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Trust for Public Land
Logo for the Trust for Public Land
Formation 1972; 53 years ago (1972)
Founder Huey Johnson
Founded at San Francisco, California, US
Location
  • San Francisco, California, US
President and Chief Executive Officer
 Diane Regas

The Trust for Public Land is a special group in the U.S. It is a nonprofit organization, which means it doesn't work to make money. Its main goal is to "create parks and protect land for people." They want to make sure everyone has healthy, fun places to live for many years.

Since starting in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has done amazing things. They have finished 5,000 projects to create parks and save land across the United States. They have protected over 3 million acres of land. They also helped people vote for over 500 plans that created $70 billion for parks and open spaces. The Trust for Public Land also studies and shares important facts about parks and how to protect nature. Their main office is in San Francisco, California. They are one of the biggest groups in the U.S. that works to save land. They have about 30 offices across the country.

What the Trust for Public Land Does

The Trust for Public Land is known for its work in cities. They help create playgrounds and community gardens in places like New York City. They also helped build the 606 park in Chicago. In Los Angeles, they worked on green alleys. They have programs to help cities deal with climate change adaptation. One big goal is "The 10-Minute Walk" idea. This plan wants every person in U.S. cities to live within a 10-minute walk of a good park.

Protecting Nature for Everyone

The group also works to protect land that people can visit. This includes adding land to famous places like Yosemite National Park. They also help expand the Appalachian Trail and Cape Cod National Seashore. They work with national, state, and city parks all over America. The organization also cares about projects that help everyone, no matter who they are. This is called social equity.

How They Work with Land

The Trust for Public Land is a type of land trust. But they are a bit different from other land trusts. They usually do not own or take care of the land themselves for a long time. Instead, they work with people in communities and government groups. They also team up with other groups that protect nature. They find projects to create parks or save land. Then, they help plan, fund, protect, or build these spaces. The land usually then goes to local, state, or federal government groups. Sometimes, it goes to other nature protection groups.

Helping Fund Parks

Besides creating parks and saving open spaces, the Trust for Public Land also works to get money for these projects. They help get public funding from local, state, and federal governments. They do this through campaigns and by supporting laws. They often work with another group called the Trust for Public Land Action Fund. This helps make sure there is enough money for parks and nature programs.

Programs and Ideas

The Trust for Public Land has special programs to reach its goals.

  • Parks for People: This program helps people get close to nature. It creates parks, playgrounds, trails, and community gardens. These are outdoor public spaces in U.S. cities, towns, and suburbs.
  • 10-Minute Walk: This is a big effort with other groups. It aims to make sure everyone in urban America lives within a 10-minute walk of a good park. Since this idea started in 2017, 200 U.S. mayors have promised to work on it for their cities.

History of the Trust for Public Land

The Trust for Public Land started in San Francisco in 1972. It was founded by Huey Johnson and other lawyers and people who cared about nature. Huey Johnson used to work for another nature group. His idea was to create a group that would use smart ways to save land for people to use. He also wanted to bring nature protection to cities. This was important because more and more people were living in cities.

In its early years (the 1970s and 1980s), the Trust for Public Land had several key programs:

  • The Urban Land Program: This program helped create parks and gardens in cities. Some of these cities included Oakland, California, San Francisco, and New York City.
  • The Public Land Program: This program helped add land to big parks. These included the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
  • The Land Trust Program: This program helped start or train many local land trusts across the country. In the 1980s, the Trust for Public Land helped create the Land Trust Alliance. This group helps train and support local land trusts.

Cool Projects They've Done

Here are some of the important projects the Trust for Public Land has helped with:

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