May, 2025
Three Conferences, One Mission
This April, our small but mighty staff team hit the road, attending three conferences in three different states! Each event offered a unique opportunity to deepen our knowledge in land conservation, fundraising, communications, and the future of farming, key areas that power our mission at Yolo Land Trust.
As a small team managing multiple projects year-round, attending conferences is more than just a change of scenery – it’s a chance to learn from leaders in the field, gather fresh tools and ideas, and return re-energized with new strategies to strengthen our work.
Here’s what our team members Liz Heckles and Stacy Wear brought back from the field:
- A Gathering of Peers at the Land & Water Conservation Conference in Yosemite
Stacy kicked off April at the California Council of Land Trusts’ Land & Water Conservation Conference in the stunning Yosemite Valley. With over 85 speakers and experts, the conference offered a wide-ranging look at the latest challenges and opportunities in land conservation across California.
Topics ranged from the implementation of the Prop 4 investment to the importance of building relationships with Indigenous partners, reflecting the growing depth and diversity of the conservation movement. One of the most valuable takeaways? The chance to build connections and foster partnerships with land trusts, agencies, and advocates working across the state.
This knowledge directly supports YLT’s ambitions to be competitive for new funding streams, allowing us to accelerate our pace of conservation in-line with our Strategic Plan.
And before even stepping into the first session, the drive through Mariposa County’s sweeping rangelands served as a breathtaking reminder of what we’re working to protect – open space, working lands, and the irreplaceable beauty of California’s natural landscapes.
At the conference, Stacy dove into sessions on:
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- New state funding opportunities, including updates on the Prop 4 Bond, which will soon make millions available for land conservation across California.
- Strategies for building community partnerships and increasing public engagement.
- Advancing land trust missions through communications and development best practices.
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- Powering Fundraising Potential in Seattle
Later in the month, Stacy joined over 3,000 fundraising professionals at the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) ICON in Seattle. The four-day event was packed with cutting-edge insights into donor engagement, storytelling, and philanthropy trends across the nonprofit sector. With this knowledge, YLT is poised to grow its development strategies in ways that reflect our values and inspire long-term support.
Although environmentally focused organizations were a minority at AFP, Stacy was able to connect with fellow California land trust colleagues while attending breakout sessions on innovative tactics to:
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- Enhance our storytelling to better connect with donors
- Strengthen donor relationships
- Align our fundraising efforts with the latest sector-wide trends.
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- Conserving Working Lands: AFT’s National Conference in Texas
Meanwhile, Liz Heckles and John Currey traveled to Dallas, Texas, for the American Farmland Trust’s Saving America’s Working Lands National Conference, focused on protecting agricultural lands.
Like most conferences, this one kicked off with field trips, including Liz’s visit to 77 Ranch, a 2,500-acre beef cattle operation protected by a conservation easement through the Texas Agricultural Land Trust. Liz witnessed regenerative practices in action – cover cropping, rotational grazing, no-till management, and a deep understanding of the land’s rhythms.
“The ranch owners credited a deep understanding of the land, recognizing each pasture’s capacity and shortcomings, to determine when, how long and how many cattle should be grazing in each sector throughout the year,” Liz shares. “By grazing their cattle in balance with the land’s potential they reduce invasive weeds, require no additional irrigation and maintain healthy regrowth, all while running a successful ranching operation.”
At the conference, conversations continued around:
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- Valuing benefits of conserved farmland, such as climate resiliency, biodiversity, and food security.
- Exploring new conservation tools, like short-term (10-30 year) easements, to address rising development pressure.
- Calculating the return on investment for communities that support agricultural conservation (economic, ecological, and beyond).
Looking Ahead
After a whirlwind month of travel, learning, and connection, our team has returned home energized with new ideas, more tools, and a deeper sense of purpose. We’re more equipped than ever to think strategically, act boldly, and continue preserving Yolo County’s farmland for future generations.
We’re grateful for the opportunity to grow and learn alongside peers across the country, and even more excited to put this knowledge to work here at home!
