The Landscape: We are a network of 5,000 (and growing) women in Wisconsin and Illinois on a conservation journey: farmers, landowners, farm workers, gardeners, urban growers, and conservation professionals who share a passion for taking good care of soil, water, and wildlife. We are also biologists, researchers, farm market managers, prairie enthusiasts, hunters, fishers, retirees, and young women with dreams of land ownership. By sharing stories, knowledge, and experience, we are working together for a brighter future on the earth.

Without funding, it has been difficult to build the capacity for networking and relationship building to ensure conservation practices can be implemented on private lands. Women, who are nurturers of land and family, are affected by the lack of support, and the land continues to lose fertile topsoil, which is very important to conserve for producing the food we eat and for future generations.

The Approach: This project will leverage existing resources and proven peer-to-peer education techniques to guide women to networks and resources in both rural and urban areas. Women and female-identifying land stewards at every level of experience who reside in Wisconsin and Illinois are welcome to join. Research shows that women farmers, gardeners, landowners, and conservation professionals benefit from connecting with one another to build supportive relationships and capacity for conservation implementation.

MFAI staff and networks will support the expansion and connection of five years of community organizing and technical support in Wisconsin. With a burgeoning need in Illinois, we are expanding our women's network to Illinois. WiWiC and ILWiC will host learning circles and field days connecting conservation-minded women across the Upper Midwest.

Our Project: We will organize and implement five learning circles and field days—two in Wisconsin and three in Illinois. These events will bring new women landowners and farmers to the network of technical service providers, regional mentors, and conservation professionals. Each event will provide direct connection to a regionally supported community, professionals, and opportunities to implement conservation practices on their private lands. We will also explore partnerships in Michigan to create these networks of women to build communities in conservation similar to their counterparts in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan.

Outputs:

A total of 150 women will connect with each other in community in Wisconsin and Illinois through two events in Wisconsin and three events in Illinois, collaborating with organizations The Land Connection and The Conservancy.
We anticipate five women (30 total) from each event to access direct guidance to begin new conservation practices specific to their land and ecosystem, such as wetland protection, habitat restoration, or pollinator planting and support.
These events will build the recently convened network in Illinois of women and launch an ILWiC listserv to continue supporting each other through peer-to-peer communication and learned experiences via the implementation of conservation practices.
Two reconnaissance visits to Michigan to explore the creation of a Michigan Women in Conservation (MiWiC) to be in community with their Midwest counterparts, complemented by existing relationships with MiAA, MIFFS, and MSU Extension.

Impact: In one year, we will have created and built a conservation community of women in network in the Midwest.

More women will learn about conservation practices, be able to reach technical service providers, and implement conservation on the landscape.

Our impact is in shared knowledge gained by creating intentional spaces to connect, learn together, and from each other, so no one feels too small or unwanted.

The soil is healthy and protected for future generations' successful food cultivation, habitat and watershed protection, and strengthening rural, suburban, and urban communities of women landowners and farmers who are paving the way as decision makers on their land with healthy land and resource management.

Our Supporting Partners in Community: Other nonprofits in Wisconsin, such as Renewing the Countryside, Marbleseed, Wisconsin Farmers Union, Groundswell, and Victory Garden Initiative; in Illinois like The Land Connection, The Land Conservancy of McHenry County, and American Farmland Trust; and interested partners in Michigan, like Michigan Agricultural Advancement and Michigan Food and Farming Systems.

Our Team: Will be led by Dr. Esther Durairaj, who has been working on building these networks for the past five years and is supported by Christine Johnson, who connects the women to technical service providers. Also on the team is Kriss Marion, who brings the work we do and the opportunity of the network to the attention of the women in the community.

Why Now: Last year we lost 100% of our funding to support these networks of women, disrupting the consistent community and access to support the network depends on. This brings a risk of lower conservation implementation on the land and needs our attention now to support long-term decision making for women who want to protect and care for the land for current communities and generations to come.