GVLT's Education Program provides information to the public about the benefits of land conservation and community trails. We also provide opportunities to get involved. Call GVLT at 587-8404 or email landtrust@gvlt.org for more information.

Connections - GVLT's newsletter features news about our current land conservation and trails projects and about upcoming events.

Slide Show and Speakers - GVLT has a professionally produced slideshow introducing our work, and GVLT staff and board members may be available to speak to your organization or school group about topics related to our work..

Outings - On Trails Day, and several other times each year, GVLT coordinates educational and recreational outings on easement properties and the "Main Street to the Mountains" trails.

Work Projects - On Trails Day, and several other times each year, GVLT organizes volunteer work days on easement properties and the "Main Street to the Mountains" trails.

Interpretive Signs - In 2002, GVLT received a "Living with Wildlife" grant to install interpretive signs on the Triple Tree Trail south of Bozeman.

Oral History Program - A conservation easement can protect rivers and streams, farm and ranchland, wildlife habitat, and spectacular scenery, but it doesn't save the stories of the families who have been good stewards of the land for many years or even for multiple generations. When families partner with GVLT to leave a conservation legacy for future generations, their greatest motivation is usually their deep connection and love for their land. Through the conservation easement process, we document the property's agricultural, scenic and wildlife values but we don't record the stories and history that underlie the conservation legacy the family is leaving.

Now thanks to grant funding from the Montana Committee for the Humanities and the Metcalf Foundation, GVLT's Oral History Program is recording the stories of our easement donors. Through recorded interviews, we are capturing rich narratives of individuals and their land. These histories are also creating profiles of a broader story of the history of this region, and in some cases, a way of life that is passing. When completed, our oral history collection will be donated to a historical society that will archive the stories in perpetuity.

At the same time, these histories will be an important part of our ongoing land stewardship work. When a property is sold to new owners, we will be able to share with them the story of the original easement donor in the donor's own word. We believe this personal connection will help the new owners begin to develop a connection with their land, and help them inherit the original owner's conservation and stewardship ethics.