Natural Lands

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.

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

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

• Land conservation services
• Nature preserve management
• Conservation easement consulting
• Habitat restoration programs
• Wildlife conservation stewardship

Headquarters

HQ city

Media

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Membership: Member-supported organization accepting donations, membership fees, and bequests. Offers various membership tiers with member benefits including event perks.
2. 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.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate sponsorship program and corporate volunteering opportunities for businesses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core 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

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Pennsylvania Game CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2025Partnership 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 CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-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 TownshipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLand 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)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership 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 CanadasupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMotus 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 CollaborationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership 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 VermontsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on using bird data to inform forest management practices, including maintaining layered forest composition for woodpeckers and warblers.
• Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper AssociationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership measuring impact of forested stream bank buffers by monitoring Louisiana Waterthrush populations as indicator of riparian health.
• Institute for Bird PopulationssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on using Ovenbird population studies to evaluate understory forest health and impacts of white-tailed deer overpopulation.
• WeConservePAsupportingOthersMember organization supporting land conservation in Pennsylvania.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad 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

• Facebookfacebook.com/NatLands
• Instagraminstagram.com/natural.lands
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/natural-lands

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Natural Lands