Nature Economy

  • family walking outdoors

Strengthening Economy Through Nature


Assessing, evaluating, valuing and connecting natural assets with community goals to create vibrant economies and high quality of life for all.


Downtowns & Trails

The Downtowns and Trails program explores opportunities for linking downtowns and trails. The program includes assessing the downtown area, linkage area, and trails; training volunteers to conduct interviews with businesses, residents and community leaders; and training volunteers to administer an intercept survey of those using the trails to determine their interest and use of downtown. The community is engaged to share results of the assessment and determine next steps for moving forward.

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Person biking, people sitting on bench, stroller and dog on a trail by water

Natural Resource Inventories

A Guide for New Hampshire Communities and Conservation Groups (NH NRI Guide) provides communities, conservation groups and professionals a practical method for creating a natural resources inventory. By identifying and describing natural resources in a local setting, a natural resources inventory (NRI) provides a strong foundation for proactive conservation planning and informed decision-making.

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rocky brook

Rivers & Economic Vibrancy

Rivers play an important role in a community’s economy, serving as a place to fish, paddle, enjoy a lunchtime walk, observe wildlife and relax with friends and family. Many New Hampshire communities can become River Towns — communities that embrace their downtown river as a source of economic vibrancy. 

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Articles

Practical Strategies for Community Organizations with Limited Evaluation Resources
Many community-serving organizations struggle to capture the impacts of their work. Reasons include the lack of a formal system or structure by which ... Learn More
Individuals from over twenty groups, organizations, and municipalities from the greater Franklin-Northfield-Tilton “Foothills” region of New Hampshire... Learn More
New data released in November from the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that Outdoor Recreation accounts for 3.2% of New Hampshire’s GDP. This amount... Learn More

Resources

A vibrant community relies on several key components, including economic vitality, community health, natural resources and recreation, community engag... Learn More
Many communities have trails in close proximity to their downtowns/village centers/business districts. We share the opportunities and challenges of wo... Learn More
Over a series of months, we worked with the Hopkinton, New Hampshire community on how to better connect its trails with its business center, the Villa... Learn More
The Nature Economy Collaborative, supported by UNH Collaborative Research Excellence, is pleased to share a brand-new information brief on the communi... Learn More
We aim to help communities connect the environment and natural resources with community goals to create vibrant economies and high quality of life for... Learn More
New Hampshire is fortunate to have many natural assets that support our quality of life and economic vibrancy. In a new info brief we share eight spec... Learn More