by Charles Carlson, Stewardship Manager
The Virginia Eastern Shore Land Trust is launching a series of new stewardship engagement opportunities designed to help conservation easement landowners learn more about their properties, while sharing valuable information about the landscapes they protect. These programs include interactive activities like seasonal photo challenges, micro-field experiences, stewardship kits, and other hands-on learning opportunities. These activities are designed to be fun, accessible, and family-friendly while encouraging landowners to spend time exploring and observing their conserved lands.
Whether documenting the first signs of spring, capturing wildlife sightings, identifying invasive species, or monitoring shoreline changes, these challenges will help landowners build a deeper connection to their properties. At the same time, participants will provide useful observations that help the Land Trust better understand the conditions, opportunities, and challenges found across protecting lands on the Eastern Shore. Every conserved property has a story to tell, and by encouraging landowners to share what they’re seeing on the ground, we gain a better understanding of the landscapes we steward together. It’s a great opportunity for all of us to learn together.
Eastern Box Turtle
Stewardship activities might include documenting wildlife sightings like this Eastern box turtle. Did you know the Eastern box turtle can regenerate its shell and has an innate ability to find its way home?
The new stewardship kits will include practical tools and information that landowners can use to identify conservation concerns, monitor habitat conditions, and track changes over time. Meanwhile, micro-field experiences will offer bite-sized opportunities to learn about topics such as native plants, wildlife habitat, water quality, forestry, and agricultural stewardship. If you are interested in a specific tool or resource, feel free to reach out to me directly.
These efforts are intended to strengthen the partnership between the Land Trust and its landowners by creating more opportunities for engagement throughout the year. As conservation challenges continue to evolve, a better understanding of conditions on privately protected lands will help ensure that landowners have the knowledge and resources they need to be effective stewards for generations to come.
Preview of the Stewardship Card: Wildlife ID Checklist