Founded in 1997, West Creek Conservancy is a land conservancy that serves residents, communities, and natural spaces throughout Northeastern Ohio. They do this by protecting natural habitats and ecosystems through land and water restoration, particularly in urban settings, and by connecting people from all cultures and walks of life with nature and the great outdoors.  

One of the methods West Creek Conservancy employs for land and water management and protection is acquiring land and conservation easements through both purchase and donation. These restorations are conducted with a strong focus on watersheds, including streams and wetlands; critical ecosystems within the region and state of Ohio as a whole.  

West Creek Conservancy also reclaims and re-uses vacant urban lands and facilitates the development of recreational trails and greenways, connecting people with nature and developing accessible open spaces for all Ohioans and visitors. This work includes tree plantings, addressing stormwater runoff to prevent flooding, creek restorations, swamp preserves, the creation of native plant and tree nurseries, facilitating the creation of trails and public green spaces, and so much more.  

Curious how you can get involved. Browse West Creek Conservancy’s project library >>>

Founded in 1974, the Open Space Institute (OSI) has partnered in the protection of over 2.5 million acres across the eastern United States and Canada. OSI is among a select few conservation organizations working throughout the entirety of the eastern U.S.  

OSI believes in community-based work, and in recent years has deepened community engagement efforts around park planning and infrastructure improvements, including trails and park amenities. Leading projects include OSI’s comprehensive analysis, Open Spaces for All, which details strategies to make New York’s open spaces more accessible to users of all backgrounds. This report presented recommendations to better engage and support a growing and increasingly diverse constituency of open space users.  

In 2023, OSI unveiled Growing Greenways, an initiative to create a network of protected lands and greenways spanning 250 miles and dozens of communities throughout New York’s Hudson Valley. 

In South Carolina, OSI is leading a community-driven initiative to build the Black River Water Trail & Park Network, a 70-mile-long riverine network of local, state, and private parks united by a recreational water trail along the Black River between the towns of Kingstree and Georgetown. This collaborative effort will reconnect rural residents to the Black River, provide critical flood mitigation, and boost local tourism.    

Curious about these initiatives? Find out more >>>

Green Mountain Club’s (GMC) mission is simple: to protect and foster stewardship of the Long Trail System in order to enable more people to experience Vermont’s beautiful mountains. To achieve this, GMC began a land conservation and conservation easements program that began in 1987.  

Through the Long Trail Protection Campaign, GMC has been able to conserve more than 25,000 acres of Vermont forest that borders the Long Trail as well as the cross sections of its interweaving side trails. In total, GMC monitors and protects 80 miles of the 445-mile-long Long Trail System that is not located on State or Federal lands, and the organization continues to seek protections for the 4.5 miles that remain. GMC also collaborates on the stewardship of more than 10,000 acres along the Long Trail and Appalachian Trail corridors in Vermont with the Green Mountain National Forest and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. This includes the management of 19 dedicated open areas; open fields and spaces without tree cover that provide views for hikers while promoting native ecosystem health. 

From land conservation to trail rehabilitation to professional field programs and Hiking 101 fact sheets, Green Mountain Club continuously seeks new ways to bring equitable public access to Vermont’s natural spaces.  

Visit their website to learn more >>>

Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN) creates resources and hosts events to promote equitable access to nature for children. The organization also advocates for federal land conservation that takes equity and access into account. Children from communities of color, immigrant communities, and communities with lower wealth are less likely to have access to safe green spaces in their neighborhoods and are less likely to feel comfortable exploring natural areas they can access due to the current lack of diversity in many outdoor activities and the racist policies that encourage this segregation. As a result, CEHN works to increase access to nature to help dismantle racist systems and improve outcomes for all kids while creating more resilient communities.  

CEHN also co-leads the America the Beautiful for All Coalition (ATB4A). ATB4A reflects the diversity of America and centers the voices of people of color working to conserve 30% of lands, waters, and oceans by 2030. The coalition also prioritizes Justice40, an initiative to ensure at least 40% of environmental investments are made in communities of color and frontline communities that have historically seen little to no investment in conservation and equitable access to nature. 

Explore Children’s Environmental Health Network’s diverse ongoing project work >>>

Bay Area Ridge Trail Council protects California’s unique biodiversity and expands equitable access to nature through the preservation, management, and growth of the Ridge Trail. The trail, which will be 550 miles in length once completed, acts as a corridor for biodiversity, safe wildlife crossings, and prevents further land development in high-risk wildfire areas.  

Local partnerships, like the Mind/Body/Nature trail outing series created with Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, encourage community gatherings and outdoor adventures on the trail. These guided outings at the newly opened Máyyan ‘Ooyákma Open Space Preserve combine activities like playtime, yoga, and visual exercises with lessons on local biodiversity. The goal is to equip participants with tools to support their mental well-being on future trail adventures and to offer a fully supported nature experience for community members historically excluded from access to open space. 

Most recently, 2.1 miles were added to the Ridge Trail as part of the brand new Patwino Worrtla Kodoi Dihi Open Space Park, named after the Patwin people, the original stewards of the land. Bay Area Ridge Trail Council’s ongoing efforts to ensure equitable community access to Ridge Trail and the preservation of its diverse natural habitats is a wonderful example of prioritizing and upholding accessible open spaces. 

Discover what other initiatives lay ahead for Bay Area Ridge Trail Council >>>

While the 30×30 target remains a crucial global initiative, significant recent changes in U.S. federal policy have created new challenges for its implementation in the United States and abroad.

Now, more than ever, we need to come together and speak up in support of the natural resources we all love and depend on. Stay connected with the 30×30 Project and check out the Get Involved section on each Solution page for more ways to support 30×30 in your community!

Educational institutions have long been at the forefront of connecting young people with nature. From outdoor classrooms to field trips to local parks and nature conservancies, educational institutions play a pivotal role in exposing children and young people to nature from an early age—something they may not have the resources to explore at home. By teaching children to embrace, enjoy, and care for nature, we can instill fundamental principles of sustainability while providing safe spaces to play, explore, and grow.¹“Outdoor Classrooms,” Green Building Alliance ≫

Universities also play a significant role in land conservation and environmental stewardship. From land management practices, such as on-campus conservation areas and community gardens, to research and interdisciplinary studies about the environment, universities are uniquely positioned to protect natural spaces and chart a path forward for new scientists, researchers, and educators. However, to meet the growing need for these spaces and areas of education, more funding is needed where it has been severely lacking in the past to support environmental and sustainability initiatives on and off campuses.  

This is especially true given that many early U.S. colleges were built on stolen Indigenous lands and initially excluded women and BIPOC communities. From a history of theft and exclusion, higher education and learning institutions now have the responsibility and opportunity to embrace and create accessible spaces for the diverse communities they reside in and teach future generations of students.²“The land-grant universities still profiting off Indigenous homelands,” High Country News ≫

Nonprofits are well positioned to be educational resources for their communities, helping to influence local policy and decision making by sharing data and research on the benefits of open spaces and advocating for positive change, particularly in underserved communities.

One of the biggest factors derailing the 30×30 target, protection of open spaces, and other critical environmental solutions is a lack of education on why it’s so important. Nonprofits are often the face of these issues within a community and are seen as trusted sources of truth and information. Significant change is often made by starting local. Building momentum and support for the protection and creation of accessible open spaces is an effort that so frequently begins with grassroots organizations amplifying a love of local places. This is why it is so important to support your local environmental organizations on the frontlines of today’s most significant environmental issues.

If you’ve read through our other 30×30 Project solutions, you’ll be well-versed in the environmental harm that is associated with large corporations worldwide. Significant carbon footprints due to fossil fuel usage, waste, transportation of goods, plastic usage—the list goes on. It’s no secret and should come as no surprise that corporations need to be part of environmental and climate solutions. “Great power comes with great responsibility,” and all of that.

Luckily, corporations are perfectly positioned to make big changes. With their significant influence and funding capabilities, corporations should invest in the communities they’re in, creating more accessible open spaces for the public. This is especially true for any private lands owned by corporations.

Investing in new park and green space development projects as well as in the protections of local natural resources, corporations can be part of the solution for establishing accessible open spaces and earn some positive media and consumer support in the process. This is not a complete fix for all the environmental harms previously mentioned—those absolutely need to be addressed and we cannot move forward until they are—but it is a solid step toward reducing the environmental footprints of these groups overall.

For land that is being developed, open space protection should be considered and implemented at the very beginning of the design stage. For example, developers can incorporate small parks, sitting areas, water features, and walking paths into their designs for the overall health and wellbeing of future landowners and communities.

Policies need to be put in place to make developers accountable for planning that includes the needs of people and nature alike. Rather than allowing for profits to outweigh community needs, developers should meet standards at municipal, state, and national levels that emphasize shared open spaces.

To help preserve undeveloped natural spaces, there also needs to be an emphasis on redeveloping existing infrastructure to meet community needs rather than constantly building from scratch. While new construction might be cheaper for the developer, it often comes at the high expense of diminished natural spaces and community wellbeing. Instead, any development taking place should be done by looking at the whole scope of impact and developers should be required to prioritize working on lands that have already experienced development in some way, leaving untouched lands as natural spaces.

Land Managers are a critical group of stakeholders that directly oversee and maintain both public and private lands. These can include (but are not limited to) parks departments, land trusts, and utility districts. Each plays a pivotal role in conservation, restoration, and accessibility efforts. For example:

• Parks Departments – Maintain public parks and recreational spaces. In charge of the expansion and use of these resources.

• Land Trusts – Protect lands through conservation easements or outright land ownership.

• Utility Districts – Manage lands tied to water, energy, and other infrastructure needs while preserving ecosystems.

Land Managers are the stewards of the lands they are assigned to oversee, protecting and intervening on behalf of critical ecosystems and natural resources. These managers are also often in charge of enforcing responsible recreation in these spaces.

Private landowners, whether individuals, cooperatives, or businesses, are a critical component for land and open space conservation. By working directly with local environmental organizations, they can help protect their land (in whole or in part) for the benefit of nature as well as public enjoyment.

Not every private landowner may decide to allow public access to their land, but there are many public trails today that cut through private lands in order to provide access to nature where it did not previously exist; this is particularly true for the eastern United States, where there is less public land in general. These spaces can be maintained through conservation easements, which are legally binding agreements that preserve land by limiting development projects and other uses that may harm the surrounding natural resources.³“Public trails are being created on private land to boost hiking on the East Coast,” NPR ≫

This does not mean that conservation easements automatically allow public access. These can be enacted for a variety of purposes, including to connect sensitive ecosystems that may be negatively impacted by frequent human activity.

The creation and preservation of public open spaces are actions that take place in some form at all levels of government. Typically, municipalities control what spaces are open at a city or county level, while state governments run State Parks, and the federal government runs National Parks and multi-state parks. Organizations or departments within these various levels of government act as land mangers.

Do you think your community needs more accessible open space? Express your concerns to your local government officials (e.g., mayor, city council) and encourage friends and family to do the same. Our governments, at all levels, should be supporting policies that protect and nurture existing green spaces while working to incorporate new open, accessible spaces where they do not currently exist. This is especially true in rural communities where a more spread-out population means public access to natural spaces may be less of a priority. 

Small-scale “pocket” parks and other types of micro green spaces (small areas of nature that can be found in an urban setting) incorporate nature back into developed areas in a way that’s easily accessible to members of the community. Other types of micro green spaces include flower gardens, community food gardens, small sitting areas surrounded by trees and flowers, art installations, water features, and landscaping around buildings and parking lots.⁴“Micro Parks and Pocket Gardens: The Benefits of Small-Scale Parks,” MRC Recreation ≫

Compared to a typical park or open green space that costs millions of dollars to design and construct, micro spaces are far more feasible; particularly for underserved communities that often don’t have the legislative support and funding for parks and open space projects. 

In the same way that a hallway connects one room to another, a habitat corridor connects one existing core area of a habitat to the next. These core areas can be anywhere there is open, natural space, such as a park, nature preserve, forest, etc. Habitat corridors are smaller variations of this that help wildlife migrate. (These can also be referred to as “wildlife corridors” or “green corridors.”)

What animals a corridor can support is dependent upon its makeup and the core habitat blocks that they connect. For example, the number of trees and what types, whether there are plentiful water sources, and proximity to roadways all affect how suitable a corridor is for various bird species.⁵“Habitat Corridors,” University of Washington ≫

Habitat corridors can exist in urban areas as tree-lined streets, rooftop gardens, or possibly even your own backyard. In highly trafficked areas, cities have begun to build wildlife corridor overpasses, giving animals space to cross over busy streets and highways without the risk of collision with humans. Roadside pollinator gardens have also been incorporated as a method for helping even the smallest members of the wildlife community travel to their next destination.⁶“How do wildlife know to use animal bridges and crossings?” Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative ≫; “Managing Roadsides and Rights-of-Way for Pollinators,” Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation ≫

Heat Island Effect occurs when the architecture within a city, largely made up of materials like concrete and glass, reflects and traps heat, concentrating it in one area and increasing already hot temperatures by five to ten degrees on average compared to surrounding landscapes. Large buildings (e.g., skyscrapers) also act as wind breakers, preventing air from properly ventilating and cooling the region. At the same time, urban environments produce their own heat through the daily usage of things like cars, lights, and air conditioners, all of which contribute to increased temperatures.⁷“Urban Heat Hot Spots,” Climate Central ≫; “About Urban Heat Islands,” National Integrated Heat Health Information System ≫

Heat islands are measured using a combination of satellite data and on-the-ground temperature measuring tools to determine surface temperatures in urban areas. This data is then compared to the same types of measurements taken in nearby suburban and rural areas to determine the heat island’s severity.

Discussions about reparations (make amends) for human rights violations really need to be led by the communities who have been harmed by those violations. This will determine what the act of reparation looks like and ensures that it benefits those individuals most impacted. For example, reparations to Indigenous communities (though we are still only in the beginning stages) have included the following solutions:

• Co-stewardship | a collaborative agreement that incorporates Indigenous Knowledge into federal efforts to preserve and protect sacred sites around the country. (Indigenous groups act as advisors.)

• Co-management | agreements that call for collaboration between federal agencies and Tribal nations to determine how federal sites are managed. (Both parties are decision makers.)

• Land Back | the principle of returning control of sacred Indigenous lands to Tribal nations.

Because many national monuments, national parks, and public federal lands exist on stolen Tribal lands taken through complex and frequently unjust processes, including forced removals, broken treaties, and land appropriations that disregarded Indigenous rights and sovereignty, there is a growing recognition of the need to address this unjust legacy and explore ways to involve Indigenous communities in land management.

Land Back is the priority and should be the ultimate goal. However, while full land return may not be feasible in all cases due to complex ecological, legal, and societal factors, co-management opportunities are often preferred by Tribal nations as it gives them decision-making power over the management of a given parcel of land rather than simply being used as consultants or resources by various agencies.⁹“The Land Back Movement Unravels Manifest Destiny,” Sierra Club ≫; “The clock is ticking on sacred lands protection,” Alaskan Beacon ≫

Green roof systems are exactly what they sound like. Vegetation is planted on rooftops using high-quality waterproofing and drainage technologies to turn a generic concrete rooftop into a green oasis filled with foliage.

How these are designed and built can differ immensely. For example, some may be turned into an aesthetic outdoor recreational space (e.g., garden) for the building’s occupants, while others may be simpler, needing little maintenance.

Regardless of the method used, green rooftops are immensely beneficial. Green rooftops are great insulators, helping buildings retain cool air in the summer and warmth in the winter. This feature is ideal for companies or building owners seeking to lower their energy bills. Likewise, they improve aesthetics in urban areas, prevent water runoff as well as provide stormwater management, reduce urban heat islands, improve air quality, act as a natural noise reducer, increase habitat for biodiversity when using native plant species, and they’re great for marketing a space. (After all, people love to see greenery—especially in urban areas where it’s much rarer.)¹⁰“About Green Roofs,” Green Roofs for Healthy Cities ≫

While in America green roof systems have been slow to gain popularity, green rooftops are far more commonplace throughout Europe and many parts of Asia. It’s an innovative method of bringing nature back to our biggest cities around the world, and increased public education about the benefits of these systems and how they work is needed to gain legislative and funding support in the U.S.¹¹“Five Incredible Green Roofs in Asia,” Urbanstrong ≫

Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME] and I am a constituent of [CONGRESSPERSON’S NAME]. I am calling in support of [BILL NUMBER & NAME] and would like to leave a comment.

Legislative Staff Person will offer to transfer you to an answering machine or take down your message. Use the following to leave your message:  

Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME] and I live in [YOUR CITY, STATE]. I am calling in support of [BILL NUMBER & NAME] and to communicate the importance of accessible open spaces for everyone. Equitable access to nature is essential to the health and well-being of [YOUR STATE] communities. In a study conducted by the American College of Sports Medicine, access to nature has been proven to enhance both physical and mental health and well-being, decreasing stress and improving blood pressure, sleep, and brain function among other benefits. Bottom line: it’s a human health issue. Everyone should have an equal opportunity to experience the benefits of nature directly in their community, regardless of race, income, gender, physical ability, or any other factor.

As my representative in the [HOUSE / SENATE], I hope I can count on you to support [BILL NUMBER] and the development of more accessible open spaces. It’s essential if we want a healthy future for all [YOUR STATE] citizens. 

Legislative Staff Person will ask if you want a response. You can politely decline, or say:

Yes. Please have a response sent to my email at [YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS] or by phone at [YOUR PHONE NUMBER]. Thank you for your assistance. Goodbye.  

Dear Congressperson [NAME], 

As a citizen of [YOUR STATE] and one of your constituents, I urge you to support the passing of [BILL NUMBER & NAME].

Equitable access to nature and accessible open spaces is essential to the health and well-being of communities. In a study conducted by the American College of Sports Medicine, access to nature has been proven to enhance both physical and mental health and well-being, decreasing stress and improving blood pressure, sleep, and brain function among other benefits. Bottom line: it’s a human health issue. Everyone should have an equal opportunity to experience the benefits of nature directly in their community, regardless of race, income, gender, physical ability, or any other factor.

As my elected official, you’ve been tasked with the role of representing and serving the needs of my community. I ask that you do this by using your influence to advance this bill to a vote in the [HOUSE / SENATE].  

Please let me know what action you intend to take on this bill. I appreciate your consideration and look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]  

The 30×30 (pronounced “thirty by thirty”) target is a goal set by the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in 2022 to protect 30% of ecologically representative terrestrial lands and 30% of ecologically representative waters, both marine (sea) and fresh, by 2030 to preserve global biodiversity.