Land conservation and artistic vitality for communities in the Chicago region and the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

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All Land conservation articles

Foundation completes Grantee Perception Study

The Center for Effective Philanthropy carries out confidential blind surveys of a foundation’s recent grantees as well as declined grant seekers, and analyzes the results both in isolation and in comparison to other foundations. GDDF participated in a sur

Conservation Loan Fund a key resource for Lowcountry groups

Conservation organizations often have their eyes on a valuable property—but may not always be able to access needed funds quickly enough to purchase it. The Lowcountry Conservation Loan Fund addresses this need by providing valuable interim funding for co

Regional environment magazine finds niche

The 16,000 to 20,000 quarterly readers of the award-winning Chicago Wilderness Magazine have a unique perspective on the astonishing richness of nature that still exists in the nation’s third largest metropolitan region. And that’s exactly what the Gaylor

900 students release beetles, pull weeds

Students descended on the Calumet Region May 21 for the first annual “Calumet Stewardship Day.”

The Calumet: Wetlands to wastelands and back

Despite heavy industrialization for more than a century, parts of the Calumet ecosystem have survived.

Fox River groups build watershed alliance

It takes more than a single organization to protect a major watershed.

Paddling the Fox – a wanderer’s tour

The Fox River passes through cities, farms, lakes and natural areas. Development pressures are intense throughout the Chicago region.

A forest tour with Coy Johnston

A foundation board member talks about trees, marshes and conservation easements.

A scan of smart growth issues in Chicago

The Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities and the Metropolitan Planning Council created a "regional scan" of smart growth issues in metropolitan Chicago. Read the summary or download the whole report.

Organizing raises profile of brownfield issues

The Calumet Project helps residents in Northwest Indiana get involved on redevelopment of industrial land.

Raising the bar on environmental journalism

Radio stories on Great Lakes environmental issues reach beyond the region.

In South Carolina, two victories on land use

Citizen education has been central to two recent land-use victories.

Bill Moyers to grantmakers: "A teachable moment"

The events of September 11 weighed heavily on Bill Moyers last fall when he delivered the keynote speech at the Environmental Grantmakers Association convention.

A wetland grows on the Illinois River

A remarkable ecological recovery is underway on a 2,600-acre expanse of floodplain along the Illinois River at Hennepin. Since the 1930s, the land has been separated from the river by an earthen dike; pumps have kept the land dry enough for agriculture. B