Edmonton & Area Land Trust

With the welcoming of fall, we are excited to share our September Charity Spotlight! The Edmonton and Area Land Trust (EALT) conserves nature while engaging people and communities in land conservation and stewardship. Edmonton and much of the surrounding area lies within the Parkland Natural Region, an intersection between grasslands and forests. This region is also the most populated, and the least protected in Alberta. Only 5% of the region’s natural vegetation remains, so it is imperative to protect what is left to benefit biodiversity, climate change resilience, and future generations.  

About their work 

EALT was established in 2007 with the goal to be Edmonton’s local land trust – an organization that protects natural areas through private land conservation. Individuals or families interested in conserving their property can do so through donating their land to EALT, or by placing a conservation easement on the property. 

Properties that are donated to EALT become “conservation lands”, many of which are open to the public. EALT now manages 14 public conservation lands that capture the beauty of our region’s boreal and aspen parkland forests. Conservation is just the first step: EALT has a commitment to caring for these lands with continuous stewardship and ongoing adaptive management that grows with a greater understanding and the changing conditions. 

Stewardship of these lands involves maintaining trails, controlling invasive plants, removing fences that pose hazards to wildlife, monitoring nest boxes, and many other activities that enhance wildlife habitat. This work is made possible by EALT’s small staff team and dedicated volunteers. 

EALT also connects communities to the natural world around them, whether in their own backyard or out at a conservation land. An example of this is their Protecting Pollinators campaign, which offers bee hotel workshops and presentations to share about the importance of native bees in our local ecosystems. 

How you can help 

EALT welcomes any and all support. If you wish to volunteer, you can do so through at-home opportunities, outreach events within the city, joining a stewardship event, or joining programs to steward the land and monitor wildlife. There are also opportunities for businesses to volunteer as a group. EALT combines fostering connections with nature with the satisfaction of seeing the impact your work has on the land in real time. Remote volunteer opportunities have a visible impact on public awareness about EALT, and by extension, public awareness about local natural spaces. 

You can also donate monetarily to fund the stewardship work on EALT’s conservation lands. In 2022, EALT launched a 5-year fundraising campaign to raise $1.5 million for land stewardship, after a groundbreaking grant of the same amount was given to them for land securement. Each land secured needs continuing stewardship, and this fundraiser is crucial to ensuring that these new properties receive the standard of stewardship we strive for.  You can donate directly to the Action Amplified campaign to support this work. 

Support for EALT also comes from endowment funds through the Edmonton Community Foundation. You can contribute to one of these funds or start your own to make a lasting impact on the stewardship of EALT’s conservation lands. 

You can sign up for the newsletters to learn more about EALT’s projects, and check out interesting upcoming events, such as tree planting, on their website.