How do Connecticut land trusts — those conservation organizations that protect the magnificent acres of open spaces, habitats, and natural resources — broaden their welcome to include people from diverse backgrounds?

That was the question compelling the Connecticut Land Conservation Council (CLCC) to bring land trusts together for training, introspection, and conversations with local community groups.

According to CLCC’s Executive Director Amy Blaymore Paterson, land trusts — and the astounding array of outdoor recreational opportunities they offer — don’t typically attract diverse people.

She ticked off the barriers they experience, described at the trainings: Lack of transportation from urban areas to land preserves. No multilingual signage. Even parking can be an issue. “If a parking area isn’t well marked,” Paterson reported, “a person of color may feel uneasy and perhaps fearful of being singled out for parking in the wrong place.”

For land trust leaders, the discussions were eye-opening. Now, Paterson is eager for them to plan future programs through more inclusive, collaborative, and “out of the box” thinking.

Since taking part in CLCC’s workshops, the Salem Land Trust, led by David Bingham, has done just that. The Land Trust invited members of Outdoor Afro — an organization connecting Black people to nature and outdoor recreation — for an outing on one of its preserves.

Further, through a unique collaboration, the Salem Land Trust aims to conserve a 200-acre farm by preserving the forested part of the land forever. And, by working with the Southeastern Connecticut Community Land Trust, the land’s current farm site — a farmhouse, outbuildings, and pastures — can provide housing for farmers at an affordable cost. The project will also ease food insecurity.

The marriage of conservation and affordable housing is precisely the kind of inspiring, fearless thinking CLCC had hoped to compel.

“It’s a long game,” Paterson said, “but these exciting projects are incubators. They show what’s possible.”