Nature Trust Executive Director Bonnie Sutherland

By Bonnie Sutherland, Nature Trust Executive Director

Last month, I had the incredible honour of attending two conferences with our partners in land conservation from across Canada and beyond. My participation was both as a land trust leader and as a board member of the Alliance of Canadian Land Trusts, and I left with valuable insights, ideas and opportunities that will benefit both the Nature Trust and the Alliance’s work strengthening and empowering land trusts and their impact across Canada.

2024 Global Congress of the International Land Conservation Network

This global congress brought 500 conservation leaders from 43 countries across 6 continents to address the key challenge facing the global land conservation community: the urgency for even more action in the face of the climate and biodiversity crises.

The Congress built on the 2022 agreement signed by more than 190 countries to protect 30 percent of the earth’s lands and waters by 2030 through new protected and conserved areas to halt biodiversity loss and protect functioning ecosystems. Achieving this ambitious target requires realizing the potential of all sectors to contribute to land conservation efforts, working across geographic, sectoral, jurisdictional, cultural, and disciplinary boundaries to deliver equitable, effective, and enduring conservation outcomes.

Accordingly, the theme, “Relationships for a Resilient World,” reflected focus on advancing a whole-of-society, partnership-based approach to conservation; creating ground-breaking, large-scale conservation financing; and building capacity to partner ethically with Indigenous peoples and communities. Read the full report from the Congress.

The opportunity to explore challenges, opportunities and innovative solutions with conservation leaders from across the globe, and to learn from and support each other, was incredible. Discovering and celebrating the achievements and leading-edge conservation solutions, particularly tremendous successes in Indigenous-led conservation, was truly heartening and inspiring.

Annual Gathering of the Ontario Land Trust Alliance

Land trusts from across Ontario (and beyond), and practitioners from government, Indigenous and community conservation agencies and organizations gathered for three days of learning, networking and celebration near Picton, Ontario, on the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabe, and Haudenosaunee peoples. A wide variety of workshops and panel discussions provided excellent educational and capacity-building opportunities in diverse aspects of land trust work, from land securement and stewardship to board governance, fundraising and more, with an important focus on Indigenous relations and reconciliation, Indigenous-led conservation, as well as inclusivity and equity in conservation.

October was a busy and fruitful month of learning and collaboration with our land trust and other conservation colleagues, and we are proud to be part of such a dedicated, thoughtful, supportive and effective community. The relationships that been strengthened and ideas that were sparked will inspire, enrich and advance our work well into the future.