OPEN SOURCE. COMMON GROUND.
What if conservation
were open source?
Your land. Your neighbors. A shared future.
VergeCommon helps communities connect the places they care for, work with local conservation groups, and make decisions together.
Just looking? Try a plan without an account.
Public beta · Help shape tools for community conservation.
01 / FROM NEIGHBORS TO A CO-OP
Small places.
More possibility together.
A hedgerow, pollinator meadow, or woodlot can connect to the next habitat. Neighbors can care for them together. Start with one place and one useful action, then build from there.
- 01
Bring people together
Start a co-op, invite your neighbors, and decide what you want to care for. Landowners, volunteers and conservation practitioners all have a part to play.
- 02
Connect your places
Map parcels and explore a shared conservation project. Record each person’s consent and work with a willing local nonprofit on the right agreements.
- 03
Care, record, decide
Plan activities, keep field evidence, and make cooperative decisions. Build a shared record that can support a conservation or carbon-program review.
02 / MORE THAN A MAP
A place for the people
behind the landscape.
A shared workspace for the everyday work of conservation, from your first habitat walk to a longer-term plan.
Find your common ground- Keep the conversation going
- Updates, discussions, events and shared tasks keep people involved between field days.
- Share with care
- Public profiles share general regions and chosen updates. Access to land records and evidence is limited to authorized people.
- Decide how you work together
- Agree on a charter, vote on proposals, and keep transparent records of responsibilities and benefit sharing.
03 / BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Common questions.
Clear starting points.
Conservation depends on trust. Here is what the platform helps you do, and what still needs a conversation.
Do I need to own land?
No. A co-op can bring together landowners, neighbors, volunteers and conservation practitioners. Each co-op decides its membership and roles. Land contributions need permission from the people with the relevant rights.
What does pooling land mean?
It means coordinating separate parcels as part of a shared conservation project. Drawing a boundary or joining a co-op does not transfer ownership or create a legal agreement. Members document consent and arrange appropriate agreements with qualified partners.
How does a conservation nonprofit take part?
Invite a local organization to discuss your project. If it agrees to participate, your co-op can record its role, supporting evidence and project-specific agreements. An organization listed in a search is not automatically a verified partner.
Can a co-op earn carbon income?
That may be a pathway for some projects. VergeCommon helps organize the land, consent, monitoring and cooperative records needed for review. Eligibility, independent verification, registry issuance, sales and payments require external partners. The platform does not issue credits, send payouts or promise an income.
What is available today?
The public beta includes accounts, co-ops, invitations, project discussions, activities, land and evidence records, and cooperative decisions. You can also connect compatible agents with limited permissions. Shared co-ops require sign-in and membership approval. Read the current feature status.
What should I expect from the public beta?
The website beta is free to use. Start with a small project, keep copies of important records, and share feedback as the tools develop. Features may change. Use nonsensitive examples while getting familiar with your co-op’s permissions. Find help and reporting options.
CARE FOR THE TOOLS, TOO
Help the commons grow.
VergeCommon is a Viridis LLC project. Field knowledge, code and feedback help sustain the tools we share.
A COMMONS WE CAN BUILD TOGETHER
Start with a place.
Invite someone who cares.
You do not need a finished plan. Bring an idea, a neighbor, or a question. Help shape tools that any community can inspect, adapt and improve.
Start your community