With support from the Realizing Environmental Innovations Projects (REIP) of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment
This project worked to engage Stanford-affiliated researchers from around campus, students, and land managers in collaborative endeavors to produce conservation solutions.
Land trusts and open-space preserves have successfully conserved more than 56 million acres of land across the United States, yet land managers are often limited in resources and capital to make research- and data-based decisions. Building on a Stanford course, the Open Space Management Practicum, this project provided tools, personnel, and forums to support affiliated faculty and students in integrating basic and applied natural and social environmental science research into land-trust conservation practices. This project created a digital repository of tools to support the co-development of research questions and collaborative projects, with the intention of expanding opportunities for university–land trust collaborations. Working with the Land Trust Alliance and other partners, we endeavored to develop models for how universities and land trusts might create on-the-ground conservation impact.