Natural Neighbors Program

The Natural Neighbors program is a partnership between BiodiversityWorks and the Village and Wilderness Project to address the need for private property stewardship to advance the backyard habitat movement. The Island’s flora and fauna need more connectivity than conservation lands can provide. The program’s long-term goals are to transform at least 10% of the Island’s residential properties into ecological sources rather than sinks. The project will promote a culture of stewardship by establishing a partner-based, community scale conservation program with replicable strategies. With a 2021 Vision Fellowship award, Angela Luckey served as the initial project manager for 18 months. Rich Couse, conservation biologist, now leads the effort. “I am a firm believer that everything is connected through the ecological web of life,” said Rich. “Thus, I want to create meaningful connections between people and nature through stewardship, research, education, and the arts. Natural Neighbors is a perfect opportunity for me to pursue this work.”