Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council

Mission Statement

VISION:

Throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, a general public that fully embraces and employs land stewardship practices.

MISSION:

The Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council is a coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to researching, promoting, and educating the public about conservation-based landscaping practices to benefit the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Council is committed to implementing best practices that result in a healthier and more beautiful environment that benefits residents and the region's biodiversity.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES:

The Council will work to advance the following principles:

Build a diverse and broad coalition of public and private sector groups and leaders and homeowners;
Reach a broader market to strengthen the macro economic benefits of conservation landscaping
Influence the setting of standards that define good conservation landscaping practices;
Inform and educate public policy decision makers to advance conservation landscaping activities

When engaged in Council activities, members will promote the Council’s goals and activities, without seeking to promote or endorse any single member organization.

GOAL:

The long term goal of the Conservation Landscaping Council is to advance conservation landscaping practices that have significant ecological benefits for communities throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. To achieve larger-scale conservation landscapes, the Council will consider a range of strategies and advance those deemed most desirable to achieve its goal. Strategies may range from public outreach campaigns, to advancing progressive public policies, to developing model best practices to demonstrate the benefits of conservation landscaping on small and large scales, to encouraging landscaping retailers to carry and promote native plant material and conservation practices.

Strategies

The Council has organized itself into committees to develop and advance strategies that will be useful in achieving the Council’s goal and mission. Each committee will develop specific strategies that can advance the strategy identified below. Each strategy will include a range of specific actions that can be carried out to promote and advance conservation landscaping throughout the watershed. Strategies over time may change based on new resources or information that benefit the goal and mission of the organization or new partnership opportunities. However, for now the Council will focus on the following four strategies:

Developing conservation landscaping standards of practice;
Promoting conservation landscaping techniques;
Training the public on conservation landscaping, and
Measuring the impact and number of conservation landscaping activities.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE:

The Council is a broad-based organization that has open admission for individuals and organizations that are committed to finding shared solutions that advance conservation landscaping practices. The Council will have a standing steering committee and committees that focus on and seek to advance Council priorities.

The steering committee will consist of Council members and represent the broad and diverse interests of the Council. It will be responsible for advancing the mission of the organization, seeking guidance and input from the full Council, and acquiring financial and in-kind support to advance specific projects and programs. Steering committee members are required to serve on a least one Council committee and all committees will be chaired by a steering committee member. Decisions made by the steering committee and the Council will be done on a consensus basis, with a goal of gaining broad support on initiatives before proceeding. The steering committee can make decisions that advance major policy and programmatic decisions already endorsed by the full Council. As new policy and programmatic initiatives are developed, the steering committee will seek the advice and consent of the Council on these initiatives before moving forward.

The Council’s committees are composed of members who are interested in advancing specific components of the Council’s work program. Currently, the Council has five standing committees working on a range of issues from marketing to creating and setting standards for conservation landscaping. As priorities shift and projects get completed, the committees will also change. Nonetheless, the committees are working instruments of the council and are charged with developing and advancing policy and programmatic objectives of the Council.

The Council and its steering committee have agreed to establish a rotating leadership structure, and that each steering committee organization will take a one-year turn as “chair” of the Council. The chair will be responsible for scheduling and organizing Council meetings, keeping records and tracking action items during each meeting, being fully informed of the status of all projects, and informing Council representatives of all matters of common interest. In carrying-out specific assignments, the Council will select among steering committee members and others to oversee and guide implementation.

Any representation by members on behalf of the Council should reflect the unanimous consent of all members.

RESOURCE COMMITMENT:

Each member has committed resources to accomplish the mission, goal and objectives of the Conservation Landscaping Council. Those resources may include but are not limited to financial contributions, in-kind donations, and donations of materials and technical expertise. The steering committee members also commit to work jointly to raise funds from public and private sources to support the implementation of specific activities of the Council and committing, when possible, staff resources to advance specific projects. Finally, full Council is committed to participating in all meetings, and ensuring effective communication and cooperation among the Council’s membership.

Adopted January 2006