Charting a Bold Future

Today, our natural world faces urgent, growing threats from habitat loss, climate change, and human activity, which have the potential to significantly degrade the quality of life in our communities. As stewards of the land, we have a responsibility—and an opportunity—to rise to this occasion by increasing the amount of land we care for, inspiring even more people to get outside and join us in this work, and empowering our staff to increase their impact and capacity to drive our mission forward.

We’re charting a bold future for The Trustees—and for nature across Massachusetts.

FOR EVERYONE, FOREVER

For Everyone, Forever,  The Trustees’ new five-year strategic plan, outlines the organization’s commitment to save, steward, and share the special places of Massachusetts so they can be enjoyed for generations to come.

For Katie Theoharides, President & CEO of The Trustees, and Tom French, Chair of the Trustees Board of Directors, advancing the goals articulated in For Everyone, Forever is a collaborative effort. We caught up with them at Charles W. Ward Reservation in Andover to hear their thoughts on how the plan will move the organization forward.

Tom: We talk a lot about special places—Ward Reservation is particularly special to me. I grew up a mile from here. Our family would hike here, go cross-country skiing, and have picnics up on the hilltop. I feel transported when I’m here.

I’m also inspired by the story behind this place. The Kimball family owned and stewarded this land for generations. They painstakingly assembled it parcel by parcel and gifted all of it to The Trustees. It’s an amazing land conservation story that’s emblematic of what we do and how people support us.

Katie: I love that story. Being here today also makes me think about how excited I am about the work we’ve done over the last year with our board, staff, and volunteers to accelerate our mission and impact going forward.

It’s amazing to think that The Trustees has been protecting these beautiful, scenic, historic, and cultural resources across the state for more than 130 years. And as Massachusetts’ largest and nation’s first conservation and preservation nonprofit, now is the perfect moment to lean into our core mission and do what we’ve always done really well—connecting people to landscapes and bringing them into the work of conserving special places for everyone, forever.

Tom: I couldn’t agree more. Another thing I love about the plan is how we approached the strategic planning process. We went back to our mission and said, “In these times, what does our mission mean? What does it call us to do?” We have this wonderful balance of looking back to our origin story, our roots, and our core mission—honoring and recommitting to our values, while at the same time bringing them to bear on the challenges and the needs of our time

Katie: The Trustees was founded in response to industrial sprawl, at a time when people were losing their connection to nature. We’ve reached another critical moment, as we continue to lose 13.5 acres of habitat to development in Massachusetts every day. The impacts of climate change are also becoming real—from coastal flooding and storm damage to forest fires occurring where we haven’t seen them in the past. And at the same time, we’re seeing people—especially young people—becoming more disconnected from nature.

Tom: Those challenges were top of mind as we formulated the plan. It’s why we’re tripling down on our commitment to drive land conservation across the Commonwealth—not only to preserve viewscapes and watersheds and habitat corridors in perpetuity, but also to sequester carbon, which plays an essential role in fighting climate change.

It’s also critical that we foster those connections to nature that you mentioned. All of us come to this work for different reasons. For me, it’s about the borderline spiritual experience I have when I’m in a special place like this. That experience grounds me, fulfills me, gives me joy, and connects me with something deeply meaningful.

Katie: That connection is so important. That’s why it’s great to see people on our properties discovering nature in the way you and I did as kids. For me, it started when I was growing up in Western Massachusetts surrounded by farms and forests. I spent all of my free time outside getting into some type of mischief—building dams in the streams and just feeling part of the natural world. My 10-year-old self would not believe the work I get to do here at The Trustees. It’s an honor to protect these special places for everyone, so that more people can connect with nature in the way we both have been so lucky to do.

Where You Come In

Join us in this vital adventure to protect our one and only home. The Commonwealth is full of landscapes and places that give us so much: Beautiful vistas and beaches where we can reflect and refresh ourselves. Woodlands and waterways that provide clean air and drinking water. Grasslands and marshes that sequester carbon and nurture wildlife.

With this new strategic plan, The Trustees has shaped an ambitious vision for conserving, restoring, and sharing more of these beloved places with even more Members and visitors. Together, we will preserve the natural wonders of Massachusetts—for everyone, forever. More information can be found online soon!

Ed. Note: The Trustees is grateful to Libretto for their assistance in developing the new strategic plan, and for their support of this interview.