SFI COMMUNITY GRANTS
The SFI Community Grants promote collaboration with the SFI Network to support local communities’ understanding of the value and benefits from sustainably managed forests.
SFI Community Grants are awarded for collaborative community-based projects, activities or events that support SFI’s efforts to connect communities to forests. Projects supported have included providing educators with tools to showcase green career pathways with students, incorporating Indigenous knowledge into forest management planning and education curriculum, and building youth engagement in outdoor education and conservation project.
Since the SFI Community Grant Program started in 2010, SFI has awarded 118 grants totaling more than $1 million invested to foster community-building projects. The 16 new grants of the 2023 program represent a record-breaking number of projects supported and more than $215,000 in total funding announced.
GRANTS BY CATEGORY
SFI Community Grants
ALABAMA SFI IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE
Home Tweet Home Alabama
Enhancing Forest Species Biodiversity Through Collaborative Education
Why this Project Matters
Alabama is blessed with rich biodiversity and myriad organizations that work hard to enhance it. But promoting and sharing that work across the state can be difficult. This project will support compiling a wide range of biodiversity data and information drawn from across the state to provide for greater educational outreach. Maximizing the educational impact of biodiversity champions across Alabama will have a powerful multiplier effect when it comes to enhancing Alabama’s overall biodiversity.
How This Project Will Influence Biodiversity Education and Conservation in Alabama
The Alabama SFI Implementation Committee is creating opportunities for collaborative educational work on species biodiversity to meet the requirements of the SFI 2022 Forest Management Standard. Critically imperilled, imperilled, threatened, and endangered species in Alabama will be the focus of this educational and collaborative work. This project focuses on bringing together various organizations to share knowledge, develop workshops and outreach programs, and create support materials. The primary focus will be on youth, private landowners, foresters, loggers, and other natural resources professionals. The Alabama SFI Implementation Committee will partner with Alabama Project Learning Tree, (Alabama PLT), SFI’s educational initiative in the state, to help develop and deliver educational materials.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program, the Alabama SFI Implementation Committee, and Alabama PLT are supporting this project.
Partners
This partnership includes state natural resources officials, academics, educators, and an SFI‑certified organization.
- Project lead: Alabama SFI Implementation Committee
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Alabama Project Learning Tree
- Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
- Alabama Forestry Commission
- Alabama Natural Heritage Program
- Auburn University College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment
Related Information
About Alabama SFI Implementation Committee
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative is represented across the state by the Alabama SFI Implementation Committee, which supports compliance with Alabama’s Forestry Best Management Practices and sustainable forestry principles outlined in the SFI standards. The Alabama committee operates as a grassroots infrastructure, reflecting geographic and organizational diversity throughout the state. The Alabama SFI Implementation Committee is part of a network of SFI Implementation Committees that respond to local needs at the state, provincial, and regional levels. Learn more.
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AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Thinking Outside the Bark: We Show our Faces in all the Different Green Spaces
Creating an Environment for Students From Diverse Backgrounds to Thrive in Natural Resources Careers
Why this Project Matters
A 2019 US Census Survey found that fewer than three percent of foresters and conservation scientists identify as Black American. There is a general lack of awareness of green jobs among communities of color and a corresponding lack of awareness of the many contributions to forestry made by these same communities. This helps explain why Auburn University faces challenges recruiting students from diverse backgrounds. Through Auburn’s Minorities in Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) program, the Auburn University College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment is striving to create an environment where students from diverse backgrounds can thrive and grow in the many career paths that the natural resources field offers. SFI and MANRRS formalized a partnership aimed at ensuring young Black Americans have greater opportunities for rewarding careers in the forest and conservation sector at the end of 2021 with a signed memorandum of understanding.
How This Project Will Help Attract Underserved Youth to the Forest and Conservation Sector
Auburn University will increase awareness of career opportunities in the forest and conservation sector through a train-the-trainer model that focuses on a new one-of-kind resource—the SFI-PLT-MANRRS Black Faces in Green Spaces: The Journeys of Black Professionals in Green Careers guide. The guide is designed for middle and high school students, pre-professional youth, parents, and natural resource professionals looking to increase diversity within the natural resources professions.
This is a first-of-its-kind career resource guide developed in partnership with SFI, Project Learning Tree (PLT), SFI’s educational initiative, and MANRRS. The guide introduces young people to the many jobs in the forest and conservation sector. Within this guide, 22 Black professionals currently working in the sector share their green career journeys in hopes of inspiring the next generation. The guide offers a range of resources, including green career factsheets that summarize the top 14 jobs in the green job sector with salary ranges, skills, and education needed for each career.
This project will also support a Junior MANRRS Leadership Institute, which will be used to engage students from Tuskegee University, a historically Black university in Alabama. A three-day program builds the pathway for future forestry and natural resources students, along with a week-long Natural Resources and Sustainability Summer Leadership Academy.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program is supporting PLT Facilitator training. In addition, Auburn University hopes to have its students become PLT-trained to help with the forestry exposure programs that they host in the community. These programs are used to attract youth to the forest and conservation sector.
Partners
This partnership includes Auburn University faculty, Tuskegee University faculty, forestry professionals, teachers, and SFI and PLT staff.
- Project lead: Auburn University’s College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Project Learning Tree
- Minorities in Natural Resources and Related Sciences program
- Tuskegee College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences
Related Information
Black Faces in Green Spaces: The Journeys of Black Professionals in Green Careers
About the Auburn University College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment
Founded in 1947, the Auburn University College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment (CFWE), offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a variety of natural resources disciplines. Its core undergraduate degree programs include forestry, wildlife ecology and management, and natural resources management, as well as graduate degrees at the master’s and PhD levels. In recent years, CFWE curricula has expanded beyond its core programs with the adoption of three new undergraduate degrees: geospatial and environmental informatics, sustainable biomaterials and packaging, and wildlife enterprise management. Learn more.
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CAL-WOOD EDUCATION CENTER
Cal-Wood Latino Forestry Career Development Program
Latino Youth and Their Families Head to the Mountains for Forestry Education
Why This Project Matters
Forests are one of Colorado’s defining characteristic, but many Latino children in the state do not have the opportunity to experience them firsthand. There is a large gap between public land and outdoor recreation use between the state’s Latino communities and the rest of the population. In an effort to change that, Cal‑Wood brings 5,000 students to its school programs, with more than 50% attendance from under-resourced schools. In the summer, Cal-Wood hosts 45 low-income high school students in week-long intensive forestry and ecology summer camps, and they bring together 360 family members in two-day Family Camps. Typically, 90% of the participating families are Latino.
How This Project Will Encourage Latino Youth to Pursue Green Careers in Forestry
This grant will help support summer camps for Latino youth and multi-generational family groups that feature activities and outdoor education in the mountain forest. Youth will learn about forestry careers from Latino educators and forestry professionals and work with scientists doing research, exploring topics such as fire ecology, forest fire mitigation, and forest restoration. Together, these efforts will introduce Latino youth each year to the many careers available in forestry. Project Learning Tree (PLT), SFI’s educational initiative, will help supply educational materials.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program, PLT, and SFI conservation partners are supporting this project.
Partners
This partnership includes federal natural resources officials, foresters, educators, and SFI-certified organizations.
- Project lead: Cal‑Wood Education Center
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Project Learning Tree
- The Nature Conservancy
Related Information
About Cal-Wood Education Center
Cal-Wood’s mission is to offer a unique outdoor educational experience to youth and adults. Cal-Wood’s founding vision has guided the organization since 1982: to inspire a greater appreciation for the natural world; to offer environmental education to those who would not otherwise experience it; and to provide unique educational opportunities in a special mountain setting. Learn more.
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CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
Piloting the SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard
Collecting Data and Documenting the First SFI-Certified Urban Forest
Why this Project Matters
North America contains some of the most urban landscapes on the planet, with more than 80% of the US and Canadian populations living in cities. Forests are an important element of these urban environments, providing many social and environmental benefits, including improved health and wellbeing, access to outdoor learning environments, climate change solutions, reduced air pollution, lower temperatures, and improved urban design. Despite these benefits, tree canopy coverage and maintenance varies between communities, and not all city-dwellers equally enjoy the life-saving benefits trees provide.
How the Project Is Helping Collect and Share Important Certification Documentation
Urban and community forestry involves both planning and managing urban forests because healthy urban forests require the right tree, planted in the right place, in the right way. The first university forest certified to the SFI Forest Management Standard, Clemson has been a pioneer in sustainable management of their campus’s trees (including the more than 17,000-acre/6,880 hectare Clemson Experimental Forest), having maintained SFI certification since 2013. Now, they are working to obtain certification to the new SFI Urban and Community Forest Standard for the 1,400 acres/566 hectares of urban forest on campus and documenting their efforts of continuous improvement. As part of the project, the university will create a public website to share how they document and prepare for third-party verification.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program is supporting Clemson University by providing resources needed for data collection and documentation leading to certification, essential for the future management decisions and financial support of the university.
Partners
This partnership includes Clemson University faculty and graduate students, forestry professionals, and an SFI certified organization.
- Project lead: Clemson University
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- South Carolina SFI Implementation Committee
- South Carolina Forestry Commission (SFI-certified organization)
Related Information
Grant – Clemson University The South Carolina Women Owning Woods Network
SFI Collaborating with Women Changing the Face of Forestland Ownership
South Carolina Forest Products Sector: Connecting Teachers and Foresters
SFI Is Helping Inspire Future Forest Leaders in South Carolina
About Clemson University Cooperative Extension College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences
Clemson University was established to fulfill its founder’s vision of “a high seminary of learning” to develop “the material resources of the state” for the people of South Carolina. Clemson Extension helps improve the quality of life of all South Carolinians by providing unbiased, research-based information through an array of public outreach programs in youth development, agribusiness, agriculture, food, nutrition and health, and natural resources. With offices in all 46 counties of the state, Clemson Extension works to help support South Carolina’s $42 billion agriculture and forestry industries; strengthen families and communities; improve stewardship of natural resources and the environment; strengthen connections between people and their food; and expose South Carolina youth to opportunities in agriculture, science, technology, engineering, and math.
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CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
Showcasing Green Architecture Made From Sustainably Managed Arkansas Forests
Connecting Communities to Forests Through Art With the House of Trees Exhibit
Why this Project Matters
Traditional construction is a major contributor to carbon dioxide CO2 emissions, with the built environment responsible for nearly 50% of annual global emissions. Locally sourced materials from SFI certified, sustainably managed forests provide a greener alternative to traditional building materials like concrete and steel, all while storing carbon, and providing beautiful spaces for us to work, learn, and live. The LEVENBETTS pavilion project is an interactive Architecture at Home exhibit that provides a setting for contemplation, community outreach, and experiential learning. The exhibit seeks to inspire awareness of where building materials are sourced and the future of sustainable innovative design. Visitors will explore the serious environmental and economic impact of building and the importance of making sustainable housing more accessible. The pavilion and exhibit space will provide an innovative and inviting setting for community events, such as Project Learning Tree programs, that advance forest literacy and increase awareness of the many benefits of forests in urban and rural communities.
How the Project Connects Communities to Local Forests and Highlights Green Buildings
Free to visit and open to all, visitors will be able to see and touch the innovative designs made from local trees and learn about sustainable forest practices and products. By showcasing wood products from regional forests, the project makes direct connections to the forest through material and experience, and underlines that green homes start with healthy forests. The pavilion itself is a case study in how architecture, engineering, and construction are deeply connected with the continuum of benefits provided by regional forests. The pavilion will become a physical representation of sustainable forestry supply chains with countless benefits for local communities. Crystal Bridges hopes to continue these conversations with a future symposium for forestry professionals from the forestry and architecture communities to highlight tangible, real-world applications for sustainable wood-based construction and designs.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program is supporting the project by leveraging SFI Implementation Committee outreach to the architecture, engineering, and construction community about the project and benefits of building with SFI‑certified products. By connecting the project to environmental education and PLT programming, pavilion and exhibit visitors will gain awareness of forest literacy and green jobs resources that will enhance the museum’s ability to reach underserved and rural communities.
Partners
This partnership includes Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; architectural firm LEVENBETTS; SFI-certified organization Resource Management Service, LLC; and PLT Arkansas state sponsor, Arkansas Forestry Association Education Foundation.
- Project lead: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- LEVENBETTS
- Arkansas Forestry Association Education Foundation
- Resource Management Service, LLC (SFI-certified organization)
Related Information
Arkansas SIC Partners with Arkansas Forestry Association Education Foundation for PLT Workshops
Crystal Bridges Museum debuts five house prototypes that take on Northwest Arkansas’s housing crisis
About Crystal Bridges
The mission of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature. Founded by philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton, Crystal Bridges is a public non-profit charitable organization that receives more than 675,000 guests each year. The museum opened in 2011 and welcomes all with free admission to explore five miles of sculpture and walking trails that link the museum’s 120-acre/49-hectare park to downtown Bentonville, Arkansas.
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DOVETAIL PARTNERS
Supporting Personal Choices in Caring for the Land to Increase Fire Resilience and Awareness in Northern Minnesota
Producing a Professional Video to Engage Landowners in Fire-Focused Land Stewardship
Why this Project Matters
Fire is a necessary tool to manage northern Minnesota’s fire-adapted forests and mitigate the risk of devastating and dangerous wildfires. Private landowners have a critical role in acting as land stewards in reducing and mitigating these risks; those efforts begin with education about active forest management as a tool to create fire-resilient forests. As a response, the Arrowhead Fire Adapted Communities Program supports work in the region to make the communities in Northern Minnesota more aware and resilient to wildfire.
How This Project Will Help Reduce Wildfire Risk in Minnesota
This grant will be used to develop and promote a five-minute professional video to educate and empower landowners to engage in land stewardship that improves wildlife habitat, ecosystem biodiversity, wildfire resiliency, responsible timber harvesting, and recreational opportunities. The project will use events to engage public, private, and Tribal partners in Northern Minnesota that recognize cross-boundary landscape restoration can be accomplished only by collaborating. The project’s ultimate purpose is to strengthen collaboration for active forest management in the region.
The project will address the SFI 2022 Forest Management Standard requirements, including a focus on fire resilience and awareness, and the Minnesota SFI Implementation Committee playbook for implementation. The SFI 2022 Forest Management Standard Performance Measure 10.2 requires SFI‑certified organizations to engage (through an SFI Implementation Committee) in efforts to raise awareness of and take action to promote the benefits of fire management and the minimization of undesirable impacts of wildfire.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program and the Minnesota SFI Implementation Committee are supporting this project.
Partners
This partnership includes forestry professionals and an SFI-certified organization.
- Project lead: Dovetail Partners
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Minnesota SFI Implementation Committee
- Minnesota DNR (SFI-certified organization)
- Fire Adapted Communities
- Minnesota Women’s Woodland Network
Related Information
Connecting Students, Indigenous Knowledge, and Minnesota Forests
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Wildfire Prevention
About Dovetail Partners
Dovetail seeks to engage people in thoughtful, collaborative processes so that they can create an inspiring path forward and lead with confidence. Dovetail seeks to accomplish this by providing authoritative information about the impacts and trade-offs of environmental management, including consumption choices, land use decisions, and policy alternatives. Dovetail is a highly skilled team that fosters sustainability and responsible behaviors through collaboration to develop unique concepts, systems, models, and programs. Dovetail excels at solving complex problems and helping responsible organizations succeed. They also help define programs that increase the job creation and the job quality of resource-based industries. Dovetail Partners is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Learn more.
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GEORGIA FORESTRY FOUNDATION
The Phoenix: A Mass Timber Educational Pavilion
Introducing Millions to Mass Timber and Sustainable Forestry in Georgia
Why this Project Matters
Mass timber is an engineered wood product that allows architects, developers, and engineers to use wood as a primary construction material in mid- and high-rise buildings. Demand is growing for mass timber, but the public, by and large, still doesn’t appreciate the full range of possibilities and benefits associated with mass timber construction. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow, sequestering and storing the carbon while producing oxygen—this helps address climate change and improves air quality. Forests provide many other benefits, including clean air and water, habitat for wildlife, commercially valuable products like wood, and employment for local communities. This project will use biophilic design, which connects people to nature through the built environment, to give urban dwellers mental and physical health benefits by greening a traditionally grey environment. Plus, mass timber will store carbon in the building—the built environment generates 40% of annual global CO2 emissions. The Phoenix and mass timber buildings like it that feature SFI‑certified wood provide an opportunity for urban dwellers, architects, and construction professionals to learn more about the benefits of mass timber.
How This Project Is Showcasing Mass Timber in Georgia
The Georgia Forestry Foundation will build the Phoenix, an educational mass timber display at Ponce City Market in Atlanta. The Phoenix is both an art and architectural piece and an educational display, which will educate more than 3.5 million annual visitors to Ponce City Market about mass timber, the sustainability benefits of mass timber, and sustainable forest management in the US South. Featuring SFI-certified wood throughout, the Phoenix will increase awareness of the climate-related benefits of choosing building materials from sustainably managed forests by educating millions of visitors from across the country.
As part of the construction of the Phoenix, Jamestown and Ponce City Market are currently working to redesign the Yard, the space on the property where the Phoenix will be installed, to make it a mass timber destination in the city. The Georgia Forestry Foundation will also be hosting a series of events coinciding with the installation of the Phoenix event. These events will be targeted to the architecture, engineering, and construction community, and other leaders across the state.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program is supporting this project along with sustainable forestry experts from an SFI-certified organization and representatives from the mass timber industry.
Partners
This partnership includes an SFI-certified organization, state forestry representatives, designers, and real estate professionals.
- Project lead: Georgia Forestry Foundation
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Jamestown Timberland (SFI-certified organization)
Related Information
University of Miami School of Architecture—Into the Woods: A Carbon Story
University of Idaho—Demonstrating Benefits of SFI-Certified Wood in a Mass Timber Arena
Mississippi Forestry Foundation—TIMB(R): Timber Innovations for Mississippi Buildings Reimagined
About Georgia Forestry Foundation
The Georgia Forestry Foundation seeks to connect every Georgian to the state’s forests by sharing facts and experiences and fostering connections to the stewards of its forestland. Georgia’s managed forests are an essential part of the economic and environmental ecosystems of the state. The Georgia Forestry Foundation was founded in 1989 to support the long-term sustainability of the state’s working forests, which cover nearly two-thirds of the land area in the state. Each day, Georgians rely on those forests for their livelihood, the air they breathe, the products they use, and the water they drink. Learn more.
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GEORGIA SFI IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE
Influencing Biological Diversity Conservation in Georgia with Digital Outreach Tools
Providing Actionable and Accessible Conservation Recommendations for Loggers, Foresters, and Landowners Across the State of Georgia
Why this Project Matters
Forests account for 67% of Georgia’s total land area. These forest lands are being sustainably managed to meet the numerous needs of the state today, while ensuring resource availability in the future. But there are challenges to this bright future. Consider, for example, that 751 of Georgia’s native plant species are of “special concern.” Some are critically endangered with no protection by law, even on state or federal land. The populations are rapidly dwindling and could become extinct if conservation actions do not occur quickly, according to the State Botanical Garden of Georgia at the University of Georgia.
How This Project Will Influence Biodiversity Conservation in Georgia
The Georgia SFI Implementation Committee will leverage ongoing biodiversity conservation analysis to create targeted, professionally designed digital media products to summarize major findings. These summaries will include recommendations for conservation measures that will benefit the highest-priority Forests of Exceptional Conservation Value in Georgia. The grant will also support a library to target landowner and wood supplier audiences. The grant will develop regionally specific outreach and education tools, including online factsheets and information packets, tailored to specific regions. The materials will present targeted, engaging forest management recommendations that will be incorporated seamlessly into existing training programs and websites.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program and the Georgia SFI Implementation Committee are supporting this project.
Partners
This partnership includes state natural resources officials and an SFI-certified organization.
- Project lead: Georgia SFI Implementation Committee
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Related Information
Georgia SFI Implementation Committee: Georgia Forestry Community Habitat for Humanity Build
Georgia SFI Implementation Committee Collaborates with Georgia Heirs Property Law Center
About Georgia SFI Implementation Committee
The Georgia SFI Implementation Committee vigorously supports compliance with Georgia’s Forestry Best Management Practices and sustainable forestry principles outlined in the SFI standards. The Georgia SFI Implementation Committee is part of a network of SFI Implementation Committees that respond to local needs at the state, provincial, and regional levels. SFI has been working to make a positive difference in Georgia forests since 1995. Learn more.
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GREATER ST. LOUIS AREA COUNCIL BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA
Forest Sustainability at the Beaumont Scout Reservation
Showcasing Sustainable Forest Management and Indigenous Awareness in a Demonstration Forest
Why this Project Matters
Today’s youth face barriers to experiencing the natural world around them, and they will face complex environmental challenges in the future. But our kids’ contact with nature keeps shrinking. Today’s emphasis on screen time and indoor play is linked to psychological and physical effects like obesity, loneliness, depression, and attention problems. Getting kids into forests and helping them learn about sustainability is good for forests and good for kids. This project helps to break down barriers between youth and the natural world through an exploration of sustainable forestry and Indigenous heritage. The ultimate aim is to help shape the next generation of sustainability leaders.
How This Project Is Showcasing Sustainable Forest Management and Indigenous Awareness
This project will develop a demonstration forest showcasing sustainable forest management practices that align with SFI’s mission and vision. The demonstration forest will be on the Beaumont Scout Reservation in Southwestern St. Louis County, Missouri. This multi-use property sits on 2,400 acres of wooded, rolling hills. With guidance from the Osage Nation Historic Preservation Office and Washington University Bruder Center for American Indian Studies, the project will also raise visitors’ level of awareness of the Indigenous people who inhabited the area prior to European settlement. Educators visiting the demonstration forest will be trained in relevant Project Learning Tree (PLT) activities. PLT is SFI’s educational initiative.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program is supporting this project, PLT materials will also play a central role, along with sustainable forest products experts from an SFI-certified organization.
Partners
This partnership includes youth educators, Indigenous representatives, staff from an SFI-certified organization, state conservation officials, and academics.
- Project lead: Greater St. Louis Area Council Boy Scouts of America
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Project Learning Tree
- Independent Stave Company (SFI-certified organization)
- Osage Nation Historic Preservation Office
- Washington University Bruder Center for American Indian Studies
- Missouri State Department of Conservation (SFI-certified organization)
Related Information
Engaging youth on sustainable forestry at Philmont Scout Ranch
Philmont Scout Ranch— Philmont Visiting Forester Program Development
Project Learning Tree Activity Correlations to Boy Scouts Adventures and Merit Badges
About Greater St. Louis Area Council Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people be “Prepared. For Life.” The Scouting organization is composed of more than 1 million youth members between the ages of five and 21 and more than 628,000 volunteers in local councils throughout the United States and its territories. The Greater St. Louis Area Council provides youth with character development programs and values-based leadership training. The Council, one of the largest in the nation, has more than 24,400 youth members and 12,000 adult volunteers. They come from 63 counties in southeast Missouri, southern and central Illinois, Metro East, and the St. Louis Metropolitan area. Learn more.
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MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Michigan SFI Implementation Committee and Michigan State University Use Urban Forestry to Attract New Students
Recruiting and Retaining the Next Generation of Multicultural Forestry Professionals
Why this Project Matters
This program, led by Michigan State University (MSU), is designed to help address concerns over declining enrollments in forestry and related natural resource degree programs. Underlying this concern is a fear that current enrollment rates are insufficient to offset the anticipated losses of retirees in forestry career fields in the near future. The program is also focused on increasing the capacity of high school teachers to integrate forestry principles into science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) curriculums. Integrating forestry into STEM teaching will help enhance the attractiveness of forestry programs for students who are focused on their longer-term career paths.
Why is SFI Involved?
The SFI Community Engagement Grant Program is supporting this project. SFI’s priorities include encouraging diversity in the forest sector, educating youth, and promoting green careers — this project supports all three.
MSU Forestry will collaborate with the Ruth Mott Foundation to identify and partner with community based urban conservation groups in north Flint, Michigan, a collection of city neighborhoods characterized by high minority populations and widespread distribution of blighted property. Program participants will apply their acquired tree planting skills to aid in the instruction and engagement of neighborhood youth and broader groups of community volunteers in the successful planting of trees in targeted sites. These partnerships will help promote local long-term understanding and appreciation of ecological benefits of urban trees.
Implementing Project Learning Tree (PLT) workshops will allow for broadened participation by giving educators and students access to learning tools to engage in forestry science through interactive learning experiences. PLT is an initiative of SFI that uses trees and forests as windows on the world to increase youth understanding of the environment and actions they can take to conserve it.
The program aims to expand the pool of potential students by engaging multiple cohorts of diverse high school students. These students are currently underrepresented in forestry programs. The program will also support MSU’s Multicultural Apprenticeship Program, which encourages a diverse range of college students to enter MSU’s Forestry Program.
How the Project Builds SFI Community Engagement
This program, with 13 partners ranging from educators and conservationists to industry and government, will support the MSU Multicultural Apprenticeship Program. It’s a four-week summer experience program designed to give high school students the opportunity to experience college life and to explore the many exciting educational and career opportunities in forestry, agricultural and food sciences, and related fields. MAP is designed for high school students currently in grade 10 and 11 who have strong interest and aptitude in science, math and other academic areas.
Partners
This partnership includes researchers, conservationists, educators, government, and SFI Program Participants.
- Project lead: Michigan State University, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Michigan SFI Implementation Committee
- Project Learning Tree
- Ruth Mott Foundation
- Applewood Estate
- Michigan Department of Natural Resources
- Urban and Community Forestry Program
- Site Specific Inc.
- Arboriculture Society of Michigan
- Michigan Department of Natural Resources
- North American Forest Partnership — #forestproud
- Weyerhaeuser (SFI Program Participant)
Related Information
About the Michigan State University, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
In the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, students use science, technology, engineering, mathematics, business and creative design to tackle some of the world’s biggest problems related to food, health and the environment. In 1855, the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, now known as MSU, was founded to provide a practical education to all citizens regardless of social class. It was the first institution of higher learning in the United States to teach scientific agriculture and educated students to become farmers, engineers, educators and scientists. MSU has helped grow Michigan’s economy by equipping Michigan residents with the information that they need to do their jobs better, raise healthy and safe families, build their communities and empower their children to dream of a successful future.
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MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY
Supporting Curriculum on Urban Forests, Carbon Storage, and a Changing Climate
Improving understanding of key urban forestry issues relating to carbon, climate change, municipal policies, and environmental justice.
Why this Project Matters
The climate, both ecological and political, is shifting. Increasingly, municipal officials, and urban planning professionals are facing a need to be fluent in topics of forest carbon management at the urban and municipal level. This fluency includes a need to understand adaptation and mitigation challenges, the ability to incorporate environmental justice into management strategies, and the skills to develop responses to new climate targets and legislation. This project will expand on previously developed content on forest carbon fundamentals to create case study-based materials for foresters, planners, builders, and decision-makers in cities and municipalities.
How the Project Is Engaging Municipal Officials and Urban Planners on the Fundamentals of Urban Forest Carbon Management
The MSU Department of Forestry will expand existing course content on the fundamentals of forest carbon management through practical, accessible, case study-based e-learning materials on forest management and climate for global cities and municipalities. Framing the larger topic of forest carbon and climate with the lens of urban forestry will provide learners with practical and applicable information that acknowledges a myriad of barriers, limitations, and opportunities to increase social equity through urban forestry and green infrastructure projects.
The project will involve primary research and research synthesis on urban forestry and climate to develop learning content. In addition to forest management practices, the proposed course will
examine the climate benefits linked with sustainable forest products and sustainable construction, including green building and mass timber construction, as well as explore policy and private sector initiatives, using case study examples, to further encourage green building.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program is supporting this project. This work will build on two projects previously supported by SFI, both of which were designed to strengthen forestry education for various stakeholder groups including forestry and non-forestry professionals with increasing needs for climate-smart forestry information. The previous projects are: Michigan SFI Implementation Committee and Michigan State University Use Urban Forestry to Attract New Students and E-Learning Unit on Carbon and Climate Benefits in Well-Managed Forests. By building educational content informed by literature, case study examples, and input from urban forestry experts, this project will produce specialized outputs as well as inform the development of the SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard.
How this Project Builds SFI Community Engagement
MSU Forestry is prioritizing outreach aimed at a broad community of professionals both within the forestry sector and beyond. The course and its associated additional outputs will disseminate information to diverse populations on the importance of sustainable urban forest management. The project will also reach out to municipal and urban forester networks, including those with SFI partners the Arbor Day Foundation and American Forests, to ensure the urban forest community has a direct connection to the information. In addition, the e-learning model is both cost effective and accessible, accommodating those who cannot attend in-person events.
Partners
This partnership includes academics, conservationists, educators, Indigenous groups, and official SFI partner organizations.
- Project lead: Michigan State University Department of Forestry
- Sustainable forestry Initiative
- Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Urban and Community Forestry Program (SFI-certified organization)
- American Forests (SFI partner)
- Michigan State University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
- International Society of Arboriculture Michigan (SFI partner)
Related Information
About the Michigan State University Department of Forestry
The MSU Department of Forestry has a mission to generate and translate knowledge of trees, forests, and associated natural and human systems to advance sustainable solutions for people and ecosystems. The department is creating the future of sustainable forestry through innovative research, learning, and outreach. MSU Forestry students discover their role in sustaining forests and the ecosystem services they provide, including conservation of biodiversity, wood products, clean water, and climate change mitigation. Students learn to be leaders through multi-disciplinary coursework, field studies, cutting edge technology and mentorship from respected faculty in one of the longest-standing forestry programs in the United States. Learn more.
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PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES, BUREAU OF FORESTRY
Promoting Pennsylvania’s Forests with Exceptional Conservation Value
Helping Meet SFI Standards Through Field Guides and Fact Sheets About Threatened and Endangered Species
Why this Project Matters
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) manages approximately 2.5 million acres/1 million hectares of forest and park land, certified to the SFI Forest Management Standard, covering a variety of ecosystems and plant and animal habitats. This includes conducting management activities to benefit rare wildlife, important game species, and their unique habitats across Pennsylvania.
How This Project Will Help Pennsylvania’s rare, threatened, and endangered species
This project will directly deliver information to approximately 2,000 people with the decision-making authority to help conserve and protect Pennsylvania’s rare, threatened, and endangered species in Forests with Exceptional Conservation Value (FECVs). These resources will be written for foresters, loggers, landowners, and others who work in FECVs.
This project will create a printed field guide and online fact sheets with general guidance on management and regulatory compliance for selected threatened and endangered species, with an emphasis on critically imperiled and imperiled species in Pennsylvania. The field guide and online fact sheets will give audiences the knowledge they need to be able to better recognize FECVs, and the species that rely on them. Audiences will be better able to make informed decisions about how their forest management activities can conserve and protect FECVs. Guides and fact sheets will be distributed through Pennsylvania’s SFI network and help SFI-certified organizations in the state meet SFI standards.
The field guide will highlight forest-dependent species of greatest conservation need, discuss regulatory considerations, and include resources for species identification and recommended conservation strategies. The fact sheets will be used as part of an educational outreach effort to non-SFI‑certified landowners that SFI‑certified organizations source fiber from. The outreach will also be shared with qualified logging professionals and other forest practitioners through the Pennsylvania Professional Timber Harvester Training Program.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program is supporting this project, which is also leveraging the expertise and skills of two SFI-certified organizations, including the Pennsylvania SFI Implementation Committee.
Partners
This partnership includes state natural resources officials and a SFI-certified organization.
- Project lead: Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry (SFI-certified organization)
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Pennsylvania SFI Implementation Committee
Related Information
About Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry
The DCNR Bureau of Forestry’s mission is to ensure the long-term health, viability, and productivity of Pennsylvania’s forests and to conserve native wild plants. The bureau is the state’s lead forest conservancy agency. The bureau proudly manages the state’s third-party certified forest with an ecosystem management approach to provide a multitude of uses, values and resources to Pennsylvania citizens. Learn more.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grant-pennyslvania-dcnrbf/
TREES FOR TOMORROW
Natural Resources Careers Exploration Week
Wisconsin High School Students Hear From Experts About Rewarding Green Careers
Why this Project Matters
Many students love the idea of working in a rewarding green career, but they don’t know where to start. Youth in underserved communities face even greater barriers to launching a green career. A portion of this project’s sponsorship and grant funds will be targeted to help students from underserved communities such as Milwaukee, Detroit, and Indigenous communities. Students enrolled in a local Job Corps Program will also be encouraged to participate.
How This Project Will Influence Biodiversity Education and Conservation in Alabama
Trees For Tomorrow will bring wood, paper, and forest management professionals together to support a workforce development program for high school students at an environmental education center. A six day course will introduce 30 high school students to forestry and natural resources careers. Students will participate in sessions about careers in wood procurement, wildlife biology, wildlife rehabilitation, soil science, geographic information systems (GIS), the paper industry, recreation management, environmental education, hydrology, fisheries, forest management, civil engineering, ecological restoration, forest fire control, and more. Materials from SFI’s educational initiative Project Learning Tree (PLT) will serve as an essential foundation for the course. In addition, guest instructors will be selected to represent a diverse population of professionals so all students can relate to them and see themselves in similar roles.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program, SFI-certified organizations, PLT, federal officials, and state forestry associations are supporting this project.
Partners
This partnership includes federal natural resources officials, foresters, educators, and SFI-certified organizations.
- Project lead: Trees for Tomorrow
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Project Learning Tree
- Domtar (SFI-certified organization)
- Lyme Great Lakes Timberlands (SFI-certified organization)
- USDA Forest Service
- Wisconsin Society of American Foresters
- Michigan Society of American Foresters
- Wisconsin SFI Implementation Committee
Related Information
About Trees for Tomorrow
Trees For Tomorrow is a nonprofit natural resources specialty school, on over 30 forested acres, in Eagle River, Wisconsin. Trees For Tomorrow uses a combination of field and classroom studies to teach sustainable practices as well as to demonstrate the benefits of contemporary resource management. Trees for Tomorrow promotes sustainable management of natural resources through transformative educational experiences. Its field-based programs, which place people in direct contact with resources that support human needs, teach knowledge and skills leading to responsible lifestyle choices. This experience inspires informed participation in policymaking and promotes stewardship and renewal of natural resources for use by future generations. Learn more.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grant-trees-for-tomorrow/
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Brainstorming Implementation of the New SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard
Increase Certification to the New SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard
Why this Project Matters
The new SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard is the world’s first forest standard for communities. Promoting nature-based solutions and resilience to climate change, the standard includes 16 objectives for urban and community forest certification. The standard applies to cities and towns of all sizes, anywhere in the world, and is also designed for corporate, hospital, and university campuses. This project is focused on maximizing the standard’s potential to enhance sustainability through communication and implementation strategies.
How This Project Will Help Spread Certification With the SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard
This project will deliver a two-day workshop designed to increase certification to the SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard. Workshop attendees will include a range of experienced people interested in urban forestry, as well as underrepresented groups and students. SFI’s standard development process already includes several opportunities for public input, including public comment periods and webinars. This project creates an additional opportunity in the form of a facilitated meeting to brainstorm communication and implementation strategies.
Reviewing the standard components will lead to a valuable discussion about the implementation and management of the standard. The discussion will inform communications and education regarding applying the standard across communities. One of the facilitators of the meeting, Dr. Parag Kadam, a standards auditor for almost five years, intimately understands SFI standards. Kristen Morales, Communications Director at the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, will be a primary facilitator.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program is supporting this project. SFI will share the project’s findings through its network to amplify its impact. SFI will also provide venues for presenting the project’s final report.
Partners
This partnership includes University of Georgia academics and staff, representatives from the International Society of Arboriculture and SFI.
- Project lead: University of Georgia Research Foundation
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Georgia SFI Implementation Committee
- International Society of Arboriculture
Related Information
SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard
Georgia Forestry Foundation 2023 Grant
Georgia SFI Implementation 2023 Grant
University Of Georgia: Quantifying Impacts of SFI’s Fiber Sourcing Standards in Georgia
About University of Georgia Research Foundation
The University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. (UGARF) performs two primary functions in support of research at the University of Georgia (UGA). UGARF is the named party to sponsored research agreements for projects to be performed at UGA. UGARF also owns the patents and other intellectual property developed at UGA. Through Innovation Gateway, UGARF protects, markets, and licenses its intellectual property portfolio throughout Georgia and the US and across the globe. Learn more.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grant-uog-research-foundation/
University of Miami School of Architecture (LU Lab) and Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND FLORIDA AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL UNIVERSITY
Into the Woods: A Carbon Story [Part II]
Helping Underrepresented Architecture Students Become Leaders and Sustainable Forestry Advocates
Why this Project Matters
Many architecture students have a limited understanding of the environmental benefits of using forest-based building materials, which can lead them to choose more carbon-intensive building products for their design projects after graduation. This grant project is designed to foster understanding among architecture students about the climate-related benefits of choosing building materials from sustainably managed forests. The importance of understanding carbon generation and sequestration will also be emphasized.
How This Project Is Engaging Architecture Students to Understand the Benefits of Building with Sustainable Forest Products
The project is the continuation of an earlier SFI grant to the University of Miami School of Architecture—Into the Woods: A Carbon Story. This project allows architecture students access to the full range of forest products material processing, from well-managed forests full of standing timber through the creation of mass timber products in a regional manufacturing facility. The information gleaned by students, faculty, and professionals is directly applicable to the practice of architecture and is designed to increase the uptake of certified forest products.
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), part of the Historically Black College or University category of schools, has a rich legacy and historic mission of educating African Americans and embracing all dimensions of diversity. The project will support underrepresented students of architecture attending FAMU through financial assistance so they can learn and experience the various phases of timber production and manufacturing. This will help prepare them to become sustainable forestry advocates and leaders within the architecture industry.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program is supporting this project. Students will also work in SFI-certified forests under the guidance of representatives of SFI-certified companies. SFI-certified products and the certification process will also be explored to help students better understand sustainability in construction and the importance of specifying certified wood building materials in future projects.
Partners
This partnership includes academics, design experts, and representatives from SFI-certified organizations.
- Project co-leads: University of Miami School of Architecture and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Florida SFI Implementation Committee
- Florida Forestry Association
Related Information
University of Miami School of Architecture—Into the Woods: A Carbon Story
University of Idaho—Demonstrating Benefits of SFI-Certified Wood in a Mass Timber Arena
About the University of Miami School of Architecture
The intrinsic philosophy of the University of Miami School of Architecture is to build a better world. This is expressed in a design program that is ideal and pragmatic, academic and practical, theoretical and actual. The school trains visionary practitioners who pursue architecture as a combination of civic art and building science. The school currently has more than 500 students, including 374 undergraduate students and 130 graduate students. There are about 60 full- and part-time faculty, plus a professional staff of 20, educating and supporting students. More than 50% of the school’s students participate in study-abroad programs based in Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Learn more.
About Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
Founded October 3, 1887, FAMU is a public, historically Black university located in Tallahassee, Florida. What distinguishes FAMU from other universities is its legacy of providing access to a high-quality, affordable education with programs and services that guide students toward successfully achieving their dreams. FAMU is part of the State University System of Florida and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Learn more.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grant-uofm-florida-am/
SFI Community Grants
CCI GROUP OF COMPANIES
Tsuut’ina Nation Forestry Economic Development Program
Providing Tangible, Transferable, Future-Facing Economic and Skills Development Opportunities for the Tsuut’ina Nation
Why this Project Matters
This project will provide tangible, transferable, future-facing economic and skills development opportunities for members of the Tsuut’ina Nation. The Tsuut’ina Nation will be the sole beneficiary of this project, including all residents and the communities on nation lands. The knowledge and skills developed during this project will provide the foundation for further development and execution of long-term sustainable forest management and community wildfire resiliency objectives, which can then be led by the Tsuut’ina Nation Lands Administration Office and newly skilled crews.
How This Project Will Help Support Economic and Skills Development
The project will require collaboration with the Land Administrative Body, Executive Directors Office, Public Works Division, and the Chief and Council Office; all members of the community will be actively engaged in and informed of the project. The primary governing body overseeing this project, the Land Administration Office, is made up of nine positions held by Indigenous members of the Tsuut’ina community.
The project will directly benefit the Tsuut’ina Nation by facilitating professional forestry skills development, equipment acquisition, forestry crew employment, mitigation of wildfire risk to homes, community assets and infrastructure, development of professional video content for community engagement, and an open house event.
This project’s goals are directly related to the long-range objectives of the Tsuut’ina Nation’s Sustainable Environmental Management Plan. Specifically, the plan’s sustainable forest management and wildfire mitigation pillars. This funding will facilitate training in and execution of proven community wildfire mitigation strategies through ecosystem and vegetation management practices in high-risk areas, within an industry-accepted framework and be completed to industry standards.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program is supporting this project, which is also leveraging the expertise and skills of two SFI-certified organizations.
Partners
This partnership includes the Tsuut’ina Nation, SFI staff, and two SFI-certified organizations.
- Project lead: CCI Group of Companies (SFI-certified organization)
- Tsuut’ina Nation
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Spray Lake Sawmills (SFI-certified organization)
Related Information
A Guide to Green Jobs in Canada: Voices of Indigenous Professionals
SFI Forest Certification Indigenous Partners
SFI Small-Scale Forest Management Module for Indigenous Peoples and Families
About CCI Group of Companies
CCI Group of Companies is committed to being an environmentally conscientious company. Its portfolio of companies includes integrated resource management, forest and land management, drilling and pipelines, and environmental services. CCI’s commitment to sustainability lives through the company and acts as an example to its employees and clients. CCI uses expertise in forestry industry and carbon budget modelling to calculate its carbon footprint. Learn more.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grant-tsuutina-nation/
CITY OF SURREY
Suitability Analysis for the City of Surrey
SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard Application
Developing a Roadmap for the City of Surrey to Certify to the SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard
Why this Project Matters
The City of Surrey, British Columbia, is the largest city by land area and second-most populated in Metro Vancouver. It is one of the fastest growing, culturally diverse cities in Canada. The City’s motto: “The future lives here,” speaks to Surrey’s commitment to remain at the forefront of urban and community planning. The new SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard has the potential to enhance Surrey’s ability to live up to its reputation as an urban leader.
How This Project Will Help Surrey Build a Sustainable City of the Future
The City of Surrey is committed to developing a community that balances a high-quality living environment with a diverse, vibrant, and sustainable local economy. The City of Surrey’s values guide the way it serves and engages with communities, and how its residents work with each other. For example, Surrey’s EnergyShift program is engaging the public to help create a strategy for how Surrey can reduce its carbon footprint. The goal is to enhance land use and development plans, reduce solid waste, encourage walking, cycling and transit, develop sustainable new buildings, and create viable energy infrastructure. The SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard complements many of these goals by focusing on indicators like human health and well-being and climate smart management.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program is supporting a review of relevant City of Surrey plans, strategies, policies, and bylaws to identify programing gaps with performance measures and indicators in the new SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard.
Partners
This partnership includes City of Surrey and SFI staff.
- Project lead: City of Surrey
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Related Information
About the City of Surrey
Surrey is a city in British Columbia. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Surrey has a population of over 630,000. Mainly a suburban city, Surrey is the province’s second largest by population after Vancouver and the third largest by area after Abbotsford and Prince George. Seven neighbourhoods in Surrey are designated town centers: Cloverdale, Fleetwood, Guildford, Newton, South Surrey, and City Centre encompassed by Whalley. Learn more.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grant-city-of-surrey/
THE HOWL EXPERIENCE
Canadian Rockies Youth Network
Connecting Youth in the Canadian Rockies to Discuss and Act on Environmental Issues
Why this Project Matters
The Canadian Rockies and foothills face many pressing environmental challenges and land management issues and opportunities including species loss, climate change resiliency, as well as Indigenous collaboration, rights, and relationship building. Helping youth to have a voice at the table for land management and conservation issues in their communities and mountain spaces will help engage and train tomorrow’s environmental leaders.
How This Project Will Help Engage Youth in Building a Brighter Future for the Canadian Rockies and Foothills
The Canadian Rockies Youth Network (CRYN) was founded in 2019 by high school students who sought to engage youth voices in parks management and environmental policy. An annual four-day Canadian Rockies Youth Summit for Alberta and British Columbia youth will feature land-based workshops for youth to form connections to the land and explore nature. Longer-term goals include implementing environmental action projects and supporting youth leaders to pursue green careers. Starting in 2022, the Howl Experience has taken a supporting role in CRYN. Howl helps to connect youth to the landscapes that they seek to protect, bringing knowledge and attention to pressing environmental challenges.
Workshop themes include conservation, Indigenous teachings and traditions, climate change, and how to get engaged in environmental action. The Canadian Rockies Youth Summit will connect students in grades 9-12 with educational resources from SFI’s educational initiative Project Learning Tree Canada (PLT Canada), tools, and expertise to develop their knowledge and skills in related areas and expose them to potential green careers.
SFI’s Contribution
This SFI Community Grant Program-supported project draws on workshop materials and other resources from PLT Canada and the expertise and connections of the Western Canada SFI Implementation Committee.
Partners
This partnership includes Howl Experience staff, forestry professionals, and SFI and PLT Canada staff.
- Project lead: The Howl Experience
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Project Learning Tree Canada
- Western Canada SFI Implementation Committee
- Calgary Foundation
- Rotary Club of Canmore
- Banff Canmore Community Foundation
- University of Calgary
- Alberta Parks
Related Information
New PLT Curriculum Introduces Youth to Green Careers
PLT Canada’s A Guide to Green Jobs in Canada: Voices of Indigenous Professionals Guide
South Carolina Forestry Foundation: SFI Is Helping Inspire Future Forest Leaders in South Carolina
Table Forêt Laurentides: Growing Forest Education in Quebec by Building a Forest Ambassador Network
About the Howl Experience
The Howl Experience offers programming that creates holistic relationships between youth, communities, and ecosystems in a way that allows everyone to thrive now and into the future. Howl Experience programs are designed to inspire young people ages 17-30, led by a team of outstanding educators and local Indigenous Knowledge Keepers. Learn more.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grant-howl-experience/
INSIDE EDUCATION SOCIETY OF ALBERTA
Regenerate Youth Forest Leadership Summit
Supporting Underserved Youth in Rural, Urban, and Indigenous High Schools
Why this Project Matters
More than 160,000 children in Alberta and 116,500 children in British Columbia live in poverty, according to 2020 data from Statistics Canada. Underserved youth in rural, urban, and Indigenous high schools in both provinces face barriers to accessing extra-curricular educational experiences. Gaining the skills and experience they need to make a successful transition into the workforce is a challenge for many of these young people.
How This Project Will Help Underserved Youth Build a Green Career Pathway
The 2024 Regenerate Youth Forest Leadership Summit will host a three-day deep-dive into forest science, technology, innovations, and careers. The program will see 20 rural, urban, and Indigenous high schools in Alberta and B.C. each send four student leaders and two teachers to learn with experts in forest science, wildfire and wildlife management, forest management, and other related areas. The reach of the program will extend far beyond the 120 summit participants: after finishing the summit, each school will develop an education and action plan—further extending the summit’s reach in their school and community to potentially support and educate thousands of youth.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program is supporting staff participation from SFI and its educational initiative Project Learning Tree Canada (PLT Canada) at the Summit. PLT Canada education experts will provide a workshop to teachers on PLT Canada and a hands-on, interactive session for the high school participants. The Summit will also be a conduit for PLT Canada resources to be provided to high schools across Alberta and B.C., including schools from Indigenous communities. Each of the schools will develop and deliver an education and action plan for implementation in their school or community post-summit. The tools and resources provided by PLT Canada, and the robust sustainable forest management information available through SFI, will be an important component of each of the action plans.
Partners
This partnership includes Inside Education Society of Alberta staff, forestry professionals, teachers, SFI and PLT Canada staff, and an SFI-certified organization.
- Project lead: Inside Education Society of Alberta
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Project Learning Tree Canada
- Millar Western Forest Products (SFI-certified organization)
- Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta
Related Information
Inside Education Society of Alberta: Alberta School Children See Forest Management In Action
Green Jobs: Exploring Forest Careers
New Hampshire SFI Implementation Committee: Forests of New Hampshire Teacher Tours
Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center: Washington Kids Gain Valuable Wildfire Knowledge
About Inside Education Society of Alberta
Founded in 1985, Inside Education is Alberta’s largest environmental and natural resource education charity. Working from offices in Edmonton and Calgary, its mandate is to support K-12 teachers across Alberta to inspire their students when it comes to working towards a balanced, sustainable future for our environment, economy, and society. If today’s students become informed and engaged leaders in tomorrow’s issues, who are able to make informed responsible decisions, Inside Education believes the world will be in good hands. Learn more.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grant-iesa-youth-forest-leadership/
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO JOHN H. DANIELS FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, LANDSCAPE, AND DESIGN
Assessing the Feasibility of Certifying the University of Toronto’s St. George Campus to the New SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard
Showing Sustainability Leadership in One of Canada’s Most Important Urban Forests
Why this Project Matters
The University of Toronto’s St. George campus, set in downtown Toronto, includes an urban forest with strong connections to its communities and neighbourhoods. This project will explore the feasibility for the campus to become certified to the new SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard, and how certification could be scaled up to include the university’s other campuses and potentially other non-municipal entities. Being certified to the new SFI standard would demonstrate a commitment to using trees and forests as natural solutions that improve community wellbeing and human health and help fight climate change. The SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard applies to cities and towns of all sizes, anywhere in the world, and is also designed for corporate, hospital, and university campuses.
How This Project Will Help Assess the Feasibility of Certifying to the SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard
The project will begin by introducing the concept of the new SFI standard to the campus community and gauging the level of interest in becoming certified. This will involve interviewing those on the campus responsible for implementing sustainability initiatives. Key barriers to certification will be identified to direct the next phases of the project.
The second phase of the project will involve researching the existing and proposed policies at the university and assessing, at a high level, how many of the key objectives of the new SFI standard are being met. This will be a high-level gap analysis to determine the level of effort that would be required for the campus to become certified to the new SFI standard. Pathways to certification, as well as how the objectives overlap with existing policies, will also be identified in this phase.
The final project phase will use the information gathered in the previous phases to provide an estimate on the level of effort that would be required for the campus to achieve certification to SFI’s newest standard. The project will also explore the possibility of scaling SFI certification to other campuses, as well as to other non-municipal entities.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program is supporting the review of relevant university policies and plans to identify programing gaps with performance measures and indicators in the SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard. Throughout the project, the university project team will work closely with the SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard team.
Partners
This partnership includes University of Toronto and SFI staff, along with forestry consultants.
- Project lead: University of Toronto
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Dendron Forestry Services
Related Information
About the University of Toronto John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design
The Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto offers graduate programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, forestry, and visual studies—as well as unique undergraduate programs that use architectural studies and visual studies as a lens through which students may pursue a broad, liberal arts-based education. Its mission is to educate students, prepare professionals, and cultivate scholars who will play a leading role in creating more culturally engaged, ecologically sustainable, socially just, and artfully conceived environments. Learn more.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grant-university-of-toronto-ucfs/
ASSOCIATION FORESTIÈRE DE L’ABITIBI-TÉMISCAMINGUE
Forest Literacy and Education on Forest Certification Standards: A Case Study with SFI
Enhancing wetland conservation and engaging communities by providing sustainable forest management training packages.
Why this Project Matters
SFI-certified forests and products are powerful tools to achieve shared goals such as mitigating climate, reducing waste, conserving biodiversity, educating future generations, and sustainable economic development. But all too often, members of the public have a limited understanding of the benefits offered by the sustainable forest management requirements mandated by SFI and other forest certification standards. Enhancing forest literacy and encouraging a better understanding of forest certification will help spread practical, scalable solutions for markets and communities working to pursue a growing commitment to a sustainable planet.
How the Project Is Enhancing Forest Literacy and an Understanding of Forest Certification Standards
The project is creating and facilitating talks promoting sustainable forest management and why forest certification offers assurance of good practices. Five workshops are also planned and a certified forests component with interactive activities will be available for high school programs.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program is supporting this project. SFI will also provide technical assistance to ensure certification standards are interpreted and presented correctly.
How this Project Builds SFI Community Engagement
High schools and community groups will be directly engaged by this project. The public will be reached through the region’s network of more than 90 libraries.
Partners
This partnership includes conservationists, government officials, and SFI‑certified organizations.
- Project lead: Association forestière de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue
- Sustainable forestry Initiative
- Quebec SFI Implementation Committee
- Norbord La Sarre (SFI-certified company)
- Resolute Forest Products (SFI-certified company)
- Eacom Val-d’Or (SFI-certified company)
- Emploi Québec
Related Information
Table Forêt Laurentides—Growing Forest Education in Québec by Building a Forest Ambassador Network
Association Forestiére Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean—Helping Youth Rediscover Quebec’s Forestry Culture
Maine Tree Foundation—Educating Maine’s Guidance Counselors about Forests and Green Career Pathways
About Association forestière de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue (AFAT)
AFAT is a non-profit organization with about 600 members, comprising 200 companies and organizations, as well as 400 individuals. AFAT represents the many faces of the forest sector. The association is governed by a 15-person board of directors. AFAT has a team of five full-time staff. Each year, six to eight school leaders are hired to deliver the AFAT school educational program and to welcome the general public during their visits to Parc-Aventure Joannès. Learn more (French only).
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/association-forestiere-de-labitibi-temiscamingue/
ALABAMA FORESTRY FOUNDATION
Wonder of Woodlands
Project Overview
The Alabama Forestry Foundation will develop learning materials and indoor/outdoor training sessions to educate stakeholders about some of the unique communities within Alabama’s landscape.
A $10,000 grant from SFI Inc. will help this project broaden the knowledge and expertise of foresters and loggers, and help tell the story of why it is critical to conserve Alabama’s diverse communities of animal and plant species. It will also help link how responsible forest management contributes to conserving this special ecosystem. Information on how to recognize, appreciate, and conserve these areas during active forest management will also be included.
Project Partners
In addition to the Alabama Forestry Foundation, partners include the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Alabama Forestry Commission, Alabama SFI Implementation Committee, Alabama Tree Farm, Auburn University’s School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.
About the Alabama Forestry Foundation
The Alabama Forestry Foundation was founded in 1978 to advance knowledge of managing and using Alabama’s forests; promoting the stewardship and sustainable management of Alabama’s forest resources; and protecting the property rights of Alabama’s forest owners.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grantalabamaff/
AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY
Working with Forest Landowners to Reverse Population Declines of
Forest Breeding Birds
American Bird Conservancy Managed Forests for Birds Workshop
Why This Project Matters
This project will deliver a workshop that explains how sustainable forestry can play a critical role in reversing the alarming decline in bird populations. An estimated three billion birds have been lost in the U.S. and Canada since 1970. This is the equivalent of more than a quarter of all birdlife. These findings were reported in the world’s leading scientific journal, Science, by researchers at seven institutions, including the American Bird Conservancy.
How This Project Will Help to Reverse Population Declines of Forest Breeding Birds
This workshop brings together SFI-certified forest management companies, forest harvesting professionals, and family forest landowners for discussions regarding forest management, bird habitat, and the critical role of managed forests in reversing population declines of forest breeding birds. This project will train and educate people who are engaged in actions affecting the future of our forests. It will also offer Continuing Forestry Education credits.
The workshop combines classroom-style presentations and forest-site discussions. This approach has proven to be valuable in several other states in training people in best practices at each stage of forest management to provide positive habitat conditions for birds. The birds range from species that readily respond to certain management practices such as harvest and replanting, thinning and burning, to bird species that require special considerations and advanced planning such as retention of snags, retention of large trees for nesting, or enhanced streamside management zones.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program is supporting this project. Bringing together partners from across the SFI network including forest industry, forest managers, wildlife biologists, state government representatives, and the Georgia SFI Implementation Committee will ensure that many perspectives and interests required for effective forest sustainability will be shared. Participants will include influential representatives of forest ownership and management. The diverse project partners will also ensure that they leverage resources and make the right connections for a productive workshop that can be replicated for additional impact.
How this Project Builds SFI Community Engagement
This project will elevate and enrich the link between people and forests by engaging both natural resource professionals who live and work in local communities as well as family forest owners. By bringing forest, wildlife, and harvesting professionals together with local landowners, the project will build a sense of community and appreciation of the different perspectives on forest management. With the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) involved in planning and execution, the project will directly engage the key wildlife conservation organization in Georgia.
The participation of Georgia DNR wildlife biologists and ornithologists as instructors will lend credibility and create opportunities for additional workshops in Georgia. The project leaders will also use their connections to Migratory Bird Habitat Joint Ventures to further network and engage bird conservation organizations and federal wildlife agencies with a mutual interest in well managed forests.
Partners
This partnership includes conservationists, researchers, SFI certified organizations, and family forest owners.
- Project lead: American Bird Conservancy
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Georgia SFI Implementation Committee
- The Westervelt Company (SFI-certified organization)
- Timberland Investment Resources, LLC (SFI-certified organization)
- Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Related Information
American Bird Conservancy: Bringing Back the Forest Birds, Phase II
ABC Wins SFI President’s Award for Putting SFI’s Scale to Work for Birds
Collaborating for Conservation of Managed Forested Landscapes
About American Bird Conservancy
The American Bird Conservancy is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to conserve native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. ABC acts across the full spectrum of threats to birds to safeguard the rarest bird species, restore habitats, and reduce threats, unifying and strengthening the bird conservation movement. Learn more.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grant-american-bird-conservancy-workshop/
AMERICAN FOREST FOUNDATION
From Nature’s Perspective
Project Overview
Fostering an appreciation and understanding of the natural world is critical to healthy development in kids; yet in North America studies consistently find that kids are spending more time indoors and losing this essential environmental connection. To address this issue the American Forest Foundation’s Project Learning Tree (PLT) program received $5,000 to partner with Michigan Project Learning Tree and the Grand Traverse Conservation District to sponsor a conference for PLT Coordinators and educators in order to provide meaningful arts and environmental education to Michigan students while creating a model that can be implemented nationwide by other PLT state program networks.
The grant offers an ideal opportunity for AFF, PLT, the Conservation District and local schools to partner in providing a lasting impact. The Conference attendees gained professional development experience allowing them to widely implement Project Learning Tree. Additionally, students from local schools were given the opportunity to share their Project Learning Tree journals and artwork with the larger conference audience.
Supporting the SFI Standard
The project supported SFI 2010-2014 Standard Objective 17: Community Involvement in the Practice of Sustainable Forestry, including Performance Measure 17.2 requiring program participants support and promote public outreach, education and involvement related to sustainable forest management.
PROJECT RESOURCES
About Project Learning Tree
Project Learning Tree (PLT) is an award-winning environmental education program designed for teachers and other educators, parents, and community leaders working with youth from preschool through grade 12. PLT is a program of the American Forest Foundation.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grantaffplt/
ARKANSAS SFI IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE
Partners with Arkansas Forestry Association Education Foundation for PLT Workshops
Teacher Conservation Tour Workshop Series
Why this Project Matters
This extensive educator workshop, led by the Arkansas Forestry Association Education Foundation, focuses on the environmental, ecological, and economic benefits of Arkansas’s forestlands and timber industries. These benefits are often not fully appreciated by people outside the forest sector. Engaging teachers, who in turn will educate students, is an effective way to build understanding of and support for Arkansas’s sustainably managed forestlands.
Why is SFI Involved?
The SFI Community Engagement Grant Program is supporting this project.This project’s strong youth education component supports a core SFI priority. SFI offers teacher training and engages students in environmental education through Project Learning Tree (PLT) activities. PLT is an initiative of SFI that uses trees and forests as windows on the world to increase youth understanding of the environment and actions they can take to conserve it. PLT activities will be incorporated in the project.
These workshops provide extensive background information and knowledge to help educators incorporate PLT lessons into their course material and better teach on topics of forestry and natural resources management. Educators who have attended these workshops in the past have used the information with their students in career preparedness classes and job skill enhancement.
How the Project Builds SFI Community Engagement
The workshops offer opportunities for the Arkansas SFI Implementation Committee to collaborate with Arkansas PLT and the Arkansas Forestry Association Education Foundation to offer quality hands‑on education promoting sustainable forestry practices and wise use of wood resources. The Teacher Conservation Tour is one of the premier professional development workshops in Arkansas.
This extensive educator workshop focuses on the environmental, ecological, and economic benefits of Arkansas’s forestlands and timber industries. The sessions and onsite tours provide educators with a lot of time in the woods, learning about the interaction between forests, the environment, and the economy. Participants tour forest product manufacturing facilities, view forest ecosystems, and harvesting and replanting operations all while learning valuable information about our forest communities. Participants also meet and learn from natural resource professionals and members of the forest products industry who are in the field conducting this work on a regular basis.
Partners
This partnership includes educators, researchers, government, and SFI Program Participants.
- Project lead: Arkansas Forestry Association Education Foundation
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Arkansas Forestry Commission
- Arkansas Game and Fish
- Farm Credit Services
- University of Arkansas Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Services
- Green Bay Packaging (SFI Program Participant)
- Weyerhaeuser (SFI Program Participant)
Related Information
- Project Learning Tree is an award-winning environmental education program designed for teachers and other educators, parents, and community leaders working with youth from preschool through grade 12.
About the Arkansas Forestry Association Education Foundation
The Arkansas Forestry Association Education Foundation sponsors a landowner education and assistance program for landowners seeking forest management information. As part of this program, the foundation holds a number of landowner education workshops throughout the state and publishes a variety of educational guides to provide landowners the information they need to make sound forest management decisions. It also serves as an information and education source to Arkansas’s teachers and students. The foundation offers teacher training as part of the Project Learning Tree curriculum as well as summer teacher training workshops and other activities. The Arkansas Forestry Association is the only private, nonprofit organization that speaks for the entire forestry community in Arkansas.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grant-arkansas-sic/
ASSOCIATION FORESTIÉRE SAGUENAY-LAC-ST-JEAN
Helping Youth Rediscover Quebec’s Forestry Culture
Forests and Forest Products, a Culture to be Rediscovered
Why this project matters
The Forests and Forest Products, A Culture to be Rediscovered Program, from the Association forestière Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, has a track record of delivering tangible and measurable results when it comes to connecting youth to forests through education. Making these connections is good for youth because it can inspire a lifelong interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and open up rewarding career paths. Forests benefit too as youth enhance their understanding of the central role forests play when it comes to environmental, recreational and economic values.
The association tours elementary schools from September until June offering a half-day program that takes place in classrooms and in woodlots near schools for fourth-, fifth- and sixth‑grade students. The program reaches about 12,000 students every year. School-based forest education aims to educate youth about the social, economic, ecological and cultural importance of the forest environment and sustainable forest management. The association also wants to promote forestry and wood as an element of sustainable development and to interest young people in careers in forestry.
Why is SFI involved?
Connecting youth to forests is a key focus at SFI. Fostering an appreciation and understanding of the natural world is critical to healthy mental and physical development in youth. But today’s American and Canadian kids spend more time indoors than previous generations. That’s why a key component of SFI’s community engagement is educating youth and getting them outdoors, to ensure they can be effective future leaders and have a strong understanding of the value of responsibly managed forests.
Forests and Forest Products, A Culture to be Rediscovered gets kids outdoors and potentially opens up STEM-based career options. Workshops organized with college- and university‑level STEM and architecture technology students are designed to generate interest in forestry and forest products and related technical careers and professions.
The Quebec SFI Implementation Committee (SIC) will work to help ensure connections to forest products certified to SFI and Project Learning Tree materials. Project Learning Tree, an SFI program, is an award-winning environmental education program designed for teachers and other educators, parents, and community leaders working with youth from preschool through grade 12. Forests and Forest Products, A Culture to be Rediscovered offers an opportunity to expand PLT Canada, an initiative of SFI, in Quebec.
How the Project Builds SFI Community Engagement
This is a great program to engage a variety of youth, from primary grades to technical schools that also include architectural students. The primary partner is the Quebec’s Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks but multiple schools, regional municipalities and Employment Quebec are also included. The support of the Quebec SIC will also build connections between SFI Program Participants, youth, educators, and government officials at the municipal and provincial levels.
Partners
This partnership includes SFI Program Participants, youth, educators, and government officials.
- Project lead: Association forestière Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Quebec SFI Implementation Committee
- Quebec Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks
- Employment Quebec
- Five regional municipalities
- Four CEGEPs
- Four school districts (Rives du Saguenay, Lac St. Jean, Pays de Bluets, de la Jonquiere)
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) PromoScience Program
Related information
- Project Learning Tree, an SFI program, is an award-winning environmental education program designed for teachers and other educators, parents, and community leaders working with youth from preschool through grade 12.
- The Marten Monitoring and Youth Knowledge Transfer Program, led by the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi in Quebec, is evaluating the impact of wildlife management guidelines on marten populations and transferring knowledge to Cree youth.
- Funding from SFI helps the Earth Rangers School Assembly Program offer a curriculum-linked assembly presentation, for grades 1 to 6, that uses science-based information to educate students about the importance of conserving biodiversity across Canada.
About the Association forestière Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean
Founded in 1942, the Association forestière Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean (French only) is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating, informing and educating the regional population about the importance of forests, the environment and sustainable development. The association uses interactive educational workshops in schools and forests, and its annual conference, for training and knowledge transfer. The Forest Products, A Culture to be Rediscovered Program works to help the residents of the Lac Saint-Jean area understand the challenges facing forests as well as their economic, social, environmental and cultural importance from a sustainable development perspective.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grantsaguenay/
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Lion’s Park Boy Scout Hut Build
Project Description
Through the SFI Community Partnerships grant program, Auburn University’s Rural Studio completed a student design-build project. The Lion’s Park Boy Scout Hut provides the Boy Scouts of Greensboro, AL a much needed headquarters.
Supporting the SFI Standard
The project will support SFI 2010-2014 Standard Objective 7: Efficient Use of Forest Resources and Objective 17: Community Involvement in the Practice of Sustainable Forestry, including Performance Measure 17.2 requiring that program participants support and promote public outreach, education and involvement related to sustainable forestry management.
Project Partners
In addition to the Auburn University’s Rural Studio, partners include Boy Scouts of Greensboro, Al; Probate Judge of Hale County and the Greensboro, AL Lions Club.
About Auburn University’s Rural Studio
Rural Studio is an off-campus design-build program of the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture at Auburn University. It gives architecture students a more hands-on educational experience. The students work within the community to define solutions, fundraise, design and, ultimately, build remarkable projects.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grantauburn/
BIRDS CANADA
Newfoundland Breeding Bird Atlas—Citizen Scientists Map the Birds of Newfoundland’s Sustainably Managed Forests
Engaging citizen scientists to deliver the province’s first breeding bird atlas to map the distribution and abundance of all breeding bird species in Newfoundland
Why this Project Matters
Having solid baseline data about the distribution, abundance, and health of bird populations is essential for sound conservation and management decisions. Newfoundland is home to an abundance of waterfowl, waterbirds, land birds, and shorebirds, but much of the island is remote and difficult to access, and consequently information on Newfoundland’s bird populations is largely lacking.
To address this gap, Birds Canada is working to deliver the first Newfoundland Breeding Bird Atlas—a multi‑year project to map the distribution and abundance of all bird species breeding on the island. The Atlas has two main objectives: to establish standardized baselines for the status, distribution, and abundance of breeding bird species; and to increase public engagement and awareness of birds, their habitats, and citizen science. Producing the Atlas allows for the accomplishment of both goals, because much of the data collection is carried out by citizen scientists.
How the Project Is Producing a Breeding Bird Atlas and Carrying Out Targeted Bird Surveys
Surveys will be conducted through a combination of partnerships with government, NGOs, and industry, paid field technicians, and volunteer citizen scientists. The project relies on a three-pronged approach. First, it focuses on encouraging trained citizen scientists to survey forested areas that are relatively easy to access. Second, dedicated field technicians are hired to survey remote areas. Finally, Bird Studies Canada is collaborating with Corner Brook Pulp and Paper, an SFI‑certified company, to train their field technicians to collect Atlas data—either in person, or through the deployment of automated recording units. These units can be programmed to make acoustic recordings at specific times over days or weeks; this acoustic data can be used as a proxy for Atlas surveys in locations that are difficult to access.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program is supporting this project. SFI will also help to widely disseminate the Atlas so it can be used by government, industry, and conservation organizations to evaluate the success of current management strategies and inform decisions about land management, conservation, and development.
How this Project Builds SFI Community Engagement
Project funding will be used to enhance outreach to Newfoundland’s francophone communities, by completing translation of the Atlas website, and offering a bird identification workshop and Atlas training session in French. These sessions will be recorded and posted online where volunteers can easily access them. The Atlas also provides job and training opportunities in the conservation sector for young women who have been hired, and will continue to be hired, into coordinator and field technician positions. In addition to offering these sessions to staff at Corner Brook Pulp and Paper, the project will also focus on hosting sessions specifically aimed at under-represented communities, such as new immigrants to Newfoundland and Indigenous groups, by collaborating with organizations such as the Association for New Canadians and the Miawpukek First Nation.
Partners
This partnership includes conservationists, government officials, and SFI‑certified organizations.
- Project lead: Birds Canada
- Sustainable forestry Initiative
- Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Limited (SFI‑certified company)
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service
Related Information
Working Forests at Work For Birds
Bird Lovers Unite with Biologists to Keep Migratory Bird Habitats Safe Across Canada
About Birds Canada
Together with its members, Birds Canada is Canada’s voice for birds. Its mission is to conserve wild birds through sound science, on-the-ground action, innovative partnerships, public engagement, and science-based advocacy. Birds Canada is a non-profit, charitable organization built on the enthusiastic contributions of thousands of caring members and volunteer citizen scientists. Data and observations collected by citizen scientists, alongside targeted research projects, are used to identify significant bird population changes and help direct conservation planning. Birds Canada’s national headquarters, in Port Rowan, Ontario, is connected to the historic Long Point Bird Observatory, with regional offices from coast to coast.
Learn more.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/birds-canada-newfoundland-breeding-bird-atlas/
BLACK FAMILY LAND TRUST
SFI Is Helping Keep Forestlands in the Hands of African American Families
Black Family Land Trust — A Tree, Is A Tree, Is A Tree 101
Why this project matters
Although African Americans had amassed 15 million acres/6 million hectares of land in the U.S. South between 1865 and 1919, today 97% of those lands have been lost, according to the Land Trust Alliance. The Black Family Land Trust is using forestry as a key tool to keep land in the hands of African American families.
Forestry offers many older farmers, landowners not living on their land, and multiple generations of heirs who want to keep their land together, an opportunity to protect their land assets while generating income from their land. Managed forestry can help landowners prosper in retirement and through multiple generations. It can also be a powerful tool to help resolve heirs’ property issues and ownership questions, and offers a means to help preserve the important social and cultural heritage of African American land ownership.
A Tree, Is A Tree, Is A Tree 101, supported in part by funding from SFI Inc., is the Black Family Land Trust’s three-part training on forest management, intended to introduce Southside Virginia landowners to managed forestry as an asset-protection strategy.
- Session I is an overview of forestry as a conservation and family economic development tool that highlights successful landowners with forest management plans who share their success stories.
- Session II introduces the concepts and terms of forest management and forest management planning.
- Session III is a basic overview of the economies of trees and forestry, and how to turn family forests into performing assets for today, tomorrow and for generations to come.
Why is SFI involved?
SFI is committed to identifying ways to support engaging African American forest owners in the U.S. South, including land retention. SFI, as an organization that stands for future forests, believes we can collaborate to help keep forests as forests and ensure that they are responsibly managed to provide conservation values as well as financial benefits to the African Americans who own these forestlands.
The Black Family Land Trust’s program aligns tightly with SFI’s support of underserved communities through forestry. Southside Virginia has one of the highest concentrations of forested and farm land held by African Americans in the state. We know from the Black Family Land Trust’s own work that the Southside region is ground zero for focusing on the potential loss of significant acres of forested land held in fragmented family ownership.
How the project builds SFI community engagement
This grant supports SFI’s community engagement efforts in two primary ways. It supports heritage values and it supports underserved communities through forestry programs. Through partnership and support of others operating effectively on these issues, and by using the natural connections of SFI Implementation Committees and our network of Program Participants, SFI can become a vital piece of the solution to the important issue of African-American land retention and sustainable management.
SFI’s community engagement efforts include the work of SFI Implementation Committees, SFI Community Grants Partners and SFI Inc. initiatives. These efforts have helped elevate and enrich the connections between people and forests. Our support for community-building organizations like the Black Family Land Trust enhances the vital links that exist between healthy forests, responsible purchasing and sustainable communities.
Partners
This partnership includes community leaders, government and the not-for-profit sector:
- Project lead: Black Family Land Trust
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Virginia Department of Forestry
- U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities
Related information
- The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities received a 2014 SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant to support African American forestland owners.
- The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities supports related work in multiple landscapes, including Southside Virginia.
- Black Family Land Trust
About Black Family Land Trust
The Black Family Land Trust, Inc. (BFLT), based in North Carolina, is one of the nation’s only conservation land trust dedicated to the preservation and protection of African-American and other historically underserved landowners assets. The BFLT utilizes the core principles of land conservation and land-based community economic development to achieve our goals. We measurably improve the quality of life for landowners, by providing families with the tools necessary to make informed, proactive decisions regarding their land and its use. The BFLT works primarily in the Southeastern United States, our programs are intergenerational in their design. We honor the legacy of those stewards of the land that came before us and have faith in those stewards of the land that will come after us.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grantblackfamilylandtrust/
BRUSHWOOD CENTER AT RYERSON WOODS
Chicago Area Youth Learn How to Care for Urban Forests
Forest of Health / Bosque de Salud
Why This Project Matters
The project is important because 50% of those involved will be Latino and come from communities with a 60% greater rate of obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, poor mental health outcomes and reduced quality of life. Research shows that visiting a forest has real, quantifiable physical and mental health benefits. Some studies show that even five minutes around trees may improve health by boosting the immune system, lowering blood pressure, reducing stress, improving mood, and increasing the ability to focus — even in children with ADHD.
The Forest of Health/Bosque de Salud program, led by Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods engages and educates youth to encourage understanding, appreciation, and hands-on interaction with the natural world. By reaching youth, their parents, and their community of care, this program is a creative approach to exposing urban youth to trees and woodlands and encouraging their future care.
Why is SFI Involved?
The SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program is supporting this project. SFI is focused on fostering an appreciation and understanding of the natural world in today’s youth because it’s critical to their healthy mental and physical development. But today’s American and Canadian kids spend more time indoors than previous generations.
That’s why a key component of SFI’s community engagement is educating youth, through projects like Forest of Health / Bosque de Salud, to ensure they can be effective future leaders and have a strong understanding of the value of responsibly managed forests. The project will also use Project Learning Tree (PLT)materials to empower community partners to help teach youth about the value of forests. PLT is an award-winning educational initiative of SFI.
How the Project Builds SFI Community Engagement
The program supports underserved communities who live near urban forests. Its primary goal is to equip each community with the knowledge, skills, and tools to appreciate and care for trees in their own neighborhoods. This will be achieved by empowering the community partners through PLT training, engaging parents in the learning program, and by conducting follow-up activities with each community.
Each of the communities Brushwood Center will work with will learn how to assess the health benefits of trees and how they, in return, can help trees. This program includes a field trip to the Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods. The Brushwood Center has a strong history of partnership with Latino and Hispanic communities and the center is committed to culturally competent programs that respect the authentic wisdom of each community.
Partners
This partnership includes educators, researchers, conservationists and industry.
- Project lead: Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Round Lake Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee
- Openlands
- Nuestro Center
- North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE)
- Nature Start Alliance
- Foss Park District
- Roberti Community House
- Cool Learning Experience
Related Information
About the Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods
Located among pristine woodlands in the Ryerson historic home in Riverwoods, Il., Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woodspromotes the importance of nature for nurturing personal and community wellbeing, cultivating creativity, and inspiring learning. The center celebrates the legacy of those who came before us on this land and champions a region where people will care about and for nature.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grant-brushwood/
CANADIAN INSTITUTE OF FORESTRY
INSTITUT FORESTIER DU CANADA (CIF-IFC)
Forestry Professionals Across Canada Receive World‑Class Professional Development
National Knowledge Exchange Program
Why this Project Matters
This project provides an effective way to support ongoing training of forest professionals who in many cases work in remote areas with limited access to professional development. Forest practitioners who are involved in on-the-ground resource decision making or who do not have direct access to professional development opportunities, will greatly benefit from the Canadian Institute of Forestry’s (CIF) National Knowledge Exchange Program. The program also has a strong focus on engaging and educating youth, because many of the targeted forestry professionals are in the early stages of their careers.
Why is SFI Involved?
The SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program is supporting this project.It will meet the SFI priority area of training and educating current and future forestry professionals who are engaged in actions affecting the future of our forests. Additionally, an effort will be made to host field tours and workshops in rural forest-dependent communities, where professional development and continuing education opportunities are limited.
Another critical focus of the project will be to increase the awareness of forest practitioners relating to protecting Indigenous values within actively managed forests. This will continue to enhance sustainable forestry practices across Canada, while also encouraging the involvement of Indigenous communities in forest management planning. This goal will be achieved through e-lectures in addition to being a theme or component of field courses.
How the Project Builds SFI Community Engagement
CIF will use its robust grassroots connections through its 19 regional sections located across Canada and internationally. CIF acts as a conduit for over 2,000 forestry professionals and forestry or natural resources focused organizations to collaborate, network and promote sustainable forestry practices across Canada and internationally. CIF Sections are well-positioned to understand and identify the needs of working forestry professionals within their areas. This knowledge will be crucial to determine specific themes or topics for field-based workshops. Additionally, CIF Sections will identify topics within their areas that have been underserved with regards to professional development opportunities.
CIF will consult with SFI, partner organizations and sustaining corporate members, including SFI Program Participants, to promote the outcomes and overall goals of the project. They will use this network to identify specific topics or themes to be addressed through virtual learning and field tours and identify potential subject matter experts within the focal areas. CIF’s network includes both federal and provincial government agencies, academic institutions, professional forestry associations, research and development organizations, Indigenous groups, and the forest industry.
Partners
This partnership includes educators, researchers, foresters and conservationists.
- Project lead: Canadian Institute of Forestry – Institut forestier du Canada (CIF-IFC)
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- CIF-IFC Cariboo Section, Northern British Columbia
- CIF-IFC Newfoundland and Labrador
- CIF-IFC Rocky Mountain Section
- CIF- IFC Vancouver Island Section
- Strategic Natural Resource Consultants
- FPInnovations
Related Information
About the Canadian Institute of Forestry — Institut forestier du Canada (CIF-IFC)
Established in 1908, the CIF-IFC is the oldest forest society in Canada. It’s a community of like-minded individuals who are passionate about our forests and who make a real impact locally and abroad. The Institute serves as the voice of forest practitioners representing foresters, forest technologists and technicians, ecologists, biologists, educators and many others with a professional interest in forestry. The Institute provides national leadership in forestry, promoting competency among forestry professionals, and fostering public awareness of forestry issues. It includes 2,200 members from government, industry, and academia united as the voice of forest practitioners across 19 national sections, and one international section providing local and regional presence.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grant-cif-ifc/
CENTRAL ROCKIES SFI COMMITTEE
Supports At-Risk Youth with Valuable Environmental Education Opportunity
The Next Seven Generations: Supporting Indigenous Values and Improving Well-Being Through Forest Education
Why this project matters
This program promotes environmental literacy, well-being and traditional Lakota values to engage underserved youth from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. It is based on an Indigenous approach to land management that says decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future.
This program will foster a love of learning, leadership and coping skills, provide a place to grow, and support Lakota heritage, to inspire the future stewards of their lands. This part of Southwest Dakota includes counties with some of the lowest median household incomes in the U.S. This program adds to the quality of life in underserved communities because it gives youth a voice, fosters leadership skills, self-confidence, and self-actualization — inspiring them to know that they can make a difference in their lives, and their communities.
Led by South Dakota Project Learning Tree, and supported by the Central Rockies SFI Implementation Committee, the program will give over 150 children and youth, aged five to 17, a chance to attend seasonal camps, with learning activities correlating to that specific season. Activities include hands-on environmental science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, and outdoor recreation activities based on Traditional Lakota Values. Environmental science activities from Project Learning Tree are used to facilitate hands-on learning about our natural world. Tribal elders and Indigenous resource professionals volunteer their time to assist in these programs to give youth a solid background in their traditional Lakota values and way of life — an area under threat of being lost because of economic disadvantages.
Why is SFI involved?
The SFI Community Engagement Grant Program is supporting this project. Educating youth is a key priority at SFI. SFI offers teacher training and engages students in environmental education through Project Learning Tree (PLT) activities. PLT is an initiative of SFI that uses trees and forests as windows on the world to increase youth understanding of the environment and actions they can take to conserve it. PLT activities will be incorporated into the program by South Dakota Project Learning Tree.
SFI actively outreaches and builds partnerships with Indigenous communities. SFI also promotes Indigenous rights, respect and engagement through its standards and partnerships with Indigenous communities. The SFI Forest Management Standard is aligned with Indigenous values, including rights, knowledge, and environmental considerations. Indigenous communities began certifying to SFI in 2010. Today, 39 Indigenous groups across the U.S. and Canada work on over 10-million acres/4-million hectares of land certified to SFI.
How the project builds SFI community engagement
This program is supported by nine partners, including Tribal leaders, educators, conservationists, and an SFI Program Participant. Together, they will engage Tribal elders and resource professionals and expose youth to the Lakota way of life. Tribal elders will volunteer their time to lead and support camp activities. They will also attend community gatherings, set up throughout the year, to get youth interested in signing up for the camps.
Partners
This partnership includes Tribal leaders, educators, conservationists, and SFI Program Participants.
- Project lead: South Dakota Project Learning Tree
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Central Rockies SFI Implementation Committee
- Tatanka Mani Camp
- Hochoka Healing Center
- Journey On!
- Oglala Sioux Tribe
- South Dakota Family Forests Association
- Canyon Calm Cultural Learning and Event Center
- Neiman Enterprises (SFI Program Participant)
Related information
About South Dakota Project Learning Tree
PLT is an award-winning non-profit, multi-disciplinary environmental education program for educators and students from preschool through grade 12. PLT is one of the most widely used environmental education programs in the United States and abroad and continues to set the standard for environmental education excellence. South Dakota Project Learning Tree promotes balanced natural resource education in all areas of the state. South Dakota PLT’s programs are implemented by a part-time state coordinator and a team of professionally trained PLT volunteer facilitators. It distributes premier environmental curriculum and training through workshops and training sessions, enriching the classroom learning opportunities throughout the state. South Dakota PLT partners with other environmental programs and agencies that have a similar vision.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grantcrsfi/
CENTRAL WESTCOAST FOREST SOCIETY
Indigenous Youth on Vancouver Island Gain Forestry Skills Experience
Ucluelet and Tofino Field School — Education, Restoration and Monitoring Program
Why this project matters
This project, led by the Central Westcoast Forest Society, is focused on educating and engaging children and youth within the Tofino-Ucluelet region on Vancouver Island through a field school. It is reaching the surrounding First Nation communities of Toquaht, Hitacu, Esowista, Ty-histanis, Ahousaht, and Hesquiaht. These small communities, with 50 to 1,700 members, are located on the far west coast of Vancouver Island. This project is helping to encourage stewardship and a sense of belonging in these underserved communities. Local school children are learning about forest and stream ecology while gaining hands-on field skills and experiences.
Why is SFI involved?
The SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program is supporting this project. A key component of SFI’s community engagement is educating youth, to ensure they can be effective future leaders and have a strong understanding of the value of responsibly managed forests. SFI also promotes Indigenous rights, respect and engagement through its standards and partnerships with Indigenous communities. The SFI Forest Management Standard is aligned with Indigenous values, including respect for rights, knowledge, and environmental considerations. Today, 39 Indigenous groups across Canada and the U.S. work on over 4-million hectares/10-million acres of land certified to SFI.
How the project builds SFI community engagement
The field component of this program is helping to train and educate future forest practitioners on the importance of sustainable and ethical forestry practices. Children and youth take part in guided forest walks where they learn about forests as well as riparian forest structures and the important role riparian areas play in ecosystem health. This program is being hosted on Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ First Nation territory and will support and promote Indigenous heritage and land values by inviting a Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ First Nation member that can speak to the roles forests play in their historical and current way of life.
The Raincoast Education Society, a project partner, offers other field components to their Ucluelet and Tofino Field Schools, many of which include First Nation language and cultural educational opportunities. This project is part of a larger goal to bring a better understanding of the local ecosystems and First Nation values to the children of these communities. BC Timber Sales, an SFI Program Participant and project partner, is providing access to their tender lands.
Partners
This partnership includes educators, conservationists, and an SFI Program Participant.
- Project lead: Central Westcoast Forest Society
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Raincoast Education Society
- BC Timber Sales (SFI Program Participant)
Related information
- Addressing Indigenous Interests and Building Partnerships (fact sheet)
- SFI’s Kathy Abusow speaks on CBC Radio about the SFI Small-Scale Forest Management Module for Indigenous Peoples, Families, and Communities pilot (listen)
- SFI Small-Scale Forest Management Module for Indigenous Peoples, Families and Communities
About the Cental Westcoast Forest Society
The Central Westcoast Forest Societywas founded in 1995 by loggers, First Nations, biologists and forestry professionals who recognized the need to address the loss of habitat in order to preserve wild fish stocks. The Society works closely with the five Nuu-chah-nulth Nations in the region. These partnerships ensure members from each First Nation are provided opportunities to work within their own territory to help rebuild wild salmon habitat.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grant-cwfs/
CENTRE FOR FOREST INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH, UNIVERSITY OF WINNIPEG
SFI Is Helping Foster Innovation in Forestry
The Forest-Community Innovation Network
Why this project matters
Canada’s forest industry and the communities that depend on it must address economic transition, social pressures and environmental change to remain viable. In response, different forest groups are engaging in public debate, grassroots organizing, technological and product innovation, and policy reform processes. These efforts are focused on rethinking relationships among communities, governments, Indigenous peoples, industries and Canada’s forests. Although implementing creative and new collaborative approaches is proving to be a complex task, new arrangements involving Indigenous and community groups, companies and governments already offer a growing body of experience to draw upon.
Led by the Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research at the University of Winnipeg, the Forest-Community Innovation Network is an active collaborative knowledge forum to support ongoing networking and practical research work critical to engaging diverse forest groups in processes of innovation. The Innovation Network is dedicated to implementing a vision for an integrated knowledge network dedicated to community resilience, cross-cultural collaboration, adaptation to environmental change, and innovation.
Why is SFI involved?
One of SFI’s priorities is to bring diverse partners together to advance responsible forestry through training and education. SFI and the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business have had a long-standing partnership focused on enhancing collaborative business relationships and progressive aboriginal relations.
The Forest-Community Innovation Network will help SFI further engage with existing partners, such as the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, and build new partnerships, and will assist SFI in leveraging its cross-Canada scale at the community level. In addition, the Forest-Community Innovation Network recognizes that conventional forestry training is evolving and the network of partners needed to address complex forest issues is expanding and becoming more diverse.
More importantly perhaps, is the co-learning now taking place as a result of the collaborative engagements involving Indigenous groups, communities, companies and government, for example. Ultimately, the Forest-Community Innovation Network will create further opportunities to collaboratively investigate and develop training and education modules specifically targeted to sustainable forest management issues. Training resource professionals is a key focus for SFI. In 2015, more than 10,000 resource and harvesting professionals participated in training run by SFI Implementation Committees.
How the project builds SFI community engagement
The Forest-Community Innovation Network will give SFI Program Participants an avenue to support and promote Indigenous values through close partnerships with Indigenous organizations and representatives. The partnership will benefit from the guidance of Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners who are committed to working together and who have experience in cross-cultural collaborative forestry settings. This initiative will also enable Indigenous partners and other communities to enhance community and forest sustainability.
The Forest-Community Innovation Network is also designed to serve underserved communities by linking forest users of many stripes to knowledge and resources for improving sustainable management of forests. Target users are typically Indigenous and non-Indigenous community groups that do not have ready access to forest management extension services and expertise. The network will include opportunities to promote awareness of the SFI Program and forest management certification.
Partners
This partnership includes representatives from Indigenous groups and academia. These partners include:
- Project lead: Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research, University of Winnipeg
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business
Related information
- In 2013, SFI signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) to assist in growing our relationship, engagement and outreach with the indigenous community by encouraging SFI Program Participants to seek certification under their Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) program and support a dual-logo process.
- Read the SFI fact sheet: Addressing Indigenous Interests and Building Partnerships.
- SFI supports training for certified harvesting professionals and the use of trained loggers.
- Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research, University of Winnipeg
About Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research, University of Winnipeg
The Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR) at The University of Winnipeg is dedicated to interdisciplinary research, education, and training in forest science, policy and management. Established in 1998, C-FIR focuses on understanding the ecological, economic, and socio-cultural conditions that shape forests and the natural resources provided by forest systems in Manitoba and around the world. C-FIR researchers carry out leading edge natural and social science research to advance understanding of past, present and future changes and impacts, as well as the links between forest ecosystems and society, in order to promote more sustainable use of forest environments.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grantcfiruofwinnipeg/
CENTER FOR NATIVE PEOPLES AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Exploring Forest Sustainability with Indigenous Youth
Project Overview
Centre for Native Peoples and the Environment: State University of New York – College of Environmental Science and Forestry will develop and implement an educational program that focuses on the sustainability of ecologically and culturally significant tree species that we will incorporate into the Native Earth Environmental Youth Camp (NEEYC). NEEYC is a camp devoted to sustainable science and traditional ecological knowledge that they run in partnership with the Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force.
Project Partners
Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force
About Center for Native Peoples and the Environment
Our region is the home of two great intellectual traditions regarding stewardship of the earth: traditional ecological knowledge of indigenous people and scientific ecological knowledge. The mission of the SUNY-ESF Center for Native Peoples and the Environment is to create programs that draw on the wisdom of both indigenous and scientific knowledge in support of our shared goals of environmental sustainability.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grantcnp/
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
Homecoming Build 2016
Project Overview
Every year, more than 500 Clemson University students come together to build a Habitat house for a local family on the campus’ Bowman Field, during the 10 days leading up to the homecoming football game. Clemson University’s Habitat chapter will receive a $10,000 grant to build the 24th Annual Homecoming House.
After the 10-day build, the walls and roof are up, the drywall and siding have been hung, and the windows, doors, and basic electricity and plumbing have been installed. The house is opened for public viewing on Saturday, and then moved to a local neighborhood. Wood products certified to the SFI Standard will be used in the build.
Project Partners
In addition to the Clemson University Campus Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, partners include the South Carolina SFI Implementation Committee and the Lutheran Campus Ministry at Clemson.
About Clemson University Campus Chapter of Habitat for Humanity
The Clemson University Campus Chapter of Habitat for Humanity was established in 1994 following its participation in the building of a home on Bowman Field during the 1993 homecoming celebration. Since then, the chapter has organized several outstanding projects, including the 2001 “Blitz Build” during which five houses were completed. In 2003, Clemson Habitat spurred the building of the first ever Youth United home in partnership with D.W. Daniel High School in Central, South Carolina.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grantclemsonh4h/
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND LIFE SCIENCES
The South Carolina Women Owning Woods Network: Using Forestry and Natural Resources to Educate and Empower Women
Enhancing the South Carolina Women Owning Woodlands (SC WOW) program by providing resources for targeted, advanced trainings to women landowners
Why this Project Matters
In the United States, private families and individuals own about 60% of the nation’s forested land, and for about a quarter of private family or individual woodland ownerships, a woman is the primary decision maker. Evidence suggests that women will play a large role in the future of forests, making final end-of-life land use decisions that could lead to conservation or development. Forestry remains a male-dominated field in a professional, personal, and social sense, which means that women may lack experience and knowledge with woodland ownership and management.
Ownership objectives among women who purchase or inherit woodlands vary, ranging from privacy and aesthetic enjoyment to generating income from timber extraction. The Women Owning Woodlands (WOW) Network in South Carolina is recruiting, engaging, and teaching female participants about sustainable forest management. Also, because women tend to inherit property later in life, getting them involved when they are younger and more physically active will potentially lead to them implementing more forest management practices over the course of their ownership. Preparing women to take a more active role in management of family forests will provide the skills needed to manage forests sustainably.
How the Project Is Using Forestry and Natural Resources to Educate and Empower Women
To address the needs of educating women forest owners and supporting women in forest leadership roles, the WOW program was established as a collaborative project of the National Woodland Owners Association and the United States Forest Service. This project will build on the success of a pilot program by offering additional workshops in more advanced topics. The WOW network will facilitate specific skills development for women including chainsaw and pesticide safety. Using other state WOW networks as models, Clemson University, with support from the Forestry Association of South Carolina and the South Carolina Forestry Commission, has formed the SC WOW network to provide training and educational opportunities for women who own or have an interest in woodlands management. Clemson will enhance the SC WOW program by offering additional forestry 101 workshops in new regions, developing new educational content, and continuing training a group of WOW network facilitators.
To encourage an interest in forestry among women from a younger age, scholarships will be offered to 10 high school students to attend the South Carolina 4-H Forestry Clinic. This weekend-long event is an excellent opportunity for high-school-aged youth to learn more about forestry and forest practices. During the clinic, participants will gain hands-on experience from Clemson University professionals.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program is supporting this project. SFI’s previous collaborations with WOW and the expertise of the SFI network will also be leveraged to support his project.
How this Project Builds SFI Community Engagement
The project team will communicate with and leverage the SFI network to build mutual understanding in the communities where they operate about the benefits of sustainably managed forests and products. The project will grow meaningful relationships with Indigenous, African American, and underserved communities to advance social, economic, and environmental opportunities. Professional development for educators, loggers, architects, and other influencers will be made available to enable them to make informed decisions and take responsible actions. The project also offers outdoor activities and advice on green career pathways for youth through a collaboration with South Carolina 4H.
Partners
This partnership includes conservationists, communications professionals, and SFI‑certified organizations.
- Project lead: Clemson University
- Sustainable forestry Initiative
- Forestry Association of South Carolina
- Steward Terra Communications LLC
Related Information
SFI Collaborating with Women Changing the Face of Forestland Ownership
South Carolina Forest Products Sector: Connecting Teachers and Foresters
SFI Is Helping Inspire Future Forest Leaders in South Carolina
About Clemson University Cooperative Extension College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences
Clemson University was established to fulfill its founder’s vision of “a high seminary of learning” to develop “the material resources of the state” for the people of South Carolina. Clemson Extension helps improve the quality of life of all South Carolinians by providing unbiased, research-based information through an array of public outreach programs in youth development, agribusiness, agriculture, food, nutrition and health, and natural resources. With offices in all 46 counties of the state, Extension works to help support South Carolina’s $42 billion agriculture and forestry industries; strengthen families and communities; improve stewardship of natural resources and the environment; strengthen connections between people and their food; and expose South Carolina youth to opportunities in agriculture, science, technology, engineering, and math. Learn more.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/clemson-u-sc-wow/
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Building STEM Engagement Focused on Homes for Nesting Birds
Project Overview
Cornell University will engage local youth in the construction of nest box trails for the benefit of native birds and the environment. Wood products certified to the SFI Standard will be used to build the nest boxes. The university will also develop a free online curriculum, to expand the project’s reach, and deliver 18 workshops with their partners to test curriculum and engage students.
Through this series of workshops focused on youth, family and community, the curriculum will include lessons in science (biology, ecology, habitat) and technology (mapping, data exploration) surrounding the NestWatch citizen-science project for afterschool and 4-H audiences. Cornell University will receive $8,733 in 2016, 2017 and 2018 to complete this project.
Project Partners
In addition to the Cornell University, partners include the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell Co-Op Extension Jefferson County and Columbia/Greene Counties, and New York State 4-H.
About the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a world leader in the study, appreciation, and conservation of birds. Its hallmarks are scientific excellence and technological innovation to advance the understanding of nature and to engage people of all ages in learning about birds and protecting the planet.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grantcornelluniversity/
CREE FIRST NATION OF WASWANIPI
SFI Is Supporting the Transfer of Scientific and Traditional Knowledge to Cree Youth in Waswanipi
Marten Monitoring and Youth Knowledge Transfer
Why this project matters
Indigenous youth are Canada’s fastest-growing demographic group. At the same time, many of these Indigenous youth feel unsure of the opportunities they will be able to enjoy as adults. The Marten Monitoring and Youth Knowledge Transfer project will help youth see how the Cree way of life still connects very strongly to the land. It will pass on the values that teach the Cree to take only what they need from the land and ensure the continued existence of forests, rivers and wildlife. The program will also introduce Cree youth to scientific concepts and encourage them to consider careers as wildlife and resource professionals.
The monitoring program, based in the Cree community of Waswanipi, 700 kilometres/435 miles north of Montreal, will evaluate the impact of wildlife management guidelines on marten populations. The monitoring program combines western science and traditional knowledge aimed to transfer knowledge to Cree youth in the community. The monitoring program will also support the implementation of Cree standards and wildlife management for Cree wildlife sites of interest on Waswanipi lands.
The project will bring Cree youth to the trap line to monitor wildlife in an educational way, using scientific and traditional knowledge. They will participate in all the steps of the monitoring, from the elaboration of measuring instruments to the analysis of data, and will learn from the proven tracking methods of their forefathers. Learning will take place with peers in a natural setting as much as possible. The monitoring program will also include formal training with wildlife-monitoring techniques, which could potentially lead to career opportunities in resource and wildlife management.
Why is SFI involved?
SFI values this project because it will help transfer knowledge to youth and combine traditional and scientific approaches. The project’s potential to lead to career opportunities in resource and wildlife management is another key reason for SFI’s support.
One of SFI’s priorities is to connect youth to forests through education. We look for ways to instill a lifelong appreciation for the value forests represent for biodiversity, the broader environment, sustainable communities, responsibly sourced forest products and for our shared quality of life. The educational focus of this project also supports SFI’s focus on encouraging the next generation of future forest leaders.
Our work with Girl Guides of Canada, Scouts Canada, Boy Scouts of America, and other youth organizations and school programs like Earth Rangers and Project Learning Tree helps build healthy kids. It also engages youth in conservation activities and outdoor education.
Our kids’ contact with nature keeps shrinking. Today’s emphasis on screen time and indoor play is also linked to psychological and physical effects like obesity, loneliness, depression and attention problems. Getting kids into forests and helping them learn about sustainability is good for forests and good for kids.
How the project builds SFI community engagement
This project stands out from standard scientific monitoring programs because it advocates the integration of traditional knowledge from trappers and elders of the community in the development of protocols and the establishment of the monitoring.
The project also gives Resolute Canada and other SFI Program Participants in the Quebec SFI Implementation Committee an opportunity to engage directly with the community of Waswanipi. It will ultimately lead to a new rigorous resource management tool developed by and for the community, which could include prescribed guidelines for companies who work in the territory and who are likely to have an impact on the natural environment or on the practice of Cree traditional activities.
Partners
This partnership includes representatives from non-profit groups and SFI Program Participants. These partners include:
- Project lead: Cree First Nation of Waswanipi
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- The Gull Family
- Willie J. Happyjack Memorial School
- Waska Resources
- Cree Trappers Association
- Resolute Canada (SFI Program Participant)
- Quebec SFI Implementation Committee (consisting of SFI Program Participants)
Related information
- Read the SFI fact sheet: Addressing Indigenous Interests and Building Partnerships.
- Heiltsuk First Nation: Heiltsuk Culturally Modified Tree Database and Management System
- Montreal Lake Cree Nation Certified to SFI Standard to Enhance Forestry Operations and Community Sustainability
- SFI helped support the Native Earth Environmental Youth Camp, which is devoted to sustainable science and traditional ecological knowledge and run by the State University of New York in partnership with the Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force.
- Cree First Nation of Waswanipi
About Cree First Nation of Waswanipi
The modern community of Waswanipi is located on Highway 113 along Waswanipi River and is accessible by road. Waswanipi means “Light on the Water”, it describes our past when we used the torch light fuelled by pine tar, to spear and catch sturgeon that had gathered to spawn at the mouth of Waswanipi River.
While the development of the region has had an impact on our lands and community, we are committed to the sustainable management of our resources. Our hard work and dedication with the model forest networks is an example to what can be achieved through proper consultation and research on development with our respective traditional territory. We have locally owned businesses to provide you with meals, groceries, supplies and equipment. We have hiking and cross-country ski trails, rustic camping spots, and a number of beautiful lakes and several challenging rivers for canoeing and kayaking.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grantcreefirstnationofwaswanipi/
CREE FIRST NATION OF WASWANIPI
Partners for Sustainable Management of American Marten
Sustainable management of American marten trapping activities: training, development, monitoring, and enhancement of economic benefits
Why This Project Matters
Indigenous youth are Canada’s fastest-growing demographic group. At the same time, many of these Indigenous youth feel unsure of the opportunities they will be able to enjoy as adults. This project will help youth see how the Cree way of life still connects very strongly to the land. It will pass on the values that teach the Cree to take only what they need from the land and ensure the continued existence of forests, rivers, and wildlife. The program will also introduce Cree youth to scientific concepts and encourage them to consider careers as wildlife and resource professionals.
This project aims to find alternative solutions to help preserve American marten populations and to support traditional activities practiced by Cree tallymen, in the context of harmonization of traditional activities with forestry operations. A Cree tallyman is a Cree person recognized by a Cree community as being responsible for supervising harvesting activities on a Cree trapline.
Why is SFI Involved?
The SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program is supporting this project. This project supports education and outreach around American marten populations, and it will propose solutions to harmonize traditional activities with sustainable forest management. SFI also values this project because it will help transfer knowledge to youth and combine traditional and scientific approaches. The project’s potential to lead to career opportunities in resource and wildlife management is another key reason for SFI’s support.
One of SFI’s priorities is to connect youth to forests through education. We look for ways to instill a lifelong appreciation for the value forests represent for biodiversity, the broader environment, sustainable communities, responsibly sourced forest products and for our shared quality of life. The educational focus of this project also supports SFI’s focus on encouraging the next generation of future forest leaders. This project builds on the success of a related 2017 project: Marten Monitoring and Youth Knowledge Transfer.
How the project builds SFI community engagement
Young people and Cree tallymen will work together at each stage of this project. This approach, combined with communication and promotional tools, will generate interest across the entire Waswanipi community and other Indigenous communities. Public information sessions with visual support materials such as field equipment, a leaflet in three languages and multimedia presentations are planned. In addition, a trapping logbook and newsletters will be produced and distributed to the community and to Cree Trappers’ Association offices. Free marten nesting boxes will also be distributed in the community.
This project also stands out from standard scientific monitoring programs because it advocates the integration of traditional knowledge from trappers and elders of the community in the development of protocols and the establishment of the monitoring. The project also gives SFI Program Participants in the Quebec SFI Implementation Committee an opportunity to engage directly and learn from the community of Waswanipi.
Partners
This partnership includes educators, researchers, conservationists, government, and industry.
- Project lead: Cree Trappers Association and Cree First Nation of Waswanipi
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- WashWa Nu
- Societé du Plan Nord
- Quebec SFI Implementation Committee
Related information
- Addressing Indigenous Interests and Building Partnerships (fact sheet)
- SFI’s Kathy Abusow speaks on CBC Radio about the SFI Small-Scale Forest Management Module for Indigenous Peoples, Families, and Communities pilot (listen)
- SFI Small-Scale Forest Management Module for Indigenous Peoples, Families and Communities
About the Cree Trappers Association and the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi
The Cree Trappers Associationis dedicated to preserving Cree culture by practicing traditional activities. Association members believe by maintaining Cree principles and values they can pass on Cree culture to the younger generation. Waswanipi means “Light on the Water,” it describes the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi’s past when they used torch light fuelled by pine tar, to spear and catch sturgeon that had gathered to spawn at the mouth of Waswanipi River. The modern community of Waswanipi, Quebec is about 600 km/375 miles directly north of Ottawa. While the development of the region has had an impact on Cree lands and communities, they are committed to the sustainable management of their resources. The Cree First Nation of Waswanipi’s support for the model forest networks is an example of what can be achieved through proper consultation and research on development within traditional Cree territory.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grant-cree-first-nation-marten-trapping/
DUCKS UNLIMITED CANADA
Community Training to Enhance Wetland Conservation Through Sustainable Forest Management—Training Packages for Communities
Enhancing wetland conservation and engaging communities by providing sustainable forest management training packages.
Why this Project Matters
Wetlands are one of the most important ecosystems on the planet, but up to 70% of wetlands have been lost in settled areas of Canada. More are lost every day. As part of larger efforts to engage communities to counter this loss of wetlands, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) has published sustainable forest management guidebooks that are for sale. Training resources published by DUC are important tools that equip practitioners with skills to enhance wetland conservation through sustainable forest management. However, cost is a barrier to some user groups, limiting the reach and impact of these resources. Over 5,000 people registered for the course when it was offered for free from April to June 2020. The free offering increased awareness and understanding about wetlands in Canada.
How the Project Is Enhancing Wetland Conservation and Engaging Communities by Providing Sustainable Forest Management Training Packages
This project is also focused on increasing awareness within communities that received training packages about green job opportunities within the forest and conservation sector. The training packages will enhance the accessibility of training and education opportunities for First Nations and Métis communities in Alberta. To increase awareness of green job opportunities, DUC will include A Guide to Green Jobs in Canada Voices of Indigenous Professionals, published by Project Learning Tree Canada, an initiative of SFI. The training package will also include information about the SFI Small‑Scale Forest Management Module for Indigenous Peoples, Families, and Communities. Recipients will have the opportunity to follow up with project partners with questions about the guides.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program is supporting this project. SFI is also providing free copies of A Guide to Green Jobs in Canada Voices of Indigenous Professionals as well as information about the SFI Small‑Scale Forest Management Module for Indigenous Peoples, Families, and Communities. The Western Canada SFI Implementation Committee will also give the project team access to the SFI network. SFI’s existing relationships with Indigenous communities will also be leveraged.
How this Project Builds SFI Community Engagement
Deciding which groups and individuals will receive the training packages will be an exercise in community engagement. Outreach to teachers and students and Indigenous and other community groups is key to this project. After the training packages are delivered, recipients will be engaged over the phone and online. These discussions will focus on soliciting feedback, answering questions, and gauging interest in further engagement and discussions. This project will also enhance the relevancy of training, education, and green job opportunities to DUC’s efforts to preserve wetlands. It also has the potential to inform forestry students and Indigenous youth about green career options related to sustainably managing wetlands.
Partners
This partnership includes conservationists, educators, forestry students, and Indigenous and SFI‑certified organizations.
- Project lead: Ducks Unlimited Canada
- Sustainable forestry Initiative
- Western Canada SFI Implementation Committee
- Millar Western Forest Products Ltd. (SFI‑certified company)
- Weyerhaeuser Company Ltd. (SFI‑certified company)
- West Fraser (SFI‑certified company)
Related Information
A Guide to Green Jobs in Canada Voices of Indigenous Professionals
SFI Small-Scale Forest Management Module for Indigenous Peoples, Families, and Communities
About Duscks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited Canada has a mission to conserve, restore, and manage wetlands and associated habitats for North America’s waterfowl. These habitats also benefit other wildlife and people.
DUC partners with government, industry, non-profit organizations, and landowners to get its work done so DUC can connect people to nature and make a healthier world for future generations. DUC has worked hard for more than 80 years to save Canada’s wetlands. These sloughs, ponds, marshes, and bogs play a critical role in maintaining the health of our environment, our economy and our lifestyles. Wetlands are one of the most important ecosystems on the planet, but up to 70% of wetlands have been lost in settled areas of Canada. More are lost every day. But DUC is making a difference. In 2020 alone, the DUC community helped conserve almost 40,000 hectares/99,000 acres of land that benefits the habitats of more than 600 wildlife species. Learn more.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/duc-community-training/
EARTH RANGERS
Brings Project Learning Tree School Site Investigations to Canada
Earth Rangers School Clubs Program and Clubs Missions
Why This Project Matters
Eco Clubs are popular in schools across Canada. However, they sometimes lack a clear mandate or direction and they often tend to focus on sustainable behaviours within the school rather than conservation beyond the school grounds. Teachers are also usually left with the full burden of creating and planning all club activities, which can be overwhelming and lead to a less active club. This project will leverage Earth Rangers’ extensive reach into schools through a new school clubs program that teachers and students can engage with year-round.
Why is SFI Involved?
The SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program is supporting this project. Project materials will focus on sustainable forestry and the role Indigenous Peoples play in conservation, both of which are key areas of work for SFI.
The project will also spread the word about Project Learning Tree (PLT) Canadato teachers across Canada. PLT Canada is an initiative of SFI that uses trees and forests as windows on the world to increase youth understanding of the environment and actions they can take to conserve it. There is also a natural fit with PLT GreenSchoolsand Earth Rangers through GreenSchools Investigations — a set of five investigations to engage K-12 students in greening their school around energy, water, waste and recycling, school site, and environmental quality. This project will repurpose the school site investigation, with the intent of establishing a turnkey way of integrating Earth Rangers programming and promoting the existence of PLT to teachers in Canada.
How the project builds SFI community engagement
Earth Rangers will reach out to SFI Implementation Committees in order to leverage the members’ local connections to schools, increasing the reach of the clubs program in those communities. To encourage increased education and engagement in the natural world among students in schools, Earth Rangers will provide teachers with an easy-to-use and customizable platform. It will encourage learning and action on a variety of environmental and conservation issues, including those related to sustainable forest management and Indigenous values.
Partners
This partnership includes educators, researchers, conservationists, and industry.
- Project lead: Earth Rangers
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Forest Products Association of Canada
- The Schad Foundation
Related Information
About Earth Rangers
Earth Rangers is the kids’ conservation organization dedicated to educating children about biodiversity and conservation and empowering them to protect animals and their habitats. The Earth Rangers’ School Assembly Program is offered completely free of charge to elementary schools across Canada. It introduces students to four of the Earth Rangers Animal Ambassadors, including animals like Kateri the Peregrine Falcon, Gizmo the Eurasian Eagle Owl, and Quillow the Prehensile-tailed Porcupine. The 45‑minute assembly takes place in the school’s gym and features:
- An immersive HD multimedia experience
- Live Animal Ambassadors demonstrating their amazing natural behaviours
- A fun and interactive game that gets students and teachers involved
- Educational, curriculum-linked information appropriate for grades 1-6
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grant-earth-rangers-plt/
EARTH RANGERS
School Assembly Program Development
Project Overview
The Earth Rangers School Assembly Program offers a dynamic, fun and interactive presentation for grades 1-6. The program consists of a high quality, curriculum-linked assembly presentation that uses positive, science-based information to educate students about the importance of protecting biodiversity while highlighting conservation initiatives across Canada. Earth Rangers will receive $10,000 in 2016 and 2017 to help fund this program.
The funding will help complete development of a section of Earth Rangers’ 2016-17 School Assembly Program dedicated to educating students about forest ecosystems and sustainable forestry in Canada. Through the power of live animal demonstrations and exciting audience interaction, the School Assembly Program inspires students and motivates them to become actively involved in protecting the environment.
About Earth Rangers
Earth Rangers is the kids’ conservation organization, dedicated to educating children about biodiversity and conservation and empowering them to protect animals and their habitats.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grantearthrangersschool/
EARTH RANGERS
Decoding the Differences Between Certifications and Sustainability Labels
Free Family Activities to Explore Sustainability
Why this Project Matters
Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the impact of their purchasing decisions and are looking for better solutions for people and the planet, with many willing to pay more to support locally sourced and sustainable products. As families and businesses turn to more eco‑friendly alternatives,third-party certification and label use has become a trusted assurance. Earth Rangers is developing their latest mission dedicated to learning all about sustainability certification and green labels, encouraging kids to become environmental leaders starting at home.
How the Project Is Helping Make Connections Between Sustainability and our Actions as Consumers
This project will include the creation of the newest Earth Ranger Mission: Certified Green. Children ages six to twelve (and their families) will access the mission through the Earth Rangers app to learn about sustainable forest management practices and how the new SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard was developed. The mission will be free and available online in both English and French and detail the different types of eco certifications available and help grow awareness of the many benefits of forests and the importance of our actions as consumers. A printable guide for children to take with them while shopping is also included, delivering knowledge and values that children will carry into adulthood.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Community Grant Program is supporting Earth Rangers by highlighting connections between sustainability standards and environmental education, empowering young people to explore common sustainability labels and claims on products and learning what they really mean.
Partners
This partnership includes Earth Rangers, other international nonprofit certifying organizations, and the Central Canada SFI Implementation Committee.
- Project lead: Earth Rangers
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Central Canada SIC
- Marine Stewardship Council
Related Information
About Earth Rangers
Earth Rangers is the kids’ conservation organization, dedicated to educating children about biodiversity and conservation and empowering them to protect animals and their habitats. Their programs are educational and engaging — but more importantly, they show children that the things we do today will matter tomorrow. Learn more.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grant-earth-rangers-certified-green/
EARTH RANGERS
Canadian Kids Get a Close Up Look at Forest Birds and Learn Why Forests Are a Way of Life
Earth Rangers School Assembly Program Delivery
Why this project matters
Earth Rangers’ School Assembly Program is an extremely successful program, reaching nearly 250,000 students in grades 1-6, in a single school year. The program delivers a dynamic, fun and interactive presentation, consisting of a high-quality, curriculum-linked assembly using positive, science-based information to educate children about the importance of protecting biodiversity while highlighting diverse conservation initiatives across Canada.
The Earth Rangers School Assembly is not a one-off experience, but an inspirational introduction to a program that encourages lasting engagement. The biggest differentiator between it and other environmental education programs is the follow-up component of becoming a member, completely free of charge. The Earth Rangers Membership Program provides students with an engaging online experience and tangible activities that make an impact on real-life conservation projects and environmental initiatives. To participate in the membership program, students visit EarthRangers.com and register to become an Earth Ranger. Teachers can also continue to engage their classes in environmental education by accessing our classroom activities and curriculum resources.
Why is SFI involved?
Through youth education, Earth Rangers is effectively reaching kids across Canada with important messages about forest protection. The SFI segment in our 2017-18 assembly teaches students about the vital work SFI-supported scientists are undertaking in the boreal forest.
The segment also gives students the proper context for why balanced forest management is necessary, explaining how forests are both important wildlife habitat but are also necessary for building things like homes and schools and for making products like paper and pencils. Presenters then provide interesting details about the SFI-supported Boreal Avian Modeling Project, giving insight into the varied and unexpected habitat types that different bird species prefer.
How the project builds SFI community engagement
SFI will ensure Canadian SFI Implementation Committees are aware of Earth Rangers’ work and build connections for future collaboration opportunities. As with any environmental education program, SFI will also work closely with Earth Rangers to determine opportunities for future Project Learning Tree collaboration in Canada. SFI will also work with Earth Rangers to develop online materials related to the grant project, SFI, well-managed forests, and biodiversity.
Partners
This partnership includes educators and forestry professionals.
- Project lead: Earth Rangers
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Related information
- Earth Rangers Canada’s work, including their Bring Back the Wild program, was featured in The Hamilton Spectator.
- Project Learning Tree, an SFI program, is an award-winning environmental education program designed for teachers and other educators, parents, and community leaders working with youth from preschool through grade 12.
- SFI connects youth to forests through education (project highlights).
- Nature Conservancy of Canada, Earth Rangers and SFI Want to Make Life Less Scary for Amphibians at Halloween and All Year Round (media release).
- The Boreal Avian Modelling Project
About Earth Rangers
Earth Rangers is the kids’ conservation organization, dedicated to educating children about biodiversity and conservation and empowering them to protect animals and their habitats. The Earth Rangers’ School Assembly Program is offered completely free of charge to elementary schools across Canada. It introduces students to four of the Earth Rangers Animal Ambassadors, including animals like Kateri the Peregrine Falcon, Gizmo the Eurasian Eagle Owl, and Quillow the Prehensile-tailed Porcupine. The 45‑minute assembly takes place in the school’s gym and features:
An immersive HD multimedia experience
Live Animal Ambassadors demonstrating their amazing natural behaviours
A fun and interactive game that gets students and teachers involved
Educational, curriculum-linked information appropriate for grades 1-6
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grantearthrangers/
EARTH RANGERS
Brings Project Learning Tree School Site Investigations to Canada
Earth Rangers School Clubs Program and Clubs Missions
Why This Project Matters
Eco Clubs are popular in schools across Canada. However, they sometimes lack a clear mandate or direction and they often tend to focus on sustainable behaviours within the school rather than conservation beyond the school grounds. Teachers are also usually left with the full burden of creating and planning all club activities, which can be overwhelming and lead to a less active club. This project will leverage Earth Rangers’ extensive reach into schools through a new school clubs program that teachers and students can engage with year-round.
Why is SFI Involved?
The SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program is supporting this project. Project materials will focus on sustainable forestry and the role Indigenous Peoples play in conservation, both of which are key areas of work for SFI.
The project will also spread the word about Project Learning Tree (PLT) Canadato teachers across Canada. PLT Canada is an initiative of SFI that uses trees and forests as windows on the world to increase youth understanding of the environment and actions they can take to conserve it. There is also a natural fit with PLT GreenSchoolsand Earth Rangers through GreenSchools Investigations — a set of five investigations to engage K-12 students in greening their school around energy, water, waste and recycling, school site, and environmental quality. This project will repurpose the school site investigation, with the intent of establishing a turnkey way of integrating Earth Rangers programming and promoting the existence of PLT to teachers in Canada.
How the project builds SFI community engagement
Earth Rangers will reach out to SFI Implementation Committees in order to leverage the members’ local connections to schools, increasing the reach of the clubs program in those communities. To encourage increased education and engagement in the natural world among students in schools, Earth Rangers will provide teachers with an easy-to-use and customizable platform. It will encourage learning and action on a variety of environmental and conservation issues, including those related to sustainable forest management and Indigenous values.
Partners
This partnership includes educators, researchers, conservationists, and industry.
- Project lead: Earth Rangers
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Forest Products Association of Canada
- The Schad Foundation
Related Information
About Earth Rangers
Earth Rangers is the kids’ conservation organization dedicated to educating children about biodiversity and conservation and empowering them to protect animals and their habitats. The Earth Rangers’ School Assembly Program is offered completely free of charge to elementary schools across Canada. It introduces students to four of the Earth Rangers Animal Ambassadors, including animals like Kateri the Peregrine Falcon, Gizmo the Eurasian Eagle Owl, and Quillow the Prehensile-tailed Porcupine. The 45‑minute assembly takes place in the school’s gym and features:
- An immersive HD multimedia experience
- Live Animal Ambassadors demonstrating their amazing natural behaviours
- A fun and interactive game that gets students and teachers involved
- Educational, curriculum-linked information appropriate for grades 1-6
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grant-earth-rangers-plt/
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION OF ILLINOIS
Immersive Education Event Helps Teacher Teams Integrate Environmental Science Education
EdVentures for Educators
Why This Project Matters
Supporting teachers to help them develop understanding and expertise in environmental science education can pay enormous dividends. Teachers are in an excellent position to encourage students to become environmental stewards. However, integrating environmental science education into school curriculums can be a complex and time-consuming task.
To tackle this challenge, EdVentures for Educators is planning an immersive two-day professional development education event for October 2019, hosted by Environmental Education Association of Illinois (EEAI). Thirty-five teachers will work in teams to integrate environmental science education into curriculums. The training will be three-pronged and include academic instruction, field experience, and leadership development.
Why is SFI Involved?
The SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program is supporting the EdVentures for Educators project led by the Environmental Education Association of Illinois.The association along with the U.S. Forest Service and Southern Illinois University will train teachers to engage students in environmental education through Project Learning Tree (PLT) activities. PLT is an initiative of SFI that uses trees and forests as windows on the world to increase youth understanding of the environment and actions they can take to conserve it.
EdVentures for Educators will also include field experiences in Shawnee National Forest and an immersive education experience at Southern Illinois University’s Touch of Nature Environmental Center. Participants will complete the training with an implementation plan for environmental education activities aligned with Next Generation Science Standards. Educators will participate in ongoing learning and community activities to strengthen the quality and implementation of environmental education, outdoor learning, and community resource connections.
How the Project Builds SFI Community Engagement
EEAI is the state affiliate organization for the North American Association for Environmental Education, which provides an online network of thousands of educators who will be exposed to EdVentures for Educators. EEAI also serves as the state sponsor for the PLT program in Illinois. The project plan and outcomes will be shared with other educators and states that might be interested in replicating this project. The project will also include follow-up webinars, collaborative teaching calls, online discussion forums, surveys to determine program effectiveness, and best practices for implementing new curriculum. Teaching teams who work with diverse audiences of underserved student populations will be given priority.
Partners
This partnership includes educators, researchers, conservationists, and government.
- Project lead: Environmental Education Association of Illinois
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Champaign County Forest Preserve District
- U.S. Forest Service — Shawnee National Forest
- Southern Illinois University — Touch of Nature Environmental Center
- Madison County Regional Office of Education
Related Information
About the Environmental Education Association of Illinois
The Environmental Education Association of Illinois is a group of concerned citizens who are interested in educating people of all ages about the importance of understanding and protecting the environment.
Since its inception in 1972, the association has provided leadership at the local, state and national level within the environmental education community by providing and supporting professional development services to the formal and non-formal educator. As host to national, state-based and independent professional development events and curriculums such as Project Learning Tree, Growing Up WILD, and the Midwest Environmental Education Consortium, the association has set a professional standard that educators have learned to depend on.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/granteeai/
EVANS LAKE FOREST EDUCATION SOCIETY
2011 Forest Education Symposium
Project Overview
In 2011, the Evans Lake Forest Education Society received $4,000 to host its Forest Education Symposium for educators at its center north of Vancouver, British Columbia. The Symposium, which occurred on October 21, 2011, brought together educators who want to teach balanced lessons about the economic, social and environmental benefits of sustainable forest management; and knowledgeable professionals, including Evans Lake Forest Education Centre staff and SFI representatives.
The symposium gave teachers and administrators tools to enrich forest education programs at their schools. They received a program package of up-to-date educational resources including suggested activities and locations, a chart linking activities to Prescribed Learning Outcomes, and other related resources. Each package included an electronic version so teachers can easily tailor the information to meet specific class needs. In addition to workshops and demonstration activities, participants were given and introduction to SFI certification hosted by the Western Canada SFI Implementation Committee.
Supporting the SFI Standard
This activity supports the SFI 2010-2014 Standard Objective 17: Community Involvement in the Practice of Sustainable Forestry, including Performance Measure 17.2 requiring that program participants support and promote public outreach, education and involvement related to sustainable forestry management.
Project Partners
The Evans Lake Forest Education Society worked in partnership with the Western Canada SFI Implementation Committee.
News
SFI Funds Community-based Education and Green Building Projects
Press Release – June 20, 2011
Project Resources
About Evans Lake Forest Education Society
The Evans Lake Forest Education Society is a non-profit, charitable organization with a mandate to offer forest education programs at Evans Lake Forest Education Centre in Squamish, British Columbia. Surrounded by forest, it offers a feeling of wilderness seclusion but features all basic amenities. Each year, the Evans Lake Forest Education Centre offers a full summer camp program with sessions for campers aged 8-12 years, 13-16 years as well as Leadership Training Camps and wilderness based Outdoor Adventure Kamps (OAK).
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FÉDÉRATION DES PRODUCTEURS FORESTIERS DU QUÉBEC (FPFQ)
Update of the “Sound Forestry Practices for Private Woodlots” Field Guide
Project Overview
The “Fédération des producteurs forestiers du Québec” (FPFQ) has released the fourth edition of the “Sound Forestry Practices for Private Woodlots Field Guide,” which is used by small woodlot owners and forest managers to promote responsible forest management. The updated guide was supported in part by a $10,000 SFI Community Partnerships Grant.
Download a copy of the guide (French only).
This newest edition includes enhanced content covering key themes such as identifying watercourse crossing features and wetlands, conservation of wildlife habitat, timber measurement and stacking for transport, sugarbush development and tree-felling safety regulations. The online version of the guide also features videos.
Within the province of Quebec, the guide is becoming an essential tool for implementing the requirements of the SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard, which requires manufacturers to reach out to landowners and to also ensure training of timber producers. The FPFQ Guide is commonly used by SFI Program Participants to help them address the standard’s requirements. On an annual basis, SFI Program Participants provide training to more than 300 woodlot owners and close to 550 forestry contractors and producers in Quebec.
Objective 2 of the 2015-2019 SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard seeks to broaden the practice of sustainable forestry through the use of best management practices to protect water quality. The FPFQ guide’s information on crossing streams and other water courses is an example of how it supports SFI’s approach to protecting water quality.
Objective 7 of the Standard aims to promote sustainable forestry through public outreach, education, and involvement and to support the efforts of SFI Implementation Committees. The guide embodies this educational approach.
Project Partners
In addition to the Fédération des producteurs forestiers du Québec, partners include 13 forest-related marketing boards in Quebec, the Quebec SFI Implementation Committee, Canadian forest service and the Fondation de la Faune du Québec (FFQ).
Completed Projects Short Videos
How to Become a Forest Producer
White Tail Deer Habitat Management
About Fédération des producteurs forestiers du Québec
The FPFQ is the provincial advocacy organization responsible for promoting the best interests of 130,000 woodlot owners. Its actions are focused on the protection and development of private woodlots.
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FLORIDA SFI IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE
Teaching Sustainable Forestry to University Students through Project Learning Tree (PLT)
Project Description
The Florida SFI Implementation Committee received $5,000 funding PLT educator workshops for university students utilizing the theme of “sustainable forestry” using selected PLT lessons from current manuals. The project will fund workshops for the 2013-2014 school year.
Supporting the SFI Standard
The project will support SFI 2010-2014 Standard Objective 17: Community Involvement in the Practice of Sustainable Forestry, including Performance Measure 17.2 requiring that program participants support and promote public outreach, education and involvement related to sustainable forestry management.
Project Partners
In addition to the Florida SFI Implementation Committee and Florida Project Learning Tree, partners include U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Packaging Corporation of America, St. Petersburg College, Florida Forest Service, Leon County Extension and University of Florida.
About Florida SIC
The SFI program responds to local needs and issues across North America through 35 SFI Implementation Committees at the state, provincial or regional level. This unique grassroots network involves private landowners, independent loggers, forestry professionals, local governments agencies, academics, scientists, and conservationists.
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FLORIDA SFI IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE
Teaching Sustainable Forestry to University Students through Project Learning Tree (PLT)
Project Description
The Florida SFI Implementation Committee received $5,000 funding PLT educator workshops for university students utilizing the theme of “sustainable forestry” using selected PLT lessons from current manuals. The project will fund workshops for the 2013-2014 school year.
Supporting the SFI Standard
The project will support SFI 2010-2014 Standard Objective 17: Community Involvement in the Practice of Sustainable Forestry, including Performance Measure 17.2 requiring that program participants support and promote public outreach, education and involvement related to sustainable forestry management.
Project Partners
In addition to the Florida SFI Implementation Committee and Florida Project Learning Tree, partners include U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Packaging Corporation of America, St. Petersburg College, Florida Forest Service, Leon County Extension and University of Florida.
About Florida SIC
The SFI program responds to local needs and issues across North America through 35 SFI Implementation Committees at the state, provincial or regional level. This unique grassroots network involves private landowners, independent loggers, forestry professionals, local governments agencies, academics, scientists, and conservationists.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grantfloridasic/
THE FOREST EXPLORATION CENTER
An Immersive Introduction to Green Jobs Along an Accessible Forest Trail
Exploring Forest and Conservation Careers… in a Forest!
Why this Project Matters
In the next decade, one-third of the forest sector’s workforce is set to retire. Inspiring young people to pursue a green career pathway is critical, as our health and wellbeing ultimately depend upon the diversity of professions that maintain a healthy, productive, and sustainable natural world for us all. The forest and conservation sector has also failed to attract and retain Black American professionals, with a recent US Census Survey finding that less than three percent of foresters and conservation scientists identify as African American.
The Forest Exploration Center is located at the heart of the largest school district in the state of Wisconsin, serving 75,000 students across more than 150 schools. Many of these schools and students are located without access to greenspace and do not have sufficient funding to provide transportation for field trips. The Center is an important resource that allows Milwaukee students (54% of whom are African American) to connect with local forests, create positive outdoor experiences, learn about forest management, and discover future green career pathways.
How the Project connects schools to sustainable forests, builds forest literacy, and inspires green jobs
The Green Jobs trailside exhibit project is immersing Milwaukee students and educators in nature, inspiring stewardship, and demonstrating that forest careers are a rewarding, viable, and meaningful choice for students living in Wisconsin’s urban center.
The project will build upon Project Learning Tree’s (PLT) “Who Works In this Forest” activity from Green Jobs: Exploring Forest Careers and other forest literacy activities by creating engaging, hands-on exhibit stations along an accessible forest trail that highlights sustainable forestry and forest sector career pathways and professions. This will include a self-guided option to virtually meet those who work in and for forests through a multimedia experience visitors can access by QR code with their cell phone.
The one-mile loop of trail will provide meaningful recreation for all and support self-exploration and student discovery under the canopy of shaded woodland. Designed and built to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility guidelines for wheelchair, stroller, and foot traffic. Along the trail will be professionally designed interpretive exhibits meant to deepen understanding of the forest, including a unique series of 12 self-guided career exhibits and activities, as well as eight engaging, hands-on exhibit stations that highlight how to manage and monitor forest health.
SFI’s Contribution
SFI Implementation Committee network of local forestry professionals and forest organizations, creating a network of regional expertise and opportunities for green career networking. The Wisconsin PLT network is connecting the project to regional environmental education and PLT resources and programming.
Partners
This project includes state PLT and SFI Implementation Committee partners, as well as university and state natural resources agency professionals.
- Project lead: LEAF Wisconsin’s k12 Forestry Education Program
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Project Learning Tree Wisconsin
- Wisconsin SFI implementation Committee
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry
About The Forest Exploration Center
The Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable forestry, education, and accessible recreation. By creating meaningful opportunities to deepen understanding of forest ecology and sustainable management, the Center is engaging the community and encouraging local forest stewardship. Learn more.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grant-forest-exploration-center/
THE FOREST FOUNDATION
Expansion of Map It, Manage It, Sustain It Forest Education Program
Project Overview
The Forest Foundation received $4,000 in 2011 to expand its Map It, Manage It, Sustain It Education Program, bringing together local landowners, forestry professionals, college faculty, and high schools in a collaborative learning environment.
SFI’s funding allowed The Foundation and its partners to expand the program to Plumas and Sierra Counties in California. The program enabled students to directly experience modern, technologically advanced forest management practices by combining tours of sawmills and forests certified to the SFI standard with hands-on field and classroom exercises.
The Map It, Manage It, Sustain It program cultivates tomorrow’s forest management professionals and informs the community on important topics related to modern methods of managing and sustaining California’s forests. The expansion allowed an additional 30 students and their teachers to explore ways in which forest managers plan for the long-term health and productivity of our forests, and to share their knowledge with their communities.
Supporting the SFI Standard
Map It, Manage It, Sustain It directly relates to SFI 2010-2014 Standard Objective 1: Forest Management Planning; Objective 2: Forest Productivity; Objective 16: Training and Education; and Objective 17: Community Involvement in the Practice of Sustainable Forestry. It also supports SFI requirements to protect water resources, conserve biological diversity, support forestry research and promote sustainable forest management on public lands.
Project Partners
In addition to The Forest Foundation, project partners included Sierra Pacific Industries and Soper-Wheeler Company. Partners making in-kind contributions include UC Berkeley Forestry Camp, University of California Cooperative Extension, and area high schools and colleges.
News
SFI Funds Community-based Education and Green Building Projects
Press Release – June 20, 2011
Project Resources
About The Forest Foundation
The Forest Foundation is a non-profit organization created in 1994 to inform Californians, particularly K-12 students, about the role forests play in the environmental and economic health of our state. Its mission is to foster public understanding of forest ecosystems in California by providing balanced, science-based information on environmental, economic, and societal uses of forest resources for present and succeeding generations.
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FOREST ONTARIO
SFI Is Helping Students and Teachers Get Firsthand Experience in the Boreal Forest
The Forestry Connects Program
Why this project matters
Ontario’s population is 86% urban, according to Statistics Canada. This means Ontario’s vast forests are outside the daily experiences of most Ontarians. SFI’s support for Forestry Connects, will help connect about 100 high school students and teachers to the boreal forest and give them real-life experience in responsible forest management.
Established in 2010, the Forestry Connects program, led by Forests Ontario, gives Ontario high school students a first-hand look at what it’s like to work in forestry. More than 350 students and teachers have participated in the program to go into Ontario’s forests to meet with foresters, operators, Indigenous people, and biologists to learn about growing and responsibly managing Ontario’s forests.
From visits to local mills and harvesting operations to lessons on local wildlife and the identification of different trees, the program demonstrates the importance of forests to local communities, and the complexity and benefits of active forest management and planning. By the end of the program, students have a better understanding of the integral role forests play in cleaning our air and water, regulating Ontario’s climate, and creating products we rely on every day, as well as inspiring potential careers in sustainable forest management.
Why is SFI involved?
SFI values this project because it provides students with firsthand experience that exposes them to real life experience in responsible forestry and connects them with resource professionals who may inspire them to pursue careers in forestry.
One of SFI’s priorities is to connect youth to forests through education. We look for ways to instill a lifelong appreciation for the value forests represent for biodiversity, the wider environment, sustainable communities, responsibly sourced forest products and for our shared quality of life. The educational focus of this project also supports SFI’s focus on encouraging the next generation of future forest leaders.
Our work with Girl Guides of Canada, Scouts Canada, Boy Scouts of America, and other youth organizations and school programs like Earth Rangers and Project Learning Tree helps build healthy kids. It also engages youth in conservation activities and outdoor education.
Our kids’ contact with nature keeps shrinking. Today’s emphasis on screen time and indoor play is also linked to psychological and physical effects like obesity, loneliness, depression and attention problems. Getting kids into forests and helping them learn about sustainability is good for forests and good for kids.
How the project builds SFI community engagement
This grant supports SFI’s community engagement efforts in two primary ways — it connects youth to forests and it serves to train and educate future forestry professionals. The Central Canada SFI Implementation Committee, which includes SFI Program Participants Domtar, EACOM, Resolute Forest Products and Weyerhauser, all with lands certified to SFI, is working with Forestry Connects to engage with schools in multiple communities. This is opening doors to students in Kenora, Dryden, Sioux Lookout, Ignace, Sioux Narrows, Winnipeg, Whitemouth and Falcon Lake.
Schools will participate in a one-to-two-day program taking them into the field to see active harvesting, learn hands on forestry skills like tree tagging and identification, and see finished wood products in order to understand the process from harvesting to product. Forests Ontario and their partners will develop a series of learning resources focused on forest management in Northern Ontario that will be freely accessible to teachers for use in the classroom. Resources will make knowledge of forest management accessible beyond Forestry Connects participants.
Partners
This partnership includes educators, conservationists, researchers, SFI Program Participants and municipal officials.
- Project lead: Forests Ontario
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Canadian Institute of Forestry
- Central Canada SFI Implementation Committee (consisting of SFI Program Participants)
- City of Kenora
- Domtar (SFI Program Participant)
- EACOM (SFI Program Participant)
- FPInnovations
- Resolute Forest Products (SFI Program Participant)
- Weyerhauser (SFI Program Participant)
- Manitoba Forestry Association
Related information
- Read an op-ed about how Earth Rangers, an SFI-grantee, empowers children on environmental issues giving them opportunities to take action and to make a difference.
- A marten monitoring project, supported by SFI, is connecting youth in the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi to the forest by bringing them on the trap line to monitor wildlife in an educational way, using scientific and traditional knowledge.
- SFI supports Project Learning Tree an award-winning environmental education program designed for teachers and other educators, parents and community leaders working with youth from preschool through grade 12.
- The Nature Conservancy is teaming up with SFI to help at-risk youth prepare for jobs as forest technicians, while restoring conservation values in native forests.
- Forests Ontario
About Forests Ontario
Forests Ontario is dedicated to making Ontario’s forests greener. Its ambitious tree planting initiatives, extensive education programs, and decades of community outreach have helped plant millions of trees in the province each year — and it’s through these efforts that they are bringing our vision for healthier forests to a new generation of stewards, partners, teachers, and donors.
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COPY LINK: https://forests.org/grantforestsontariob/
FORESTS ONTARIO
Ontario High Schoolers Experience the Forest
Forestry Connects – Timmins
Why this project matters
Ontario’s population is 86% urban, according to Statistics Canada. This means Ontario’s vast forests are outside the daily experiences of most Ontarians. SFI’s support for Forestry Connects, will help connect about 100 high school students and teachers to the boreal forest and give them real-life experience in responsible forest management.
Established in 2010, the Forestry Connects program, led by Forests Ontario, gives Ontario high school students a first-hand look at what it’s like to work in forestry. More than 350 students and teachers have participated in the program by going into Ontario’s forests to meet with foresters, operators, Indigenous people, and biologists to learn about growing and responsibly managing Ontario’s forests.
From visits to local mills and harvesting operations to lessons on local wildlife and the identification of different trees, the program demonstrates the importance of forests to local communities, and the complexity and benefits of active forest management and planning. By the end of the program, students have a better understanding of the integral role forests play in cleaning our air and water, regulating Ontario’s climate, and creating products we rely on every day, as well as inspiring potential careers in sustainable forest management.
Why is SFI involved?
SFI values this project because it provides students with firsthand experience that exposes them to real life experience in responsible forestry and connects them with resource professionals who may inspire them to pursue careers in forestry. Our kids’ contact with nature also keeps shrinking. Today’s emphasis on screen time and indoor play is also linked to psychological and physical effects like obesity, loneliness, depression and attention problems. Getting kids into forests and helping them learn about sustainability is good for forests and good for kids.
One of SFI’s priorities is to connect youth to forests through education. We look for ways to instill a lifelong appreciation for the value forests represent for biodiversity, the wider environment, sustainable communities, responsibly sourced forest products and for our shared quality of life. The educational focus of this project also supports SFI’s focus on encouraging the next generation of future forest leaders.
Our work with Scouts Canada, Boy Scouts of America, and other youth organizations and school programs like Earth Rangers and Project Learning Tree helps build healthy kids. It also engages youth in conservation activities and outdoor education.
How the project builds SFI community engagement
This grant supports SFI’s community engagement efforts in two primary ways — it connects youth to forests and it serves to train and educate future forestry professionals. The Central Canada SFI Implementation Committee, which includes SFI Program Participants Domtar, EACOM, Resolute Forest Products and Weyerhauser, all with lands certified to SFI, is working with Forestry Connects to engage with schools in multiple communities. This is opening doors to students in Northern Ontario.
Schools will participate in a one-to-two-day program taking them into the field to see active harvesting, learn hands-on forestry skills like tree tagging and identification, and see finished wood products in order to understand the process from harvesting to product. Forests Ontario and their partners will develop a series of learning resources focused on forest management in Northern Ontario that will be freely accessible to teachers for use in the classroom. Resources will make knowledge of forest management accessible beyond Forestry Connects participants.
Partners
This partnership includes educators, conservationists and SFI Program Participants.
- Project lead: Forests Ontario
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Central Canada SFI Implementation Committee
- Domtar (SFI Program Participant)
- EACOM (SFI Program Participant)
- Resolute Forest Products (SFI Program Participant)
- Weyerhauser (SFI Program Participant)
Related information
- SFI helps students and teachers get firsthand experience in the boreal forest through the Forestry Connects Program.
- Project Learning Tree, an SFI program, is an award-winning environmental education program designed for teachers and other educators, parents, and community leaders working with youth from preschool through grade 12.
- The Nature Conservancy is teaming up with SFI to help at-risk youth prepare for jobs as forest technicians, while restoring conservation values in native forests.
- SFI connects youth to forests through education (project highlights).
About Forests Ontario
Forests Ontario is dedicated to making Ontario’s forests greener. Its ambitious tree planting initiatives, extensive education programs, and decades of community outreach have helped plant millions of trees in the province each year — and it’s through these efforts that they are bringing our vision for healthier forests to a new generation of stewards, partners, teachers, and donors.
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