Why conserve land?

Forests

Mature and diverse forests will stand up better to the longer, hotter summers of climate change. Forests catch and slow the hard rains, filling the aquifer with clean water for us to drink.
Farms

Regenerative farming captures carbon in the soil – helping the planet and feeding the plants. Matsuda Farm grows healthy, fresh produce for the School District, the Food Bank, and others who can’t afford it.
Streams

The wild-spawning Coho of Shinglemill and Judd Creek are a precious and rare resource. Our restoration projects provide juvenile Coho with cold water, logs to hide under, and bugs to eat before they venture out into Puget Sound
Shorelines

Sea level rise is coming, as are more intense rains that cause landslides. These climate impacts compound on our shorelines. We work with nature in response, using habitat restoration as a resilience strategy.
People

Our conservation work is designed to limit the development of housing in outlying areas. That’s why we partner to make Town and Center more walkable and affordable.
Place

Trail networks provide a refuge from heat and stress. We have made our preserves accessible for recreation, education, and food. In these ways the land gives back – completing the cycle of care we give to the land.

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Our Programs

When the health of the environment thrives so do the humans that inhabit it. It is not enough to just hold land in conservation. It is necessary to strive to make these sensitive habitats thrive. It is our obligation as land stewards to make all the lands we hold healthier and more resilient through active restoration and management.

As the climate crisis looms we understand the need for climate resilience. At its core, Regenerative Agriculture is farming in harmony with nature. At Matsuda Farm we are committed to growing nutrient dense food using no-till regenerative practices. This allows us to build soil health, increase organic matter, store water more effectively, and capture carbon into the soil.

The conservation program creates resilience against the climate changes to come: harder winter rains, longer and hotter summers, and rising seas. Today and into the future, the lands we conserve are the bedrock of a healthy, reciprocal relationship with our island and our planet.

The Land Trust is the Island organization that creates equitable access to lands – for the health and happiness of our community.

Our trails are open to the public free of charge. The All-Ages Trail provides access to nature whether you are in a stroller or a wheelchair.
Matsuda Farm provides access to fresh and nutritious produce through the School District Food Program, the Food Bank, and the Food Access Partnership.
We partner with local non-profits to provide land for programming or to find a “forever home.”