MLTN Infoline – September 8, 2022
Registration Open for Accessibility Workshop | |
We’re excited to announce that registration is now open for the MLTN Accessibility Workshop in Brunswick on October 5th. There’s been lots of interest in this session, particularly as a result of the Maine Calling show that Chrissy and Enock did on August 16th, and we’re so looking forward to our first in-person workshop in nearly three years! The workshop, supported in part by the Onion Foundation, will take place from 10am-4pm on Wednesday, October 5th, at the Adaptive Outdoor Education Center in Brunswick. Registration is $25 and participants are asked to bring a bag lunch. Scholarships are available if the fee is an obstacle. We are limiting participation to 50 people to ensure a high quality, interactive experience for all, so reserve your place today. Visit MLTN.org for details and registration link. Hope to see you there! | |
Conservation Permanence: Being Prepared for “What if?” | |
Five Tuesdays, October 4, 11, 18, 25, and November 1 4:00-5:15pm Cost: $50 for Alliance member organizations, $75 for non-member organizations. A limited number of scholarships are available. Registration will close on September 27th The Land Trust Alliance, Maine Land Trust Network, and Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition are collaborating to help you ensure the permanence of your land trust and its conserved lands! This new program is designed to help land trusts ensure the permanency of their work by understanding and identifying risks and assessing current risk management strategies through a series of online training sessions and consultant support. Risk often carries a negative connotation—we want to avoid risk in situations that could lead to a bad outcome—but risk can also be thought of in terms of opportunity as well. It isn’t bad or good – it is about situations where the outcome is unknown, and levels of risk can correlate with degrees of predictability. The registration fee covers up to five participants from your land trust. The sessions will be recorded. Once you’ve completed the webinar series, you can apply for a consultant-led organizational risk assessment at a drastically reduced rate. Click here for all the details including what will be covered at each session, a recording of the August 30th info session, and more information about the risk assessments. The link to register for the virtual training series is about half way down the page. | |
FNTW Chainsaw Safety by MOFGA | |
Saturday-Sunday, September 10-11, 2022 8:00am-4:00pm MOFGA, 294 Crosby Brook Road, Unity Cost: $150 for MOFGA members, $200 for non-members Learn safe chainsaw operation in this one-and-a-half-day beginner course open to femme, non-binary, trans and women participants. The overwhelming focus of this session is on safety and creating a space where participants feel comfortable asking questions and learning at their own pace. Chainsaws are serious business. Topics to be covered include personal protective equipment (PPE), saw operation and maintenance, filing, reactive forces, open-faced notch and bore cutting. The morning of Day one will be spent inside learning chainsaw basics, and proper PPE. In the early afternoon, we will move outside to practice bucking and open-faced notch and bore cutting. Day two will be spent outdoors. Visit MOFGA’s website for details and registration link. | |
Building New Bridges Through Climate Communications Webinar | |
Friday, September 23rd, 2022 9:30am-12:00pm Cost: FREE How do you talk to someone who may not share your concern about climate change? Why does it matter? It matters because our society still lacks the broad social will to solve climate change. Unfortunately, climate change has become a divisive issue. Livelihoods could be impacted by both solving the climate problem, and by not solving it. We don’t all see the same urgency. But is there a way we can work together anyway? Yes there is, if we can build relationships of trust with people who see the world differently from us. But that means doing a lot more listening and less talking. Join Tyler Kidder of the Onion Foundation, John Hagan of Our Climate Common, and ShaSha Kingston, Tufts University, in partnership with the Maine Climate Table for this updated workshop. Register here. | |
Board Roles & Responsibilities | |
Wednesday, September 28th, 2022 11:30am-1:00pm Cost: $45 for MANP members*, $60 for non-members Save $25 off each additional registration from the same organization. Scholarships are available. If you are relatively new to the board, or you’ve been there a while and you’re ready to dig in a little deeper, this webinar with Jennifer Hutchins, Executive Director of MANP is for you! Jennifer will help you understand why we join boards, clarify the roles of the board and its responsibilities, and discuss strategies for building and sustaining an effective board. It’s also a great way to meet and interactive with your peers at other nonprofit organizations in the state! Board members who have at least six months of board service will gain the most from participation. It is strongly suggested that multiple board members from the same organization and the executive director participate as a team for maximum benefit. Learn more and register at MANP’s website. *Most MLTN members are MANP members. Contact Donna to check your organization’s MLTN membership status. | |
Reenergizing Your Board | |
Thursday, October 13, 2022 2:00-3:30pm Cost: $70 for LTA members, $100 for non-members Pay for one connection fee and your whole team can join! It’s no secret that the last two years have been, at best, exhausting. Yet in the face of the pandemic and climate change, the work of land trusts has only grown in importance and urgency. Join this engaging session as we explore and co-develop strategies to help your board maintain momentum through this era of exhaustion. Grounded in the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy’s Competency Model for Nonprofit Leadership and the Land Trust Standards and Practices, participants will:
Though open to all, the content will be most relevant to those currently serving on a board and executive directors. Register at the LTA website. | |
Maine Outdoor Economy Summit | |
Wednesday-Thursday, October 12-13, 2022 Thompson’s Point, Portland The Maine Outdoor Economy Summit is a forum for professional development, ideation, and discussions on essential topics impacting Maine’s outdoor industry in the areas of economic development, workforce, access and equity. It’s a place to create new partnerships, network with old friends and highlight the importance of outdoor recreation for Maine’s economy overall and its deeply-rooted connection to the health and well-being of our people, places and communities. This year’s Summit includes concurrent workshops, plenary sessions, breakout sessions, and tons of networking. View the schedule here. Learn more and register here. | |
Volunteer Grant Reviewers Needed | |
The Maine Community Foundation (MaineCF) seeks volunteers to review grant proposals to its Maine Land Protection grant program. Maine Land Protection provides grants to purchase land or to create legal agreements (known as conservation easements) that increase access and build strong connections between people in Maine and our land and water. This grant program provides 5-7 grants per year of up to $50,000. The primary role of a reviewer is to read proposals, provide comments, and recommend funding based on the program criteria and priorities. We are recruiting a diverse group of reviewers with a broad range of experiences and backgrounds and a passion for the outdoors and the many benefits that access to land and water can provide. Your comments and recommendations will be taken into consideration by MaineCF staff and a small committee who will make the final funding decisions. For more details about the program, click here. If you are interested in being considered as a volunteer reviewer, please complete this online form by September 23. MaineCF staff will consider all complete submissions, responding no later than September 27. For more information, contact Katie Howard, Program Officer, by email or by phone at (207) 412-0832. | |
IRS Audit of Maine Conservation Easement Donor | |
A recent Internal Revenue Service challenge to a charitable deduction for a Maine conservation easement likely will carry troubling implications. The Maine Land Trust Network is staying abreast of this issue and will keep members updated as the situation progresses. In the meantime, Rob Levin has released a new edition of his Maine Conservation Law E-Bulletin that provides a helpful overview of what has happened and what it may mean for all Maine land trusts. Click here to read that bulletin. Click here to subscribe to Rob’s bulletin. | |
Jobs in the Conservation Sector | |
Land trusts are hiring this fall – please help spread the word about these great positions! Land Trust Coordinator – Downeast Salmon Federation Director of Development – Royal River Conservation Trust Trails & Facilities Manager – Midcoast Conservancy Community Engagement Manager – Presumpscot Regional Land Trust Office Manager – Upper Saco Valley Land Trust Community Engagement Manager – Kennebec Estuary Land Trust Land & Stewardship Director – Kennebec Estuary Land Trust Baxter State Park Lands Manager – Baxter State Park Authority Digital Media Intern – Northeast Wilderness Trust Executive Director – Woodie Wheaton Land Trust | |
LL Bean Maine Land Trust Grant Program | |
Applications Due: September 30th, 2022 The LL Bean Maine Land Trust Grant Program is our longest running grant award. The Program focuses on providing strategic funding for stewardship activities and has funded many incredibly important project all across the state. Projects that enhance public access to conserved lands, strengthen a trust’s stewardship capabilities, or facilitate preserve management planning are a priority. View guidelines, past award recipients, and download the application on the MLTN website. | |
Mini Grants for Outdoor Learning | |
Applications Due: October 3rd, 11:59pm Are you looking for funding to support a new or existing collaboration with schools in your town or region? Only schools are eligible to apply for this opportunity from Maine Environmental Education Association (MEEA) but they specifically encourage collaborations with land trusts and similar entities. Funding can be used for any type of project that advances outdoor learning in the classroom or school in the 2022-23 school year. Most commonly this funding is used to buy gear and/or supplies needed to support outdoor learning activities but it can also be used for professional learning to advance outdoor learning teaching skills, to support a collaboration with a community partner organization on a nature-based project or experience, and/or adaptive gear that supports ALL kids having access to outdoor learning in your school. MEEA strongly encourages collaborative projects with community partner organizations such as a local land trust or environmental education center as research shows these projects often have the most student impact and long-term sustainability. Click here for information, example application, FAQs, and more. |