South Portland Land Trust Launches Community Business Partner Program

MEDIA ADVISORY 

For Immediate Release 

September 8, 2021

Contact: Michelle Smith

michelle@sopolandtrust.org  

207-838-0511

South Portland Land Trust Launches Community Business Partner Program 
New program enables businesses to actively support the organization’s conservation efforts 

South Portland, Maine - South Portland Land Trust (SPLT) announced the launch of its Community Business Partner Program this week. The new initiative aims to increase business support of the land trust’s conservation efforts, including building and maintaining trails, conserving open spaces, and engaging people in projects to mitigate the impacts of climate change in our community.

Benefits for local businesses include recognition on the land trust’s website, in the monthly newsletter, and on social media; free coordination of employee work days; and a number of other benefits. Inaugural businesses who have already joined the program include Evergreen Credit Union, Lighthouse Bikes, The Maine Mall, and Rusty Lantern Markets. Local businesses, regional, and national chain businesses are encouraged to participate.Businesses can sign up at a level of support that works for their budget.

“South Portland is fortunate to have businesses that are very dedicated to our community,” noted Richard Rottkov, SPLT Board President. “The Community Business Partner program offers them a simple and meaningful way to support our critical conservation work right here in the community that they serve.”

Leah Day, owner of Lighthouse Bikes in Knightville, noted that supporting her local land trust is a given: “I can’t think of anything more important than preserving the land around us. A large part of our mission at Lighthouse Bikes is to share the beauty of South Portland’s coast with tourists and locals alike and to inspire them to value and protect it. South Portland Land Trust is doing vitally important work.” Craig Gorris, Senior General Manager of The Maine Mall, concurs. “The Maine Mall is proud to be an inaugural member of the South Portland Land Trust’s Community Business Partner program. The key goals of the Land Trust align with our own sustainability priorities and we’re eager to work with them to help better our community this year and beyond.”

The new program also helps SPLT build its internal capacity. With just one part-time staff member, the organization has its eye on future growth. “For 35 years, we have worked to  conserve open space and build and maintain trails in an effort to connect our neighborhoods,” noted Rottkov. “The Community Business Partner program is one way we are asking the community to join us so we can continue this vital work.” As the program continues to grow, SPLT plans to offer additional benefits for participating businesses, including an annual spring gala in the park.

If you are a local business and would like to join the Community Business Partner Program, visit southportlandlandtrust.org or contact Michelle Smith, Program Coordinator at michelle@sopolandtrust.org.

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About South Portland Land Trust

South Portland Land Trust is a nonprofit organization committed to linking neighborhoods and improving quality of life in South Portland through expanding the city’s trail network, conserving open space, and educating the public on issues related to trails and open space. It holds eighteen properties and easements within the City of South Portland to preserve natural habitats, trail access, and open space for public enjoyment.

Please visit www.southportlandlandtrust.org for more information
Facebook, Instagram & Twitter IDs: @sopolandtrust

Courtney Lee Receives 2021 Land Trust Scholarship

South Portland High School (SPHS) graduating senior, Courtney Lee, is the recipient of the 2021 South Portland Land Trust (SPLT) scholarship. Courtney found her passion for sustainability through participation in the Beekeeping, Environmental, and Outing clubs at the high school. She plans to major in environmental science.

SPLT offers a $500 scholarship every year to one graduating SPHS senior. Recipients are chosen by the SPHS Scholarship Committee. Congratulations, Courtney!

South Portland Land Trust Receives Grant from Davis Conservation Foundation

MEDIA ADVISORY 

For Immediate Release 

June 22, 2021 

Contact: Michelle Smith

michelle@sopolandtrust.org  

207-838-0511

South Portland Land Trust Receives Community Outreach Grant from
Davis Conservation Foundation
The grant money will help the organization conduct outreach with City’s diverse communities 

South Portland, Maine - South Portland Land Trust (SPLT) received a $12,500 grant from the Davis Conservation Foundation to support their outreach efforts with South Portland’s diverse communities in the City’s West End. The grant, “Digging In: Engaging Diverse Communities in Conservation,” enables SPLT to build capacity to create meaningful opportunities to connect with community members typically excluded from conservation work.

As Maine’s fourth largest and third most diverse city, South Portland has historically been committed to open space preservation. However, it is not immune to the same challenges of many coastal communities, including ongoing development pressure and an increasingly limited number of parcels of undisturbed field, forest, wetlands, and watershed within city limits, many located along sensitive and historically mismanaged watersheds, like Long Creek, Trout Brook, and Barberry Creek.

For close to 35 years, SPLT has primarily worked “behind the scenes” to negotiate easements with the City, support and facilitate real estate transactions, and host clean-up events on their network of trails. However, a strategic planning process conducted in 2020 in collaboration with the National Park Service and Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative, highlighted the importance of building new pathways for community members to engage with SPLT’s work and mission beyond the day-to-day usage of SPLT properties. One of the key commitments the SPLT Board has made is to focus their energies on community engagement, with a particular emphasis on reaching the City’s more diverse communities.

“We are thrilled that the Davis Conservation Fund sees the critical importance of this work,” noted Alex Redfield, SPLT Board Member and Fundraising Committee Chair. “As a land trust, we are committed to ensuring that our trails and lands are accessible to all community members and this grant is a terrific first step in that direction.”

Specifically the grant allows SPLT to: create and host a series of workshops on working across culture and difference (open to all interested partners and land trusts); develop and host three community events on SPLT’s West End trails, all of which drain to the embattled Long Creek Watershed and are located less than a mile from South Portland’s largest and most diverse housing complexes at Redbank; support SPLT’s Program Coordinator in outreach efforts to these communities. Outreach materials, including maps, event flyers, etc., will be translated into French, Somali, and Portuguese.

SPLT will announce workshop and community event details later this summer. For more information, please reach out to Michelle Smith, Program Coordinator at michelle@sopolandtrust.org.

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  About South Portland Land Trust

South Portland Land Trust is a nonprofit organization committed to linking neighborhoods and improving quality of life in South Portland through expanding the city’s trail network, conserving open space, and educating the public on issues related to trails and open space. It holds eighteen properties and easements within the City of South Portland to preserve natural habitats, trail access, and open space for public enjoyment.

Please visit www.southportlandlandtrust.org for more information
Facebook, Instagram & Twitter IDs: @sopolandtrust

June Volunteer Spotlight: Dan Hogan

Volunteer Spotlight: Dan Hogan 

Dan Hogan is a long time member and volunteer for South Portland Land Trust (SPLT). He is a past member of the South Portland Conservation Commission and Open Space Planning Committee and a current member of the SPLT West End Trails and the City's Open Space Acquisition Committee.

Dan was named the 2020 Land Trust Volunteer of the Year, in special recognition for all the work he has done for SPLT over the years. He recently coordinated a group to carry out multiple loads of debris off the island in Clark's Pond. He has also participated in many invasive plant removals, including the successful removal of Japanese knotweed from the site next to Hannaford on Cottage Road. Thanks for all your hard work and commitment to the land trust, Dan!