Natural Lands
Natural Lands is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1953 that operates 40+ nature preserves and Stoneleigh garden across 23,600+ acres in eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, funded by memberships, government grants, and corporate sponsorships while offering free public access.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1953
- HeadquartersMedia, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Natural Lands does
Natural Lands (legally Natural Lands Trust, Inc.) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit land conservation organization founded in 1953 and headquartered in Media, Pennsylvania. It is the Greater Philadelphia region's oldest and largest land conservation organization, operating 40+ nature preserves and one public garden (Stoneleigh: a natural garden, a 52-acre property in Villanova, PA) totaling more than 23,600 directly managed acres across eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey (two states, 13 counties), with 122+ miles of trails. Since inception the organization reports it has helped preserve more than 136,600 acres cumulatively. Its mission is delivered through three functions: saving open space (conservation easements, fee-simple acquisition, municipal conservation planning and ballot referendum support), caring for nature (prescribed fire, reforestation, habitat restoration, deer management, and a formal bird conservation program with Motus wildlife tracking), and connecting people to the outdoors (free public access to preserves, volunteer programs including Force of Nature and corporate volunteering, NextGen community, Stoneleigh Ambassadors, the Natural Lands Magazine, and event programming such as Music Without Walls). The organization holds Land Trust Accreditation from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission and is a member of WeConservePA.
The business and revenue model is non-commercial. All preserves and the Stoneleigh garden are free and open to the public year-round; some special events and educational programs charge tickets. Funding is sourced from individual donations and membership fees (structured as recurring memberships with tiered benefits), grants from the Pennsylvania Game Commission, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) via the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through the Highlands Conservation Act, and the Chester County Commissioners' Conservancy Grant Program, plus corporate sponsorship and volunteering programs, venue rentals at preserves, and Shopify-powered merchandise sales. Distribution is direct (free on-site public access) and event-based; no digital product or SaaS offering exists.
Operationally, Natural Lands combines a centralized professional staff (President Oliver Bass; VPs of Conservation and Stewardship; Senior Director of Communications; Director of Land Stewardship; Senior Advisor of Land Protection; Bird Conservation Program Manager; preserve managers and wildlife coordinators across Gwynedd, Glades, Mariton, Crow's Nest, Bryn Coed) with a large volunteer base, municipal partners, landowners donating or selling conservation easements, and research collaborations including Stroud Water Research Center, Birds Canada (Motus), Cornell Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative, Audubon Vermont, Institute for Bird Populations, and Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association. The technology footprint is intentionally light and consumer-facing: Google Analytics for site measurement, AllTrails for trail mapping, Google Calendar event subscription, Shopify for merchandise, and promotion of iNaturalist for citizen-science participation.
Natural Lands firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Natural Lands
- Legal name
- Natural Lands Trust, Inc.
- Website
- https://natlands.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1953
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Natural Lands is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1953 that operates 40+ nature preserves and Stoneleigh garden across 23,600+ acres in eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, funded by memberships, government grants, and corporate sponsorships while offering free public access.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Natural Lands industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Land Conservation Services
- NAICS
- Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219), Support Activities for Forestry (1153)
- SIC
- Forestry (800)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Timberland Conservation & Easement Management (AFAMAKAI), Forestry & Public Lands Administration (State/National Forests) (BPAIAMAF), National Parks & Protected Area Visitor Services (Concessions, Guided Access) (THAAAAAH)
Keywords
Where Natural Lands is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Media
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Natural Lands business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and Membership: Member-supported organization accepting donations, membership fees, and bequests. Offers various membership tiers with member benefits including event perks.
- Grants and Government Funding: Receives funding from various sources including PA Game Commission, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), Highlands Conservation Act (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), and Conservancy Grant Program from Chester County Commissioners.
- Corporate Partnerships: Corporate sponsorship program and corporate volunteering opportunities for businesses.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Other | Free admission to all preserves |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Natural Lands product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Natural Lands is a nonprofit land conservation organization that preserves open space, cares for nature, and connects people to the outdoors. It operates a network of 40+ nature preserves and one public garden (Stoneleigh) totaling more than 23,000 acres across eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, offering free year-round public access for hiking, wildlife observation, and outdoor recreation. The organization also delivers conservation easement services for landowners, land conservation consulting for municipal partners, volunteer and educational programs, and member-supported engagement through donations and memberships.
Product overview
Natural Lands is a nonprofit land conservation organization operating a network of 40+ nature preserves and one public garden (Stoneleigh) totaling over 23,000 acres across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The organization offers free year-round access to trails and outdoor recreation, conservation easement services for landowners, municipal consulting, volunteer programs, educational events, and community engagement through its NextGen program and member benefits. The organization does not offer a unified software product but provides physical conservation services, educational programming, and land stewardship.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Nature Preserves Network
Companies that use Natural Lands
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Natural Lands technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Feature1 record
Natural Lands partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- Pennsylvania Game CommissioncorePartnership to add wooded parcels to state Game Lands. Natural Lands purchased 8.4 acres transferred to Game Lands No. 157 and 6.3 acres added to Game Lands No. 56 in Bucks County. Partnership supports wildlife habitat protection in rapidly developing southeastern Pennsylvania.
- Stroud Water Research CentercoreLong-term study site access at Stroud Preserve for research on streams, rivers, and riparian forest buffers. Center conducts decades-long studies evaluating water quality impacts of land use practices. Part of EPA National Monitoring Program.
- Silver Spring TownshipcoreLand Preservation Program partnership through open space ballot referendum funding. Conservation easement on MSPA property helped township reach 1,000+ acres of permanently preserved land.
- Mechanicsburg Sportsmen's Protective Association (MSPA)corePartnership for permanent protection of 154-acre wooded property under conservation easement. MSPA continues to own and manage land while development restrictions ensure ecological preservation.
- Birds CanadasupportingMotus program partnership - international community studying movement and behavior of birds, bats, and insects using transmitter tags and Motus receiving stations. Natural Lands has installed Motus towers at Gwynedd Preserve and Glades Wildlife Refuge.
- Grassland Bird CollaborationsupportingPartnership with Willistown Conservation Trust and Cornell Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative providing guidance on grassland bird management practices to Chester County property owners and farmers.
- Audubon VermontsupportingCollaboration on using bird data to inform forest management practices, including maintaining layered forest composition for woodpeckers and warblers.
- Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper AssociationsupportingPartnership measuring impact of forested stream bank buffers by monitoring Louisiana Waterthrush populations as indicator of riparian health.
- Institute for Bird PopulationssupportingCollaboration on using Ovenbird population studies to evaluate understory forest health and impacts of white-tailed deer overpopulation.
- WeConservePAsupportingMember organization supporting land conservation in Pennsylvania.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Natural Lands competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- The Nature Conservancy: The largest global land conservation organization with a comparable mission of preserving ecologically important land. While operating at vastly greater scale and geographic breadth, TNC directly competes for corporate sponsorships, major donor bequests, and high-value conservation easement transactions in the same Pennsylvania and New Jersey geographies.
- National Audubon Society: Large national bird conservation organization with significant landholdings and chapters across the Mid-Atlantic. Competes with Natural Lands' bird conservation programming, scientific partnerships, and membership donations, and overlaps on grassland bird and forest management research.
Direct peers
- Trust for Public Land: National nonprofit focused on land conservation with strong municipal partnership expertise and park-creation consulting — a near-direct counterpart to Natural Lands' municipal consulting and conservation easement practice. Operates in the same Mid-Atlantic geography and competes for the same donor and partner pool.
- Willistown Conservation Trust: Chester County-based land trust that partners directly with Natural Lands on the Grassland Bird Collaboration and competes for easements, donors, and municipal engagements in the same affluent suburban Philadelphia market segment.
- Brandywine Conservancy: Long-standing regional land trust operating in Chester County and the Brandywine Valley with a comparable mix of preserve management, conservation easements, and municipal partnership work — overlapping donor base and acquisition geography.
- French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust: Chester County-based land trust with a directly comparable operating model — preserve management, conservation easements, and donor-supported stewardship — competing for the same regional pool of landowners and supporters.
- Maine Coast Heritage Trust: State-level land trust operating a comparable multi-preserve, easement-driven conservation model with strong municipal and state agency partnerships. Useful strategic analogue for scaled regional land trust operations outside of the Mid-Atlantic.
Regional players
- New Jersey Conservation Foundation: Statewide land trust operating in southern New Jersey where Natural Lands also holds preserves. Direct overlap in target geography, donor base, and acquisition pipeline.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Natural Lands social profiles
Digital presenceNatural Lands compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Natural Lands financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Natural Lands leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Natural Lands funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Natural Lands M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Natural Lands
What does Natural Lands do?
Natural Lands is a nonprofit land conservation organization that preserves open space, cares for nature, and connects people to the outdoors. It operates a network of 40+ nature preserves and one public garden (Stoneleigh) totaling more than 23,000 acres across eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, offering free year-round public access for hiking, wildlife observation, and outdoor recreation. The organization also delivers conservation easement services for landowners, land conservation consulting for municipal partners, volunteer and educational programs, and member-supported engagement through donations and memberships.
Is Natural Lands a public or private company?
Natural Lands is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Natural Lands founded?
Natural Lands was founded in 1953. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Natural Lands based?
Natural Lands is headquartered in Media, United States, in the North America region.
How does Natural Lands make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Donations and Membership is the primary driver. The others are grants and Government Funding and corporate Partnerships.
Who are Natural Lands's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are The Nature Conservancy and National Audubon Society. Direct peers are Trust for Public Land, Willistown Conservation Trust, Brandywine Conservancy, French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust and Maine Coast Heritage Trust. New Jersey Conservation Foundation is listed as a regional player.
Does Natural Lands have an API?
No public API is recorded for Natural Lands.
What industry is Natural Lands in?
Natural Lands's product category is Land Conservation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAGAC, Land Trusts & Protected Areas, with a secondary code of AFAMAKAI, Timberland Conservation & Easement Management. Its NAICS code is 71219 and its SIC code is 800.