WASHINGTON, DC – Two prominent American research and education institutions received conservation grants from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) today to advance knowledge about working forests and water resources.
The grants, totaling nearly $20,000, have been awarded to the South Carolina Forestry Foundation and the University of Tennessee Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center.
“Working forests are vital to South Carolina’s environment, economy and way of life,” said Cam Crawford, CEO of the South Carolina Forestry Foundation. He said the foundation will use its $10,000 grant to conduct advanced conservation courses for educators in 2012 and 2013. “This graduate-level learning opportunity will allow educators to see how sustainable forest management and SFI certification protect water resources while providing advanced environmental education training.”
Partners in this project include the South Carolina SFI Implementation Committee, South Carolina Forestry Commission, South Carolina Timber Producers Association and South Carolina Tree Farm Committee.
The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture’s Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center — which develops improvements to modern forestry and environmental stewardship — will receive $9,500 to install and test new erosion control methods.
“This grant will support research into improving access road construction and strengthening logger training and public outreach,” said Dr. Kevin P. Hoyt, director of the Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center. “These are important forest management and fiber sourcing requirements in the SFI Standard.”
Project partners include the University of Tennessee’s Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science, Tennessee SFI Implementation Committee, Tennessee Forestry Association and Rogers Group Inc.
SFI Inc. created the Conservation & Community Partnerships Grant Program in 2010 to foster collaboration between organizations focused on improving forest management in the United States and Canada and promoting responsible procurement globally.
“Our conservation grant projects bring together non-profit, industry, government and academic partners to conduct cutting edge research into improving forestry practices and understanding sustainable resource management,” SFI President and CEO Kathy Abusow said today. “This year we focused on water resources, reinforcing our commitment to best management practices through both our standard and the work of our community-based SFI Implementation Committees.”
Abusow said these research projects leverage additional resources and represent a total investment of $4.8 million invested in forestry research, with a total SFI commitment since 2010 of $1.27 million. This year a total of five SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grants were awarded to support protecting water resources.
ABOUT SFI
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) advances sustainability through forest-focused collaborations. We are an independent, nonprofit organization that leverages four interconnected pillars of work: standards, conservation, community, and education. SFI works with the forest sector, conservation groups, academics, researchers, brand owners, resource professionals, landowners, educators, local communities, Indigenous Peoples, and governments. Collaborating with our network, we leverage SFI-certified forests and products as powerful tools to help solve sustainability challenges such as climate action, conservation of biodiversity, education of future generations, and sustainable economic development.
MEDIA CONTACT
Christine Leduc
VP, Communications and Government Relations
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
613-706-1114
media@forests.org
About the Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center
The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture’s Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center is a field research laboratory that is a regionally recognized leader in developing new technologies applicable to modern forestry and wildlife resources management and environmental stewardship. It is one of 10 research and education centers in the UT AgResearch system. With headquarters in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the Forestry Resources Center comprises three forest units located in East and Middle Tennessee.
Media Contact
Kevin Hoyt
Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center
University of Tennessee
865-483-3571
khoyt@utk.edu
About the South Carolina Forestry Foundation
The private, non-profit South Carolina Forestry Foundation is a partnership of individuals and companies, including landowners, loggers, foresters, educators, researchers, conservationists, and sportsmen, dedicated to forest conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources.
Media Contact
Sally Tucker
South Carolina Forestry Association
803-798-4170
sally@scforestry.org
