Community Projects

As we work to support local leaders with knowledge and empower communities, we recognize that sometimes the best lessons are conveyed through example. We will work with communities to implement the trail, park, community garden and open space projects to help them become the type of sustainable, walkable, livable communities they strive to be. Setting the example by helping establish community assets leaves an unforgettable impact on a town and illustrates what is possible through partnership, innovation and open process.

We receive weekly calls from community members inspired to do better for their hometown – ideas like bikepaths, dogparks, walking trails, pocket parks, gardens, and canoe launches. In addition to adding important amenities for towns, ESLC has seen the rippling-out of positive impact that successful small efforts have on communities. For example, the East End Neighborhood Community Garden project in Easton has led to neighborhood pride and the East End Neighborhood Association is now willing to bring more issues and ideas to the Town Council. A nearby resident told ESLC that the Town Council now pays more attention to the Neighborhood Association’s ideas and that she knows of people who for the first time are thinking of moving to the center of Easton. In East New Market, town officials are taking on a municipal bond for the purpose of acquiring public-access land in town. This is something they have never done before and at each step they become a town that feels more empowered and more equipped to take on projects that make their town more livable.

ESLC is learning that conservation can not only preserve the legacy of the landscape – it can be an active catalyst for Eastern Shore communities to transform their futures. It is this transformation that ESLC seeks to promote. To prevent the development mistakes of the past, and buffer against forces (like climate change) they cannot prevent, towns need leadership, unity and vision to make tough decisions and realize innovative solutions.