October 24, 2026
details
This class will explore,
- Complex reality of conservation
- Challenges of balancing competing interests
Materials
- After Bo’s presentation, we will work through a Case Study in class. You may wish to read through it before class. Your group will present your recommendations.
information
Instructor: Bo Howes, Director Land Protection & Stewardship West, Triangle Land Conservancy
Location: Durham Extension Center, 721 Foster St, Durham
Time: 9:00am-noon
Before Class
- You will be provided a case study to review before class. We will act upon it, you won’t have time to read it in class.
- Overview of TLC’s conservation process
- Conservation options
- Conservation agreements FAQs
- Tax benefits of conservation: an overview for NC landowners
Well-read naturalist
ARTICLES shared by a class member
We can build our way out of climate change with density: https://usa.streetsblog.org/2024/09/27/we-can-build-our-way-out-of-climate-change-study
Legislature passes law protecting Minneapolis 2040 plan: https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/legislature-passes-law-protecting-minneapolis-2040-plan/
The culture war tearing American environmentalism apart: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/01/housing-shortage-minneapolis-environmentalism/677165
BOOKS
Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard, Douglas Tallamy (2020). Here’s how you can participate in perhaps the most important conservation effort in our country.
Planting in a Post-Wild World, Thomas Rainer & Claudia West (2015). The authors argue that nature can flourish in urban and suburban settings by blending cultivated and wild plants. This book describes how to create layered spaces that reflect local environments and can thrive in a built world.
Silent Spring, Rachel Carson (1964). Beautifully written, galvanized public awareness, spurred action regarding chemical use. Essential reading for informed activist
The Great New Wilderness Debate, Edited J. Baird Callicot and Michael Nelson (1998). An expansive collection of writers from John Muir to Gary Snyder exploring our role and relationship to nature. Helpful to understanding how we got to where we are today.
Wilding: The return of nature to a British farm, Isabella Tree (2018). Beautifully written journey of converting depleted land to something beautiful. A new favorite author for me
impact projects
Please prepare a 400-500 word description of your Impact Project, ideally with photographs. Send it to Program@ncmasternaturalists.org