LandTrustee is an international non-profit organization dedicated to fostering soil conservation, legal environmental literacy, and youth leadership through rigorous educational frameworks.
Empower communities and new generations as active custodians of the land, integrating the development of soft skills, legal-environmental literacy, and scientific education for sustainable soil conservation.
To be a global benchmark in grassroots environmental governance, where youth, educators, and legal frameworks converge to guarantee healthy soils, resilient biodiversity, and lasting environmental justice.
Demonstrating our solid scientific-pedagogical backing for international cooperation.
We place human potential and dignity at the center of ecological responsibility.
Learning makes sense through community interaction and the social environment.
Theory is transformed into lasting behavior through the Action - Reflection - Conceptualization - Application cycle.
Soil Conservation & Legal Induction for Youth in the United States.
Sensitization, social mapping, and initial diagnosis.
U.S. environmental laws, soil risks, and the Great Salt Lake case.
Community interaction and first planting activity.
Analysis of legal and illegal land use practices.
Personal commitments, alliances with key actors, and community plan.
These stories and reflections demonstrate the importance of knowing environmental law to take action and prevent tragedies. With the right knowledge, we can recover the land, water, and the environment as a whole.
Protect before it's too late
The Great Salt Lake of Utah must be protected to avoid greater implications. The decline in its water level exposes lake beds laden with arsenic, generating toxic dust that threatens the health of millions of residents in the region. The lack of water regulation and soil conservation affects entire ecosystems and public health.
Immediate response and national support save communities
On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train with 141 cars derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Twenty cars carried hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, and benzene residues. The resulting fire lasted days and led to a controlled burn releasing hydrogen chloride and phosgene. Nearly 70 emergency agencies from Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania mobilized, and the EPA tested air quality in over 290 homes.
There is always hope if the right measures are taken
The Salton Sea, once a postcard landscape with sandy beaches and thousands of migratory birds, is now saturated with salts and pesticides. Runoff waters from the Imperial Valley, laden with fertilizers and pesticides, have turned the lake into a body of water saltier than the Pacific Ocean. The Sonny Bono National Wildlife Refuge is an effort to conserve wildlife.
"In LandTrustee, fiduciary duty is at the heart of everything we do. We maintain strict compliance, open financial reporting, and rigorous metrics to ensure every contribution drives measurable environmental impact."
Ideal legal structure for the transparent receipt and management of funds from donors and public agencies.
Backed by a technical team of volunteer environmental lawyers, engineers, psychologists, and educators.
Prepared for the management of state and international funds (such as EPA Community Change Grants) with highly auditable standards.
Meet the leader driving LandTrustee's mission with legal rigor, environmental vocation, and over 15 years of public service experience.
Attorney with extensive experience in fiscal control, administrative law, auditing, and environmental protection. With a career spanning the Comptroller General of Colombia, the Judiciary, and human rights and child protection agencies, she brings strong analytical capacity, leadership in public impact projects, and a vocation for environmental sustainability and community service.
— Bertha Susana Tovar Cuellar, Founder of LandTrusteeBertha Susana Tovar Cuellar is a Colombian attorney with a solid career in the public sector, the judiciary, fiscal control, and comprehensive legal advisory services, distinguished by her specialization and commitment to environmental law, fiscal auditing and control, and the protection of children's and family rights.
With over 15 years of experience leading high-responsibility processes, public resource oversight, judicial proceedings, and the formulation of projects focused on sustainability and community well-being. Her profile combines technical-legal rigor, analytical thinking, professional ethics, and consensus-building capacity.
Attorney at the Comptroller General of the Republic of Colombia (CGR) since 2014, overseeing the monitoring, evaluation, and surveillance of state-funded plans and projects with special emphasis on environmental matters, and leading fiscal responsibility proceedings of national impact.
Attorney at the Administrative Tribunal of Santander and administrative courts (2010–2013), contributing to judicial rulings, case proceedings, and the management of administrative and environmental litigation.
Family Commissioner (2008–2010), leading the guarantee and restoration of children's rights under Law 1098 of 2006, and Municipal Ombudsman in Santa Bárbara, Santander (2008), overseeing official conduct and defending human rights and the environment.
Legal advisor to Corporación Yraka and ongoing volunteer in community projects focused on proper land use, natural environment protection, and early childhood care.
LandTrustee has formalized cooperation agreements with leading organizations that share our vision of social, educational, and environmental transformation. These alliances expand our reach and guarantee excellence in every initiative.
Professional Training & Mentorship Platform
Experiencias Pro is a platform specializing in training, mentorship, and professional skill development. Through this agreement, LandTrustee gains access to a high-level learning ecosystem to train educators, youth leaders, and professionals involved in our environmental conservation and community leadership programs.
Social Innovation & Community Development
Corporación Yraka is an organization dedicated to social innovation, community development, and institutional strengthening. This agreement enables LandTrustee to expand its territorial impact, co-design environmental education programs adapted to local contexts, and strengthen participatory governance in the communities where we operate.
These agreements are not mere formalities: they represent the mutual commitment of organizations that believe in the power of education, social innovation, and environmental conservation to transform communities. Together, we build an impact ecosystem where each alliance multiplies our capacity to generate real, sustainable change.
We invite government agencies, private foundations, schools, and pro-bono experts to collaborate with us.
Reflecting the direct impact of soil erosion and the urgent need for robust environmental protection laws.
In the Green Hope Project, youth analyze the Great Salt Lake case to understand how the lack of water regulation and soil conservation affects entire ecosystems and the public health of nearby communities.