2018 Volunteer Program Annual Report

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2018 VOLUNTEER ANNUAL REPORT 2

3 CEO Message

4 Director Message

5 Growing Volunteer Programs and Partnerships

12 Community Science Spotlight

13 Snapshots from the Field

17 Trustee Volunteers

3 2018 VOLUNTEER ANNUAL REPORT © BILL MARR

CEO MESSAGE

Dear Friends,

Many of you have heard the old saying “many hands, light work.” Here at The Nature Conservancy, we are lucky to have so many willing hands make light work of our mission—to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. We couldn’t possibly take on this ambitious goal without you.

The spirit of volunteerism is part of our DNA. Many state chapters were first chartered with nothing more than a rented office, a staff person or two and a group of dedicated volunteers. As we’ve grown into the world’s largest conservation organization, we’ve never lost sight of the fact that our successes are thanks to you—the volunteers who make it all happen. You show up at community tree-plantings, community science events, seed collection forays, park and river cleanups, and bird censuses—serving as trustees and educators and a powerful voice for nature. You remind us that nature belongs to everyone, and that a little effort on everyone’s part can make great things happen.

Thank you for inspiring my colleagues and me to work hard every day. And let’s continue to build a brighter future for people and nature together.

With gratitude,

Mark R. TercekChief Executive OfficerThe Nature Conservancy

4 2018 VOLUNTEER ANNUAL REPORT © RYNE THARP

DIRECTOR MESSAGE

I’m delighted to present the 2018 Volunteer Program Annual Report, my first as director of the program. Although this is a new role for me, I’ve been with The Nature Conservancy for 20 years, most recently serving the Illinois chapter as the director of urban stewardship and engagement in Chicago.

During my time with TNC, I’ve come to appreciate the recipe for our success: an ambitious big-picture vision for conservation that is intimately connected to the people and places it protects through a network of partner organizations and volunteers.

In the pages that follow, we celebrate you—our many volunteers who have stepped up to give a helping hand and be a voice for nature. In North Carolina, you helped to run the annual Fire in the Pines festival that educates people about controlled burning. In Virginia, you spread eelgrass seeds in the coastal bay, the largest seagrass restoration in the world. In Indiana, you helped to transplant hundreds of native plugs in the tallgrass prairie. In Texas, you planted 1,000 trees in Dallas’s Oak Cliff neighborhood to provide shade and reduce air pollution.

Some of you have written letters to the editor and to your representatives in Congress, urging better policies. Others have led school field trips to foster the next generation’s connection to nature or counted butterflies to add to our scientific records. All of you share a common understanding: that individual actions can add up and create a better world where both people and nature thrive.

I can’t wait to see what we’ll accomplish together over the next year!

Yours in Conservation,

Karen L. TharpDirector of Community and Volunteer ProgramsThe Nature Conservancy

5 2018 VOLUNTEER ANNUAL REPORT © R.J. HINKLE

Growing Volunteer Programs and Partnerships

Volunteers play an important role in preserving and protecting Texas City Prairie Preserve

L ast year, The Nature Conservancy launched an ambitious campaign to help ensure a healthy planet for the future. We’re aiming to grow our volunteer programs to stand up for nature—in our preserves, on city streets and around the

world. We’ll do this not just by engaging more volunteers, but by reaching out to other organizations to share best practices and grow together.

“Our mission is bigger than us,” explains Karen Tharp, director of TNC’s community and volunteer program. “Working together is the best way to lift all boats and achieve real change for the future.”

In this annual report, we share stories about how we’re tackling that goal. You’ll read how AmeriCorps members are assisting us with prescribed burns in our preserves, how funding from American Express is helping us build new partnerships and inspire volunteers in three cities, and how members of our U.S. staff shared volunteer strategies during a whirlwind trip to China.

As we face the challenge of our lives coping with climate change, our work to protect iconic landscapes and waterways and incorporate nature into our cities is as important as ever. That’s where volunteers come in, providing vital links to the communities we serve and a long-term investment in the resources we protect.

“Together, we’re able to achieve so much,” Tharp says.

PROGRAMS AND PARTNERSHIPS

6 2018 VOLUNTEER ANNUAL REPORT © (FROM LEFT): RENÉE MULLEN; KAREN THARP

PROGRAMS AND PARTNERSHIPS

In January 2018, four U.S.-based members of The Nature Conservancy’s Global Volunteerism Cabinet—LaTresse Snead (World Office), Molly Dougherty (Oregon chapter), Karen Tharp (Illinois chapter), and Jennifer Dalke (Virginia chapter)—flew across the world to share ideas about volunteers and community engagement.

When they first arrived in China, the team was struck by the sheer scale of their surroundings. Their first stop, Shanghai, has a population of 24 million, three times that of our largest city, New York. China faces epic challenges with air pollution, transportation, water quality and other environmental issues; however, the Chinese government wants to set an example for the world and is investing billions into urban improvement, including greening.

Accompanying the U.S. team in China was Asia-Pacific cities director Bob Moseley, who spent years in China doing work that eventually led to the establishment of TNC’s China program and who is now helping coordinate city programs across the region. He helped the team navigate not only China’s many cultural differences, but also its conservation landscape.

As the team adjusted to the intense urban setting, they realized that TNC’s China program was working on the same issues that they were, often at a very local level, such as how to recruit and retain volunteers and how to inspire volunteers to be leaders.

From an urban farm in Shanghai, to a rooftop garden in Shenzhen, to a discussion of social media and marine restoration in Hong Kong, the team’s itinerary was packed. They came away with a rich portfolio of ideas and experiences to apply at home, as well as a better understanding of how volunteer strategies are shaped by local climates and policies. As the world’s urban population grows, connecting people with nature and stewarding nature in cities will become ever more important, and we look forward to sharing this journey.

A Global Exchange of Ideas

The Global Volunteerism Cabinet members and Bob Moseley explore the hills of Hong Kong. One of two demonstration community gardens in Shanghai, this space provides local food, habitat for pollinators and serves as an outdoor classroom for a nature school.

7 2018 VOLUNTEER ANNUAL REPORT © (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): PHILIP SILVA; IVAN MARTINEZ; ANDREA NELSON/TNC

PROGRAMS AND PARTNERSHIPS

One of the key aspects of The Nature Conservancy’s mission is connecting people with nature—whether they live steps from wilderness or surrounded by skyscrapers. To this end, we were delighted to receive funding from American Express in 2018 that fueled our Connect with Nature program and work in three major U.S. cities: New York City; Phoenix, Arizona; and Salt Lake City, Utah. Although these are dense urban landscapes, they still offer plenty of opportunities for volunteers to engage with nature—like planting more trees along baking-hot avenues to provide shade for pedestrians, and installing rain gardens to capture precious rainfall.

Over the course of the year, we organized dozens of community activities that reached new potential members and partners, strengthened our relationships with existing partners and brought neighbors together for a common cause. The events linked hundreds of first-time volunteers with local opportunities to help their communities thrive—an investment in relationship-building that will pay off for years to come. Read on to find out what we accomplished in each of the three cities.

City Programs Get a Boost from American Express

Clockwise from top left: Young child and parent learning about street tree care in Gowanus, Brooklyn; Volunteers plant trees in a neighborhood targeted for heat action planning and demonstration; Urban Habitat botanist Neal Dombrowski shows volunteers how to remove invasive Dyer’s woad.

8 2018 VOLUNTEER ANNUAL REPORT © NOEMI GONZALO-BILBAO/TNC

PROGRAMS AND PARTNERSHIPS

New York City

In New York City, many residents want more opportunities to connect with nature but don’t necessarily know how to get involved. The American Express grant allowed us to work with partners to build a network of people to care for trees and to host a series of tree stewardship and park cleanup events that linked volunteers with local environmental groups in their communities. Launched in spring 2018, the Gowanus Tree Network is a partnership between The Nature Conservancy and Gowanus Canal Conservancy. With an initial focus on four blocks along the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, organizers built a corps of volunteer “Tree Ambassadors” who are learning to care for their street trees together over the long haul. The Network helps them become lasting leaders in local tree stewardship initiatives—which will improve environmental conditions in and around the canal. Urban trees provide vital shade and improve air quality, but they suffer from high levels of stress. To help them thrive, volunteers widened street tree beds and removed trash from them, installed tree guards, and pruned, watered, and mulched around hard-working trees. “The project aims to create new connections between neighbors, which helps neighborhoods and nature thrive” explains Emily Nobel Maxwell, director of TNC’s New York City program. “Simply planting trees is just the start.” Volunteers also installed a new garden at an elementary school in East Harlem, built an outdoor classroom on the roof of a high school in Manhattan, helped clean up Harlem River Park, participated in a Tree Stewardship Day as a 9/11 Memorial, and planted bulbs to beautify Hunts Point Avenue in the Bronx. In addition to the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, our partners in these events were TreesNY, Civitas, Partnership for Parks, Sustainable South Bronx/Intervine, the High School for Environmental Studies, and Citizens’ Water Quality Testing Program.

Excited elementary school children celebrating their new school garden in Harlem, New York.

9 2018 VOLUNTEER ANNUAL REPORT © IVAN MARTINEZ

PROGRAMS AND PARTNERSHIPS

Phoenix, Arizona

In Phoenix, heat is becoming a critical health issue. Phoenix is one of the hottest cities in the country, and its temperatures are only projected to increase due to urbanization and a changing climate. We sought to improve conditions for residents and walkers, especially those who live in hotter neighborhoods or who take public transportation, many of whom have no choice but to be outside on the hottest days.

In September, we organized a 4-km walk that followed a strategic route through a park and past public housing and bus stop locations in downtown Phoenix. Despite the sweltering 105-degree conditions, participants were enthusiastic and the walk kindled a feeling of community spirit around the need for cool, green spaces. Together, the walkers mapped a collective experience of heat on the streets that can be tracked and improved over time.

In a complementary event, a dozen American Express employees did their part for science by wearing heat sensors and GPS devices called Kestrels for two weeks.

The ambient temperature and humidity data will be analyzed by Arizona State University researchers to identify gaps in thermal comfort where a nature-or human-made fix may be most effective. That information will be incorporated into Heat Action Plans.

“The heat researchers really loved the walk because only rarely can they get that kind of data on people’s experiences of heat,” explains Maggie Messerschmidt, urban conservation program manager for TNC in Arizona.

We also challenged landscape architecture students to develop their own designs for biophilic shade structures in a local competition. The winning design will be installed in a neighborhood in Mesa where Heat Action Plans are being created.

Volunteers also planted 50 trees representing three native species to provide shade and habitat along the Rio Salado Recreational Trail and installed a rainwater harvesting system to feed a pollinator garden at a community center.

Our partners for this series of volunteer events were Arizona State University, RAILMesa, Watershed Management Group, Museum of Walking, Phoenix Revitalization Corporation, Trees Matter, and the City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department.

Big or small, everyone has a role to play in implementing urban heat solutions.

10 2018 VOLUNTEER ANNUAL REPORT © STUART RUCKMAN

PROGRAMS AND PARTNERSHIPS

Salt Lake City, Utah

The population is booming in the Salt Lake Valley around Salt Lake City, and pressures are increasing on the Great Salt Lake watershed. Thanks to American Express, we had the bandwidth to execute environmental projects on our long-term “wish list” and to reach new audiences there. A key goal was educating the public about how the watershed supports their health and how its different components are interdependent.

We hosted a variety of restoration and cleanup projects in the watershed to share this message. First, on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, volunteers plucked 1,600 pounds of invasive dyer’s woad. With a taproot that can be up to three feet long, this species is extremely difficult to remove, and our volunteers were troopers. At Alta Ski Area, we removed trees from ski runs and replanted them elsewhere to restore the forest. Along the Bonneville shoreline, we reseeded native plants and wildflowers, and at a cleanup along the Great Salt Lake we collected a staggering 2,400 pounds of garbage. We also held a planting day at Legacy Nature Preserve along the Jordan River in the Great Salt Lake, eestablishing native shrubs and trees in the area.

These events strengthened our connections to local partners and helped foster a stewardship ethic among Salt Lake City residents.

“When you get out there, you can see how your efforts in one part are helping the whole. We want to build that conservation ethic, that feeling of connection to this wonderful place,” shares Andrea Nelson, volunteer and outreach manager for TNC in Utah.

Our partners included Urban Habitat, Red Butte Garden, the Utah Native Plant Society, Natural History Museum of Utah, TreeUtah, FRIENDS of Great Salt Lake, and the Jordan River Commission.

Volunteers transport protection for newly planted native trees and shrubs from hungry herbivores.

11 2018 VOLUNTEER ANNUAL REPORT © DEVAN KING

PROGRAMS AND PARTNERSHIPS

In Texas, a young man is helping with a prescribed burn to restore native habitat. In Virginia, a guide is leading an excited group of chattering kids on a field trip through a wetland. In Connecticut, a woman is representing The Nature Conservancy in a meeting with the county parks department to talk about a new partnership.

What do these three have in common? They’re all AmeriCorps members serving within TNC.

AmeriCorps is a federal program that engages adults in public service. This year, TNC received a grant to support 22 AmeriCorps members to be deployed to 13 states and our Global Cities program (at our headquarters in Virginia), where they are helping with volunteer programs, outreach and stewardship. Some of them are new college graduates; others have years of experience in conservation or activism. Each member serves for up to 11 months, gaining valuable experience while helping further TNC’s mission.

“They gain skills and knowledge that they didn’t have before, that will help them with their career path, and we benefit from their energy and expertise,” explains Megan Whatton, TNC AmeriCorps program manager. “It’s a big bonus to have them on board.”

The AmeriCorps members, who receive a living stipend in exchange for their service, are helping with three areas: land stewardship of 1,500 acres of parks, public and tribal lands; education that will reach 3,000 people; and volunteer and partner engagement that will leverage 1,250 volunteers for conservation.

AmeriCorps Gets Wings

AmeriCorps members and TNC staff pose for a group photo during their orientation at TNC’s World Office.

12 2018 VOLUNTEER ANNUAL REPORT © (FROM TOP): WITT PHILLIPS; KIM HACHADOORIAN

COMMUNITY SCIENCE SPOTLIGHT

T hese are people who appreciate the value of clean water. They have a variety of interests and backgrounds, but they all

share one thing—the desire to make a difference for their local waterways,” explains Kim Hachadoorian, project manager for The Nature Conservancy’s Stream Stewards program in Delaware.

She’s talking about the 15 community scientists who collect data on water quality at First State National Historical Park in northern Delaware. The program, now in its third year, trains volunteers to take measurements in streams that flow through the park to Brandywine Creek and to maintain in-stream monitoring equipment. Brandywine Creek provides 100 percent of Wilmington’s drinking water.

The volunteers go out in pairs to the monitoring sites every month, all year long. The data are analyzed by a local laboratory and are vital in assessing stream health and identifying streams that could benefit from improved management of the surrounding land.

For example, plans are underway to install a riparian buffer on an open section of one of the streams next year. Nutrient management plans prepared for the park show that better manure management on nearby horse farms could make a big difference in water quality, and changes are being implemented.

The volunteers include retirees, scientists, working parents, college students and others who just enjoy the opportunity to pull on hip waders and plunge into a stream. Participants must complete a series of training sessions and commit to volunteering 20 hours a year. “They’re interested in protecting the watershed, and they know the best way to do that is to have really good scientific data to base management decisions on,” Hachadoorian says.

Twice a year, TNC also hosts popular watershed cleanup days in the park. The cleanups draw big crowds of families and Scout groups.

Stream Stewards is a partnership between TNC, the National Park Service, and the Stroud Water Research Center, with funding from the William Penn Foundation, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Ernest E. and Brendalyn Stempel Foundation.

Delaware Volunteers Wade Right In

Top: A family picks up litter at a Stream Stewards watershed cleanup event.Bottom: A community scientist in the Stream Stewards program collects stream data.

SNAPSHOTS FROM THE FIELD

13 2018 VOLUNTEER ANNUAL REPORT © LAURA STOECKER

14 2018 VOLUNTEER ANNUAL REPORT © (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): KYLE OBERMANN; ALEX NOVAK; MARK GRAHAM; LAURA ROSE CLAWSON

SNAPSHOTS FROM THE FIELD

HONG KONG, CHINA

Restoring Hong Kong’s OystersIn May, members of TNC’s Hong Kong, China and Asia Pacific regional teams, alongside local partners, built the first oyster reefs at our Deep Bay project sites in northwest Hong Kong. Oysters are nature’s water filters, and Hong Kong oysters are world champions: each adult oyster filters more than 700 liters of water a day. “TNC is working with oyster farming communities in the Deep Bay, not only to restore this valuable habitat and its biodiversity, but also to help preserve the aquaculture heritage and strengthen environmental stewardship among local communities,” says Lulu Zhou, conservation program director for TNC in Hong Kong.

KANSAS

Helping the Tallgrass ThriveTallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas, owned and co-managed by TNC, is the country’s only national park unit dedicated to tallgrass prairie. A dedicated team of volunteers known as Prairie Stewards provide on-the-ground support to TNC and the National Park Service at the 11,000-acre preserve. Prairie Stewards help establish and maintain milkweed for monarch butterflies, collect native plant seeds to help restore sites for pollinators, and survey birds and butterflies on the preserve.

TEXAS

A Cool Canopy for Oak CliffTNC’s Texas chapter partnered with Texas Trees Foundation and the Trust for Public Land to plant 1,000 trees in Dallas’s Oak Cliff neighborhood to address urban heat, air pollution and lack of green space, as part of their Cool and Connected Oak Cliff project. The newly enhanced tree canopy, which spans 20 square miles, will create roughly $2.9 million in environmental benefits over 40 years. It will remove 248 tons of CO2 pollution from the air, intercept over 4 million gallons of stormwater and enhance quality of life for 22,000 residents.

VIRGINIA

Splendor in the (Sea)GrassOver the last decade, nearly 600 volunteers have spent more than 3,000 hours spreading more than 70 million eelgrass seeds in the coastal bays of TNC’s Virginia Coast Reserve. Now the world’s largest successful seagrass restoration, the vast, underwater meadows cover nearly 7,200 acres (11.25 square miles)—an area larger than the city of Charlottesville. They provide habitat for marine species and help mitigate storm impacts by binding sediment and reducing wave energy—literally a green solution to these effects of climate change.

15 2018 VOLUNTEER ANNUAL REPORT © (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): JAJUAN LYONS; ZENG XIAOYAN; SHERVIN HESS; ANNE LILES

SNAPSHOTS FROM THE FIELD

OREGON

Sea Stars Bouncing BackWith the help of volunteers, we’ve been keeping an eye on sea stars along the Oregon coast after a mysterious wasting disease decimated the population several years ago. The Oregon Zoo joined us in July for a population survey, during which we counted over 400 sea stars in two hours. Almost all of them were healthy!

SHENZHEN, CHINA

Urban Mountain, Shenzhen’s Green Rooftop ProjectTNC launched a project in the village of Gangxia in Shenzhen as part of China’s “sponge cities” initiative, which is creating green infrastructure to help communities become more resilient to extreme weather. Volunteers helped to fill 430 planter boxes in a rooftop garden with indigenous plants. This garden will help retain 65 percent of stormwater runoff, reduce pollution and store rainwater for future use.

WISCONSIN

Rebuilding Milwaukee’s Urban ForestTNC is expanding its work in Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s largest city, as part of our Build Healthy Cities initiative. In November, we partnered with the city’s Urban Ecology Center to hold a tree-planting event at Washington Park, with funding from Harley-Davidson. Volunteers, including students from two area high schools, dug holes and planted 42 large trees. Many ash trees were recently culled from the park to control emerald ash borer, so these native trees are needed to help rebuild the urban tree canopy.

INDIANA

A Diverse and Healthy PrairieIn April, volunteers at Kankakee Sands in northwest Indiana helped transplant hundreds of rough blazing star (Liatris aspera), leadplant (Amorpha canescens) and clasping milkweed (Asclepias amplexicaulis) seedlings into individual pots. These species are often found growing in remnant prairies and are indicators of high-quality natural areas. In October, we planted them on the prairies and savannas of Kankakee Sands to further diversify our restoration sites.

NORTH CAROLINA

A Festival to Celebrate Controlled BurningNorth Carolina’s annual Fire in the Pines festival in the southeast coastal plain educates people of all ages about the importance of controlled burning. Led by TNC along with 40 partners, and supported by 30 volunteers who contributed over 200 hours, the festival attracted more than 5,000 people, while promotional social media and radio spots reached over 50,000. It featured dozens of activities, including a craft table, water pack games, hay rides, a scavenger hunt and (of course) a controlled burn.

16 2018 VOLUNTEER ANNUAL REPORT © (FROM TOP): LAURA STOECKER; DAVID IKE

SNAPSHOTS FROM THE FIELD

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Planting the Future for BirdsA group of volunteers, including 60 high school students, planted nearly 6,000 trees and shrubs over two days at the Lamprey River Preserve in Durham, New Hampshire. The plantings provide important shrubland habitat for marsh and shrub birds such as American woodcock, black-billed cuckoo and golden-winged warbler. They also honor the land’s agricultural heritage by supporting sustainable harvesting by a local farmer.

ILLINOIS

Protecting Pollinators in ChicagoLast summer, monarch butterflies were the focus for members of the Sacred Keepers Sustainability Lab’s Youth Council. Rain or shine, the members monitored natural areas in Chicago for milkweed host plants and monarch butterfly eggs, larvae and adults. In the six years since the Youth Council was formed, it has fostered seven habitats and planted between 5,000 and 6,000 plugs of native plants. Toni Anderson, Sacred Keepers’ executive director, says “We’ve had great results, but the most impactful are the ones we see within ourselves. There’s an internal and external transformation the Council members go through as they connect to nature and each other.”

NEVADA

Conservation Across ContinentsAs part of his fellowship with the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Arion Sauku, who hails from Albania, spent four weeks in Nevada last spring. Sauku volunteered at the fourth annual BioBlitz at Clark County Wetlands Park and joined our volunteer team from the Ecolab Foundation to help restore the Truckee River. He was also a guest speaker at a movie screening at the Reno Patagonia retail store highlighting the importance of wild rivers in the Balkans region of Europe.

OHIO

A Nature Center Powered by VolunteersThe country’s first volunteer-run nature center opened in northeast Ohio in October 2017. The free Bissell Nature Center at Morgan Swamp Preserve quickly became a popular resource for county residents and visitors alike. It’s already hosted field trips for more than 1,200 schoolchildren! About 20 local volunteers contributed thousands of hours helping to open and operate the center.

17 2018 VOLUNTEER ANNUAL REPORT © MIKE OLIVER

TRUSTEE VOLUNTEERS

Volunteer Leaders

Top: Teresa Beck, Chair of the Our World Campaign Gift Planning Committee, and Trustee for the Africa Council, addresses attendees during the 2018 Volunteer Leadership Summit.Bottom: Volunteer Leaders and Legacy Champions are honored at the 2018 Volunteer Leadership Summit where 225 Trustees and advisors connected and engaged with leadership across TNC.

E very chapter and country program of The Nature Conservancy counts on its Board of Trustees and Board of Advisors for guidance,

connections and advice. These volunteer leaders play a vital role in helping us succeed. They represent TNC in communities around the world, give generously to further our mission, and use their experience and networks to help us make an impact.

In 2018, we celebrated several important volunteer leader milestones. First, we sent 190 trustees and advisors, our largest contingent ever, to Washington, DC for our advocacy day in June. In nearly 300 meetings on Capitol Hill, they called for funding for land and water conservation, support for a clean energy economy, and a strong Farm Bill to help farmers and ranchers maintain their way of life while protecting water and soil.

We scored a major legislative victory in late December when the Farm Bill passed. TNC was instrumental in shaping the bill in a very favorable way. The final version was a bipartisan package that will deliver billions of dollars to private land conservation, increasing the flexibility and resources going toward public-private partnerships and easements while taking important steps toward climate-smart practices. The Farm Bill also contains strong forestry provisions, including support for a program that encourages collaboration on the science-based restoration of priority forest landscapes.

Another big victory in 2018 was a comprehensive bill that Congress passed in the spring providing federal funds to fight wildfires, which means that wildfire containment efforts will no longer drain the Forest Service’s regular budget for forest care and maintenance. A number of our trustees fought long and hard for this bill.

Also in 2018, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of our Legacy Club. These special supporters, many of whom are trustees, have made a commitment to TNC in their estate plans or through a life-income gift. In 2018, more than 150 trustees joined The Legacy Club, and more than half of the chapter Boards in North America became Trustee Legacy Champions, with half or more of their Board members participating in The Legacy Club.

We’re grateful for the hard work and vision of these volunteer leaders!

“As someone who deeply appreciates the beauty and biological diversity

of our planet, I came to TNC because there was no one better at identifying and preserving our most critical and

unique ecosystems. But I have stayed with TNC through the years because

they have become the leader in tackling our greatest environmental threat: the

challenges of climate change. This, while remaining true to their roots of science-based initiatives, long-term thinking and nimble pragmatism.”

DAVID LEATHERSBusiness Executive and Trustee of the Conservancy’s Massachusetts chapter

Get in Touch!For more details on the Volunteer Program and how to get involved, contact:

Karen L. TharpDirector of Community and Volunteer Programsktharp@tnc.org618-614-4647

Explore. Volunteer. Give.nature.org/volunteer

Special thanks to Heather Sisan, Jeanne Chang, Kristine Brennan, Melissa Dale, Krista Schmidt, Jay Sullivan and Monica Chan for their help in creating this report.

WOCRD 1927 COVER: Two Sacred Keepers Sustainability Lab interns monitor monarch butterflies in milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) patches along the Burnham Wildlife Corridor in Chicago, Illinois. © Laura Stoecker