Financing Green:

An implementation-based training on financing conservation

Welcome to an online training designed for conservation practitioners seeking to address environmental challenges.

The content will be structured around case studies of implementation and project development questions proposed by participants.

The material will build on the Introduction course with Center for Wildlife Studies, “Financing Conservation”, taught by Kate Hamilton.

It will include discussions on the use of tools, including:

  • Carbon Offsets

  • Nature-Based Credits

  • Water Payments

  • Nature Tech

  • Impact Investing

  • Social Entrepreneurship

This training will meet online, twice a month, for 8 weeks, from March-June.

The tentative time is every other Wednesday, March 4th - June 3rd, 2026, from 1:00 - 2:30 pm PT.

Guest speakers will join to share their experiences in conservation finance implementation. Course material will include relevant readings and case studies.

Course prerequisites:

Training Cost:

  • Early bird: $425 if registered by January 9th, 2025

  • Regular: $525

  • To register, or for questions, contact kh(at)katehamilton.net

  • Have a foundational knowledge in environmental markets and conservation finance tools

  •  Are able to join the majority of courses online -- this is a course built on participant needs and engagement. Tentative time:
    Wednesdays, 1-2:30 pm PT (please let me know if you are interested and not able to join this time)

  • Commit 5 hours per month outside of class to course material and activities

Example Sessions Overview

Session 1

Introduction to the Financing Green “tool shed”

  • Participant interests 

  • Key social and ecological planning considerations

Session 2

Social Entrepreneurship

  • From startups to corporate supply chain

Session 3

Impact Investing I

  • Private Finance, Blended Finance

Session 4

Impact Investing II

  • Developing a Fund

Session 5

Carbon Offsets and Other Carbon Finance Mechanisms

Session 6

Investing in Watersheds

Session 7

Considerations in Developing Nature Credits

Session 8

Participant Case Studies

About Kate Hamilton

Katherine Hamilton is a consultant and educator, specializing in impact investing, social entrepreneurship and climate finance. She has advised foundations, nonprofits, government and business. She has served as an instructor at the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business and currently teaches a course on Impact Investing and Social Entrepreneurship at Northeastern University. 

Katherine previously served as Director of Forest Trends’ Ecosystem Marketplace, a non-profit news, data, and analytics service focused on incentives for conservation. At Ecosystem Marketplace, she created the ‘State of the Voluntary Carbon Market’ series and co-authored the book Voluntary Carbon Markets: A Business Guide. 

Katherine’s consultancy includes an emphasis on capacity building, and leading trainings around the world, She recently developed a series of Climate Finance Workshops for professionals in Mexico as a Fulbright Specialist. As a Colorado State Center for Collaborative Conservation Fellow her research focused on designing place based education for environmental policymakers.

Contact Kate