For more than fifty years, The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut has worked to protect biodiversity by preserving the lands and waters that plants and animals need for survival. From the tree-filled oasis of Fairfield County’s Saugatuck Forest Lands to Lyme’s wild rice stands at Whalebone Cove, the Conservancy has protected some 41,000 acres that contribute to the unique character of Connecticut.
Of course, we couldn’t achieve our goals alone. One of the world’s largest private nonprofit conservation organizations, The Nature Conservancy, works at the local level through collaborative efforts with individuals, agencies and businesses. Fortunately, the green movement is burgeoning throughout the corporate world as it is at the grass-roots level. A new initiative, the Corporate Partners for Conservation, is a dynamic way for companies in Connecticut to participate in this mission while coming together with like-minded business people.
A dozen companies have signed on with CPC in the first six months, joining some four dozen that have historically partnered with the Conservancy. From small independent companies like West Hartford Yoga to Newman’s Own, Timex, IBM and Bank of America, Connecticut’s business community is embracing the opportunity to become better corporate and environmental citizens. Business leaders are demonstrating their wish to help make life better for their employees as well as their neighbors.
Essex Savings Bank, for example, gives 10 percent of its net worth annually to nonprofits working to improve quality of life for the community. As its CEO puts it, preserving natural areas lifts people’s spirits, enhances property values and makes surrounding businesses more vibrant.
Increasingly, companies play a key role in shaping the future of conservation in Connecticut. For instance, businesses have been overwhelmingly supportive of our Connecticut River program. Connecticut’s companies recognize that clean water, flood mitigation and opportunities to hike, swim, fish, and boat enhance life for every citizen.
Businesses appreciate the fact that the Conservancy views land conservation as compatible with public access and traditional industry.
Ocean State Initiative
The Village Innovation Project with the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council will work with two villages in the Borderlands region straddling the Connecticut and Rhode Island border to explore ways to preserve both economic life and development in ways that dove-tail with conservation goals. The plan is based on the premise that villages — and businesses — will thrive if rural areas surrounding them remain intact.
The Nature Conservancy has a long history of bringing together individuals, environmental groups and government agencies offering corporate partners the chance to join a coalition of those who share a passion for conservation and the environment. They gain access to analyses of relevant issues and concerns through the corporate e-newsletter “Natural Assets,” as well as face-to-face meetings. Opportunities like a networking and recognition reception recently held in Hartford enable them to share ideas and gain visibility in the wider community.
With much work yet to be done, we encourage businesses large and small to join this alliance and help ensure that special lands are available for future generations.
Lise A. Hanners is state director of the Nature Conservancy of Connecticut. S. Kimberly Welch is chair of its Corporate Partners for Conservation program.
