Climate Land Leaders

Home
United States
Minneapolis, MN
Climate Land Leaders

The Climate Land Leaders Initiative provides community and support for land stewards creating climate resiliency. https://linktr.ee/climatelandleaders

The Climate Land Leaders Initiative helps farmland owners tackle the climate crisis with an extremely valuable resource: the farm and forest land they own. Through this peer-to-peer network and with expertise from scientists, Climate Land Leaders develop leadership skills and practical plans for implementing land stewardship changes that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, sequester carbon in the soi

l and develop the resiliency we need to address the climate emergency. Learn more at https://climatelandleaders.org

08/25/2026

"This site demonstrates how much degradation can happen, even if it looks natural. Soil structure is great, good organic matter, but solid honeysuckle doesn’t lend itself to good plant root and microbiome diversity.”

That's Climate Land Leader Leslie Cooperband (IL, first photo) of Prairie Oasis Farm, reflecting on a day spent on her land with Dr. Katie Ross (second photo). Leslie was participating in Nature Cools, a Climate Land Leaders project studying how living soils, trees, and plant diversity work together to rebuild local water cycles (i.e. nature's own way of cooling a landscape).

This summer, Dr. Ross has been visiting central Illinois Climate Land Leader farms to measure soil temperatures and test how quickly rainwater moves into the ground (and this work is already getting some buzz, including a write-up in Public News Service, link in bio!). What they found at Prairie Oasis was humbling: much of Leslie's land has been in perennial cover for years, yet the biological life in those soils is still sparse. The woodland was the biggest surprise - it had the fastest infiltration rates of the three areas tested, but the least soil life; the crew turned up only a couple of native earthworms. Leslie suspects the invasive honeysuckle is part of the story.

08/20/2026

Iowa Farmers of Color hosted their 3rd annual summer cookout this past weekend, and Climate Land Leaders board members Angie Smith Harris (IA/MN, left) and Todd Western III (IA/MN, right) got to connect outside of a Zoom room!

Todd co-founded Iowa Farmers of Color, which brings together farmers, aspiring farmers, community leaders, agricultural partners, and allies to build relationships and strengthen the network of farmers of color across Iowa.

08/18/2026

Now for another edition of "Land Laughs", where Climate Land Leaders share moments on their land that made them laugh, pause, or fall a little more in love.

Veronica Baasen (MN) has two young Kunekune pigs, Diamond and Poppy, who are small enough to squeeze through the pen fencing and smart enough to make a habit of it. Veronica considered lining the fence with chicken wire to keep them contained - but a couple months in, watching them wander happily, she gave up and let them have their way. Now, they split their time between the patio table and the duck pond, favorite spots they've claimed as their own. As Veronica says, "Diamond and Poppy make their own rules."

No word yet on how the ducks feel about their new poolmates.

08/13/2026

What can twenty years of roots accomplish? Quite a bit!

Climate Land Leader Betty Brennan (IA, Bluestem Springs Farm) recently spent a day in the field with botanist Connie Cunningham, soil scientist Dr. Katie Ross, and fellow Climate Land Leader Rozina Kanchwala (IL), comparing two very different pieces of her land: a sheep pasture conventionally farmed until just over two years ago, and a remnant patch of native bluestem prairie that's been growing for more than twenty.

The team measured water infiltration, dug up roots, checked for fungi and soil life, and took soil temperatures. The standout result? The pasture took about 18 minutes to absorb an inch of rainfall, while the native prairie did it in under a minute.

"Seeing that difference with my own eyes made me appreciate what decades of healthy roots can accomplish," Betty says. "Healthy soil takes years, but what a difference it makes."

08/11/2026

Introducing "Land Laughs" - a new series where we ask Climate Land Leaders to share moments where their land made them smile, humbled them, or taught them something unexpected.

First up: Matt Vermeersch (IA) and his kids, Boone (4, shown here) and Cam (3), who've turned land management into a family adventure. This year they learned to identify musk and bull thistle (invasives) from field thistle (native), with Boone proudly declaring himself "a good thistle guy." They've studied milkweed and its butterflies, sampled clover "because cows eat it," and declared war on wild carrot.

Matt says it's been "so fun spending time with them and watching them learn and apply it." Land stewardship, one thistle at a time.

08/06/2026

"Patience in land stewardship is the recognition that ecosystems operate on nature's timeline rather than human schedules."

That's Laurie Schneider, Co-Founder and Program Director of the Pollinator Friendly Alliance, pictured here (left) with Climate Land Leader Carol Bouska (IA, right) at a recent field day we recently collaborated on with The Acreage at Osceola.

We're sharing Laurie's reflections on patience and land restoration on our blog today - what it means to let land heal at nature's own pace: slow visual progress, resisting the urge to over-manage, and celebrating the small milestones along the way.

Read the full post at www.climatelandleaders.org/patience-and-land-restoration (or the link in our bio).

08/04/2026

Welcome new Climate Land Leader Kelsey Zaavedra of Heirloomista!

Kelsey's farm prioritizes perennials, with an eye toward long-term resilience and expanded habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. Pasture-raised poultry now helps cycle nutrients and build soil carbon, alongside long-standing practices like cover cropping, precision irrigation, and organic mulch to protect the soil and conserve moisture.

Beyond the farm, Kelsey chairs the Chisago County MN Farmers Union chapter, is a The National Young Farmers Coalition Fellow, and advocates for emerging farmer land access and pollinator protection across Minnesota. We're glad you're here, Kelsey!

07/30/2026

We're sharing a great shot of Climate Land Leader Diane Wilson (MN, third from left) talking about bogs while standing in one at our recent field day, co-hosted by The Acreage at Osceola and Pollinator Friendly Alliance.

Regional land stewards visited a tamarack bog on the St. Croix, where Diane spoke about the responsibility of stewarding such a unique wetland ecosystem. Participants discussed themes of gratitude and respect for the diversity of species supported by bogs and the important ecological role played by the layers of decaying spagnum moss that hold the bog together.

07/28/2026

Welcome new Climate Land Leader Kiley Komro (WI)!

Kiley co-stewards family forest land focused on hunting and timber, with prairie restoration underway and a burn plan in development. She's also a Certified Land Steward with Dane County, restoring oak savannah in a county park. She lives on a work-stay farm in the Wisconsin River bluffs, where she supports the landowners with invasive species removal, thinning harvests, and rotational grazing.

She says, "I am so excited to learn from others stewarding their land to promote diverse, complex forests and habitats for climate resilience and carbon capture!" We're glad to welcome you, Kiley!

07/21/2026

"Having that grant has made a huge difference for us in getting animals on the land."

When Climate Land Leader Meg Nielsen (MN/WI) received a Soil Health Financial Assistance grant from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, it turned plans into infrastructure: paddocks built and gates hung, with cattle set to graze this fall. Meg already knows what a few years of pasture can do. On another part of her land, a field that was bare and cut with ephemeral gullies just a couple of years ago is now blanketed in clover and tall grasses - "you can hardly find a bare spot among the grass and hardly any cracks in the soil. It's gratifying to see the way the soil is rebuilding itself."

Now that same transformation can begin on the newly fenced acres. Meg credits her grazier tenant Cazzi with the hands-on work: "He's done a fine job and most of it by himself."

Pictured here, a new gate and beyond it Meg's husband Glenn inspecting clover; new paddocks; and healing soil.

Address

3129 36th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN
55406

Website

https://climatelandleaders.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Climate Land Leaders posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Climate Land Leaders:

Want your organization to be the top-listed Non Profit Organization in Minneapolis?