Doug Quattrochi
MassLandlords, the rental housing trade association, has spun out a new nonprofit: The Massachusetts Urban Conservancy, or MUC (like “muck”). The initiative might interest anyone who owns junk land they can neither use nor sell. Also, if you’ve ever written a check to have grass mowed and said to yourself, “No one ever uses that grass,” we have an idea for you.
MUC is a 501(c)3 charitable organization registered to receive donations from the public in Massachusetts. We’re running our first fundraiser to close on unbuildable land in Randolph, already pledged to us for free. After this, 10 urban lots have been pledged in Springfield behind a retail parking lot, also for free.
MassLandlords has provided seed donation in the form of over $10,000 in staff support and over $5,000 of technology and subscriptions. But why would a landlord group fund this?
Basically, there’s a lot of junk land out there and we’re all paying for it. Either we own it or maintain it, but in all cases we wish we didn’t have it.
Eric Weld
Many a time we’ve spoken to a landlord with a lot too narrow, too steep, too wet, too polluted or otherwise too unsuitable for anything. Usually these parcels are included as part of a deal because the previous owner couldn’t do anything with them, either.
Now we’re stuck with them and we pay taxes, insurance and maintenance to have them.
It turns out 501(c)3s need not pay real estate tax in Massachusetts. (Who knew!?) This junk land can be shifted to an entity like MUC and made tax exempt. A similar story can be told for grassy lawns we pay to mow: turn them into self-sustaining, dense plantings, like a Miyawaki forest.
Teaming Up with Public Schools
This land is not prime conservation land. We’re not going to have enough space for many endangered species to set up shop. So the Massachusetts Urban Conservancy will take this land and set it aside for biodiversity education, not just biodiversity.
We’ve engaged with Springfield city schools, whose science teachers are looking forward to having an accessible outdoor area to teach about pollinators, seasonal cycles, urban heat island and much more. (Randolph Public Schools, please be in touch!)
All 11 lots pledged are in environmental justice communities. This means these are places where school kids are underresourced and underconnected to nature, either because of economics, systemic barriers, language or a combination of all three. MUC will show these kids what a clean patch of forest can look like without trash, invasives or non-native plants – “Whoa, check out this butterfly!”
Building public awareness of the benefits of biodiversity builds public support for biodiversity long-term, including support for setting aside actual tracts of pristine wilderness few will ever be so fortunate to see in person.
Good PR for Property Owners
Biodiversity – pollinators in particular – are known to science to be essential to supporting crop yields at local farms, stabilizing food prices and keeping us alive in this very complex system we call Earth.
Donating to MUC is good, honest public relations – “We’re not using it, you have it!” What could be better? MUC takes the land in trust for permanent conservation. Or if the land is not separately deeded, MUC can connect landowners with lawn replacement services to provide low-maintenance native habitat.
Biodiversity loss is one of the three big challenges identified by the United Nations Environment Programme, alongside climate change and pollution. MassLandlords takes an enlightened view of our responsibility to create better rental housing. “Better” also means in concert with our natural world.
Landlords are giving us the land and getting credit for doing good. MUC operates with the 501(c)3 advantage. Local school kids benefit. The public builds support for conservation. Farms thrive. We all win.
So what are you waiting for? Join us in the Massachusetts Urban Conservancy!
Doug Quattrochi is executive director of MassLandlords and Eric Weld is president of the Massachusetts Urban Conservancy.
