The National Trust for Historic Preservation is 57 years old and claims 270,000 members around the world. But it has a problem shared by a lot of younger, smaller preservation groups.

"Not enough people really give a damn about what we're doing as preservationists," said Trust Vice President David Brown. "Too many people still regard preservation of the built environment as irrelevant to their daily lives."

Mr. Brown's comments came at the opening session of the Trust's annual conference yesterday at the Hilton Pittsburgh. It was "Partners Day," a chance for state and local preservation groups to share experiences with each other and the Trust.

"This is a great day to network and talk about what works and what doesn't," said Kathleen Crowther, director of the Cleveland Restoration Society and chairwoman of the Trust's Statewide and Local Partners Program.

About 2,300 people are in town for a week of tours, education sessions and parties all over the city and region, including a Halloween get-together last night at Downtown's Bossa Nova, to which guests were invited to come dressed as their favorite historical figure from their city or state.

Over the past year, the Trust has been exploring, with the help of a consultant, how it can reach a broader audience.

"Our goal should be to make preservation part of the national consciousness," and as important as protecting the natural environment has become to many Americans in recent decades, Mr. Brown said.

The Trust has decided to target baby boomers, a group that values authentic experiences like the ones historic Main Streets can provide.

"We're not forgetting about Gen Xers or Gen Ys," Mr. Brown said later. "We have a very small window of time with the boomers."

The Trust also will reach out to the more than 80 million Americans who consider themselves heritage tourists.

About that word "heritage." It scored high with focus groups when the Trust recently was considering a name change.

" 'Heritage' was deeply motivational," Mr. Brown said. " 'Historic Preservation' is still seen as East Coast and elitist." And to many people, the word "Trust" connotes a bank or trust fund -- "something that already has enough money."

But strung together, the words "National Trust for Historic Preservation" seem to work, so the Trust will stick with it.

Scott Leib, chairman of the board of Preservation Pittsburgh, told the group his organization is considering a name change to "Pittsburgh Heritage" because "we've found people think 'preservation' means we want to keep things the same."

Mr. Brown said preservation organizations need to find messages that resonate with the American people and should ask them to become activists by saving or restoring a building or supporting groups that do.

"We should always talk about the relevancy of preservation," he said. "Preservation connects us to our history and creates revitalized neighborhoods and economic development." And by reusing existing buildings, he added, it's also environmentally friendly.

On Monday, about 70 professionals in historic preservation and sustainable design gathered at the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center for a national summit on developing goals and guidelines for greening historic properties.

There's a need for "mutual respect" for the guidelines of the preservation community, which value aesthetics, and those of the green building community, which value performance, said Pittsburgh preservation architect Ellis Schmidlapp at the town meeting Monday evening.

"The preservation community will have to be flexible," he said, and allow such low- and high-tech solutions as green roofs, where plants and soil substitutes provide insulation and other benefits, and photovoltaic panels on roofs.

The group also saw a need for economic incentives, for high school curricula in green design and technologies and for more case study renovation projects beyond the six examined by the group.

"We hope people participating today will take this across the country," said Green Building Alliance director Rebecca Flora. "Let's look at this as the beginning of a collaborative."