Who We Are
The Open Land Trust is South Carolina’s first and oldest land trust working to conserve open spaces, natural habitats and rural communities throughout the Southern Lowcountry.
A Unique Region
This region is blessed with a rich mosaic of beautiful landscapes, healthy forests, historical treasures and unique small towns. Our work sustains the spirit of our community, understanding that our sense of place is tightly connected to these precious natural resources.
Diverse Lands
We conserve many types of land: iconic vistas providing windows to the rivers and marsh; parks and greenspace that form the foundation of community; working farms that define our rural and cultural heritage; and large properties that play host to exceptional hunting or timbering operations. We recognize that land speaks to us in different ways, and we tailor our conservation efforts to honor the resources and the landowners vision.
Sense of Place
We also recognize that protecting land is about water quality, wetlands, wildlife, and forests. And in protecting the resource, our job at the Open Land Trust goes one step further, to nurture the human’s need for sense of place, providing access to land, water and wilderness. Our universal charge is to make sure our environmental treasure remain available for future generations.
What We Do
Through conservation easements, fee-simple land purchases, and land stewardship practices, the Open Land Trust secures properties in perpetuity that affect viewscapes, water quality, habitats, wildlife, farming, forests and other critical land uses threatened by overdevelopment or environmental degradation.
Through partnerships and advocacy, the Open Land Trust protects a sustainable place for current and future generations by creating and fostering connectivity between the land, water and people of the Lowcountry.