Triangle Land Conservancy Inc

Tlc's stewardship responsibilities continued to increase in fy24: currently tlc holds 184 conservation easements on 10,684 acres and owns 7,584 acres of land. As an accredited land trust, all 18,268 acres must be monitored, managed, and stewarded by tlc staff annually to ensure that the easement terms are not violated and owned property is being maintained. In addition to 255 hours of stewardship staff time spent in monitoring, we continue to have enlisted and trained volunteers that help to monitor some properties. After completing a training program, volunteers use a monitoring and mapping app and go on at least one monitoring visit with a tlc staff member before being eligible to monitor easements on their own. (continued on schedule o)in fy24, trained volunteers contributed 196 hours monitoring 51 of tlc's easements.in fy24, tlc continued to maintain the 54 miles of trail (28 for hiking and 26 multi-use trails) at our public nature preserves which thousands of people enjoy every month. In fy24, brumley and williamson preserves continued to see increased usage, averaging 50,000 and 40,000 annual visitors, respectively. Tlc's stewardship staff also work to maintain, restore and improve habitat on tlc land by removing invasive species, planting native plants, and conducting prescribed burns. In fy24, tlc carried out three prescribed burns, including one "learn and burn" activity with broader staff, board members and community partners. 17 acres were burned at williamson preserve to control woody species in a pollinator meadow and early successional habitat, as well as to control surface litter in a forest understory. Likewise, 85 acres were burned at horton grove and brumley preserves to knock back invasive species, stimulate native plant regeneration, and reduce hazardous fuels.tlc continued implementation of the farm plan at williamson preserve and hosts 5 farm partners who use regenerative agriculture techniques to support perennial and annual crops, livestock, and a native tree nursery.

Community engagement: started as a volunteer-led organization, tlc prides itself on continuing to work with volunteers as a way to both leverage staff efforts and help us reach our goal to conserve wild and working lands, as well as a way to engage more people outdoors. Our volunteer community increased to 476 volunteers who contributed 2,841 hours to tlc in fy24. Volunteers help with essential functions for our organization, including completing stewardship duties, landscape restoration, leading hikes, programs, and more! In fy24, tlc worked with 51 committed volunteers who have trained as trail guides and regularly lead interpretive hikes and teach environmental education programs. (continued on schedule o). Tlc held 105 free events in fy24, engaging 2,443 people. This includes our return to hosting our yearly wild ideas event. As part of this year's 'wild i.d.e.a.s (inclusion, diversity, equity and access) gets outside', tlc reached out to community partners, and held an outdoor event at brumley preserve for the community to experience nature hands-on through a variety of activities that included guided hikes, testing adaptive handcycles, fishing, birdwatching, plant identification walks, trekking pole instruction, and meeting birds of prey.in fy24, tlc's pathways into natural environments and science (pines) fellowship program completed it's third successful year, welcoming 10 students from knightdale high school to learn about and explore career opportunities in the outdoors. To date, 16 students have participated in the pines fellowship, out of which 11 students have graduated from high school and gone on to pursue stem studies. The other 5 students plan to return next year. This year, a pines graduate joined tlc as an intern pines assistant, and for the first time, two pines graduates joined tlc as summer stewardship interns.