Sawyer Cresap

Sawyer Cresap
Degree Programs Yale School of the Environment, Master of Environmental Management, 2022
Affiliations Sage Magazine co-editor-in-chief

Sawyer Cresap is a second year Master of Environmental Management student at the School of the Environment. She is interested in land conservation, rural community development, and environmental justice. At CBEY, Sawyer serves as Student Program Co-Manager with the Conservation Finance Network. She also works for the Blue Mountain Center's Hamilton Helps Project.

Prior to attending YSE, Sawyer worked in stewardship for an accredited land trust in New York State monitoring easements, improving public access, and assisting with new carbon sequestration projects. She is a summa cum laude graduate of Syracuse University and a two-term AmeriCorps service member. In 2019, she successfully completed an Appalachian Trail thru-hike.

Authored Articles
Taos Land Trust budgets listening time and consideration into all its projects.

The Taos Land Trust's Youth Conservation Corps poses before working to revive an acequela, tackle invasive species, restore wetlands and sustainably grow food. Attention to community needs and priorities drives this workplan. (Courtesy the Taos Land Trust.)

Leveraging Conservation Finance to Advance Equity & Justice, Part Two: Methods

Sawyer Cresap
Traditionally, the conservation movement has fought to protect land, air and water, but it has not served all communities equally. Recognizing the interconnections between injustice done to the most vulnerable communities and the environment clarifies how access to a healthy environment relates to public health, food security, community vitality, education...
Digging deeper than before

A tree-planting project fits the civic focus of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy. (Photo courtesy WRLC.)

Leveraging Conservation Finance to Advance Equity and Justice, Part One: New Goals

Sawyer Cresap
While more public funding sources have emerged recently for conservation finance, particularly around working farms, landowners with means and motivation remain a staple of the private conservation process. These landowners are largely white, and their properties most often located in rural and suburban areas. The distribution of conserved land and...