Meet the Crew: Cardinal Land Conservancy, partner

Our (already great!) partnership with Cardinal Land Conservancy will grow even stronger as we move into our new home in their collaborative space. (Read more in Libby's column.)

Cardinal resulted from a 2015 merger of three different land trusts: The Land Conservancy of Hamilton County Ohio, Clinton County Open Lands Inc. and Southern Ohio Farmland Preservation Association.

Executive Director Andy Dickerson, who was the first paid staff person, is entering his 10th year with Cardinal. He's led the organization through some major growth during that time.

"When I started, we had one little nature preserve that was like an acre in Wilmington and maybe 1,000 acres of easements, and $100,000 in our checking account," he said. "Now, we've just passed 10,000 acres -- we own about 1,200 outright -- and our endowments are upwards of $4 million."

Cardinal's upcoming acquisition of Oak Heritage Conservancy, a southeast Indiana land trust, will add another 1,100 acres, 13 properties and three easements.

He calls their brand of conservation "a differentiator."

"We don't just conserve anything," he said. "We have conservation targets that we pay attention to -- grassland birds and their habitat; climate resilient forests; wetlands; environmentally sensitive agricultural lands; culturally important lands; passive recreation on lands we own; urban open space."

"Everything we do has to have something to do with those targets," he said. "We know what to say 'no' to."

During the last 10 years, Cardinal has also grown to a staff of 16 through "paying attention to competitive pay and benefits and just really focusing on staff development," he said.

In planning the new nonprofit hub, Adventure Crew was "one of the first groups we thought of," Andy said, noting that he hopes the nearly 10-acre campus will eventually house anywhere from five to 10 nonprofits while increasing the canopy covers within walking distance of urban schools.

"We will definitely be better together," he said.

Thanks for being part of our Crew, Cardinal!