Land Securement Webinar Series
Ontario Land Trust Alliance
Orland Conservation produced and delivered a series of land securement training webinars for the Ontario Land Trust Alliance. With a focus on strengthening and advancing land securement efforts, the webinars were designed to appeal to anyone involved in land securement work including staff and volunteers at land trusts, conservation authorities and municipalities. A total of seven webinars were delivered in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
The 60 to 90-minute webinars featured a range of topics including the following sessions:
Reducing Land Securement Costs: From Contact to Closing
An examination of strategic, cost-saving methods to complete land and trail acquisition projects for your land trust, conservation authority or municipality. Receive instruction on how to reduce securement costs through creative acquisitions, negotiations and strategic partnering. The discussion covered methods for successfully negotiating costs with appraisers, partners and other professionals (e.g., surveyors, environmental consultants, lawyers). These solutions assist with identifying cost-effective approaches to expand or connect existing natural areas and important trails.
Negotiations: From Start to Finish
A detailed review of the land securement negotiation process. Working from landowner negotiations to dealing with third-party service providers before closing the deal, this webinar will include tips and lessons learned from Orland Conservation’s experience securing over 10,000 acres of land in Ontario. The negotiation process often requires a lot of back-and-forth communication between parties. Learn how to safeguard your resources while determining solutions that fit everyone’s needs: your partners/funders, the landowner, and your organization.
Land Securement Funders
Long gone are the days when land securement funding was in ample supply, but it is not all bad news. Hear from current funders about funding opportunities for land acquisition, strategies and more. A 90-minute webinar designed for anyone involved in land securement work.
Landowner Contact for Conservation Projects
An effective landowner contact program will foster community education about land conservation and greenspace stewardship. This webinar explored best practices in community engagement for land conservation, reviewing the process of landowner contact in detail while identifying and overcoming potential barriers. Topics included: using GIS to target properties; turning cold calls into warm leads; what to insert into mail out packages; when and how to call; and conducting site visits.