protects the quality of our streams and ground water; provides environmental education and promotes values that contribute to a sustainable future for our community. Education: Penn State University. 

Co-Speaker #2: Andy Pitz | Retired Executive Director, Volunteer, WeConservePA and The Climate Reality Project 

Bio: Andy grew up in Northern New York where he spent his youth boating, lifeguarding, hiking, and skiing as much as he could. He had his first exposures to antiwar street protests and tear gas at demonstrations in college and a 1970 March on Washington. After college, Andy was a carpenter until going to grad school. A stint with the US Forest Service was followed by a move to the Poconos where he worked for a design firm and fell in love with the Appalachian Trail and the jazz scene in Delaware Water Gap. There, he helped his wife Donna start the Pocono Heritage Land Trust. That process led eventually to 26 years working with Natural Lands in the Philadelphia region. After retreats at Garrison Institute and Center for Whole Communities, Andy became committed to promoting more diversity in land conservation. Executive Director, French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust, 2012-2018. Since 2020, Andy has again engaged in social justice issues. Education: Cornell University, Government and Political Philosophy; SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Landscape Architecture. 

Attendees will travel to the forested mountains of Berks County’s ‘Reading Prong’ section of the New England Province. Visitors will learn about the ecological significance of the prong, as well as the partnerships that have formed to protect and preserve its natural diversity. Through an interconnected system of trails and shared stewardship, the area has become a hub of eco-tourism. This tour includes an extensive amount of walking and many trails are not ADA accessible. [Eligible for .2 PRPS CEUs]

Tour stops include:

Lake Antietam, Reading

• Mount Penn Preserve and the landmark Pagoda. Speakers will discuss the creation of the MP3: a non-profit organization formed by local municipalities to jointly ‘protect, promote, and enhance the natural beauty, heritage, and attractions of the Preserve.’ 
• Antietam Lake Park. Owned and managed by Berks County’s Park & Recreation Department, this 643-acre park (pictured, right) contains numerous trails and amenities. 
• Angora Fruit Farm to Antietam Reservoir. Participants will take a ~.4-mile hike (dirt/stone) and learn about the development of the site’s master plan. 
• Bus ride along the former Gravity Railroad route to Egelman’s Park. Eat lunch in one of the historic pavilions. 
• Berks Nature’s Neversink Mountain Preserve. Participants will hike ~.5-mile up a somewhat steep trail (paved), while learning about the Greater Reading Trails Partnership. This partnership was formed to enhance the public greenways and recreational opportunities within the region. 

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