CitiesAlive is the leading green roof and wall conference in North America. This year, CitiesAlive: Green Infrastructure and Water in a Changing Climate is being held in Philadelphia, PA and will celebrate the city’s stormwater successes. As a city with one of the most progressive stormwater management plans in the United States, Philadelphia paves the way for governments to read more
30
March
30
March
Development Assistance for Pennsylvania Land Trusts
Pennsylvania Land Trust Association is pleased to offer fundraising and membership development assistance to Pennsylvania land trusts. Organization staff and volunteers are welcome to reach out to Sara Painter, PALTA’s director of outreach and development, at spainter@conserveland.org at any time with questions regarding their land trust’s membership development and fundraising read more
26
March
Bringing Nature to You
Open spaces are still open, but what if you can’t leave home? We know that nature is a respite from the worry and uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, but not everyone is able to seek out open space at this time. That's why PALTA's member land trusts are bringing nature to you! We've compiled a list of fun activities and virtual events that are being offered by some of our member read more
25
March
Natural Lands Adds 82 Acres to Crow’s Nest Preserve
On March 23, 2020, Natural Lands announced that it has purchased an 82-acre wooded property adjacent to its Crow’s Nest Preserve in Warwick Township, Chester County. The addition brings the preserve’s size to 454 acres and provides a scenic buffer for a section of the Horse-shoe Trail, which traverses the property. The recently acquired parcel was known as the Warwick Woods read more
25
March
2020 PALTA Training Webinars
In response to the recent cancellation of the 2020 Pennsylvania Land Conservation Conference due to COVID-19, the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association has been working to schedule a series of webinars to fill the gap in training. Webinar trainings covering a variety of topics relevant to land conservation are set to begin April 2nd, and additional trainings will be added as they read more
23
March
PALTA Member COVID-19 Video Call
PALTA invites staff and board leaders of PALTA member organizations to join in a video call at noon on March 30 to discuss the issues, challenges, concerns, opportunities, and plans stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have a suggestion for an agenda item, please send it to Andy Loza at aloza@conserveland.org before week's end. (This video call follows on the ones held read more
24
March
State Park and Forest Open Spaces Are Open but Subsidiary Facilities Are Closed
On March 23rd, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn announced that all facilities at state parks and forests in Pennsylvania will be closed until April 30 to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The public will still be able to access trails, lakes, forests, roads, and parking areas for passive and dispersed read more
23
March
Tips for Working from Home
As with many organizations across Pennsylvania and the U.S., PALTA's employees are now working remotely in order to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. If you haven't worked from before, it can bring a host of challenges, but there are ways to overcome them. Below are tips that we hope will help you make working from home not only easier, but more productive. Create a read more
20
March
Video Call for PALTA Organizations to Discuss COVID-19
PALTA will hold a video call to discuss COVID-19 on Monday, March 23rd 12:00pm -1:00pm. Executive staff and board leadership of PALTA member organizations are invited to discuss issues, challenges, concerns and plans stemming from the COVID-19 Pandemic. You must REGISTER IN ADVANCE for this meeting. read more
19
March
Conservation Easement Monitoring in a Pandemic
A handful of Pennsylvania land trusts were asked the following question on 3/19/2020: What are land trusts doing regarding conservation easement monitoring? Here are the responses (edited for clarity and anonymity): Right now we are continuing to do monitoring visits without landowners along. We plan to move forward with easement annual monitoring visits. We will ask read more
19
March
PALTA Publishes Model Amendment of Conservation Easement
The Pennsylvania Land Trust Association has published the first edition of the Model Amendment of Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants. Oftentimes when a change to an easement is desired, it makes sense to both amend and restate the easement document to ensure that the easement is backed by the most modern, effective form and provisions possible. read more
19
March
Registration Refund for 2020 Pennsylvania Land Conservation Conference
With the cancellation of the 2020 Pennsylvania Land Conservation Conference, the PALTA board of directors and staff have agreed that PALTA should offer to all registrants a full refund of their conference registration fees. However, in light of the substantial impact of the cancellation on PALTA finances, we do ask that you instead consider donating your registration fee (or a read more
18
March
Nature Scavenger Hunt
Click the image below to download a .pdf version of the nature scavenger hunt. read more
13
March
DCNR Announces Measures for State Park, Forest Programs as Part of COVID-19 Mitigation Efforts
Amid concerns about the potential spread of COVID-19, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn today announced that effective Friday, March 13, all public programs, events and trainings in state parks and forests will be canceled for the remainder of March, and the month of April. With the exception of three state parks in read more
12
March
PALTA has cancelled the 2020 Pennsylvania Land Conservation Conference.
PALTA staff have been closely monitoring the rapidly changing COVID-19 situation in order to make the best-informed judgments possible regarding PALTA activities and operations. We have been deeply concerned about protecting the health of would-be attendees and vulnerable people in the broader population. We also have been quite mindful of the time invested into the conference read more
