SVT Strategic Plan 2018-2023

Vision 2050

In 2018, the SVT Board of Directors approved a Strategic Plan that will guide our work for the next five years while laying the groundwork for the year 2050.

The key theme? Acceleration! Since SVT's founding in 1953, we have participated in the protection of 8,000 acres in the region. By 2050, we want to accelerate the pace of our work so we can protect 12,000 more. 

While some of the plan includes tried-and-true strategies (restore wildlife habitat; lead interesting outings), we’re making a few key shifts in how we will do our work:

  • While “collaboration” has been a constant theme in SVT’s work, this plan charges SVT to put greater emphasis on helping our allies build their capacity to conserve and steward land. We’ll have more impact if we work with others, and besides, it’ll be a lot more fun!
  • Our 2,900 members have done a tremendous job of supporting SVT, and we are grateful for their generosity. For our new plan to succeed, we must motivate a broader cross-section of the region’s 700,000 residents to become champions and members.

Examples of the strategies we will pursue:

Land Protection

  • Coordinate partnerships between nonprofit organizations and municipal governments to help more communities conserve more land.
  • Embark on more landscape-scale land protection projects that cross town boundaries.
  • Reach out to landowners to explain the conservation options for their properties.

Stewardship

  • Teach CR landowners how to care for the conservation values of their land.
  • Take on stewardship management responsibilities for land owned by others. 
  • Volunteer to lead coalitions of land trusts and conservation commissions to develop a region-wide approach to combatting invasive species and other ecological threats.

Engagement

  • Seek volunteers for a new Community Ambassador role to help us learn more about each of the 36 communities in our region. 
  • Lead more programs at the sites of our land protection and stewardship projects to build broader support for our work.

  • Encourage our members to multiply themselves! Through more events like the Ice Cream Social and Beer in the Barn, we'll make it easy for you to introduce others to SVT.

These are just a few of the ways we will seek to accelerate the pace of conservation in our region. To read the complete plan, download a PDF of the SVT Strategic Plan, 2018-2023.