{"id":19068,"date":"2014-05-19T14:19:00","date_gmt":"2014-05-19T14:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/162.217.168.59\/?p=19068"},"modified":"2023-03-22T14:01:57","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T18:01:57","slug":"shaping-the-forest-of-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forests.org\/fr\/shaping-the-forest-of-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Shaping the forest of the future in partnership with communities and youth across North America"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"2014Laguna Niguel, CA \u2014 The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)\u00a0Inc. announced at the Fortune Brainstorm Green conference\u00a0today that it would provide eight community\u2010based grant\u00a0projects helping people \u2014 especially youth \u2014 get outside and\u00a0reconnect with nature. The Fortune Brainstorm Green\u00a0conference is the premier conference on business, sustainability,\u00a0and green investing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese grants are part of our longer\u2010term efforts to bring\u00a0communities together to shape a sustainable future for forests\u00a0and themselves,\u201d said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of SFI\u00a0Inc., while at the Fortune Brainstorm Green conference held in\u00a0Laguna Niguel. \u201cOur kids\u2019 contact with nature keeps shrinking.\u00a0Today\u2019s emphasis on screen time and indoor play is also linked\u00a0to psychological and physical effects like obesity, loneliness,\u00a0depression and attention problems. Getting kids into forests and\u00a0helping them learn about sustainability is good for forests and\u00a0good for kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the SFI community grants is helping the American Forest Foundation<\/a> provide arts and\\\u00a0environmental education to Michigan students. \u201cWe hope to provide a model that can be piloted at\u00a0schools throughout the country,\u201d said Kathy McGlauflin, the foundation\u2019s Senior Vice\u2010President of\u00a0Education.<\/p>\n

McGlauflin heads the American Forest Foundation\u2019s educational arm, Project Learning Tree<\/a>. The SFI\u00a0grant will help Michigan\u2019s Project Learning Tree develop an environmental curriculum that can be\u00a0integrated into lesson plans for all grades and subject areas. SFI is also pleased to support Project\u00a0Learning Tree through the Pacific Education Institute<\/a>, which will provide a workshop for science\u00a0professors and informal educators at environmental learning centers. The workshop will incorporate\u00a0Project Learning Tree\u2019s Focus on Forests and Forests of the World modules. The Northern California\u00a0Society of American Foresters<\/a> will host four sessions of the Forestry Institute for Teachers, an intensive\u00a0six\u2010day field workshop for K\u201012 grade teachers incorporating PLT curriculum and hands\u2010on field trips.<\/p>\n

In Canada, the Manitoba Forestry Association<\/a> is repairing trails at the Sandilands Forest Discovery\u00a0Centre and developing educational materials for students and the public about sustainable forestry after\u00a0a devastating snow and wind storm. \u201cWe will have high\u2010school\u2010aged teams using hands\u2010on training and\u00a0learning along the trail. Our SFI grant will help us give students a better understanding of forest recovery\u00a0and development over time,\u201d said Patricia Pohrebniuk, Executive Director of the Manitoba Forestry\u00a0Association.<\/p>\n

In 2010, SFI made an initial investment of $400,000 to create the Conservation and Community\u00a0Partnerships Grant Program. That investment is fostering partnerships and supporting conservation\u00a0research to help the forest of the future thrive across North America.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are so pleased that by leveraging partner contributions, SFI has achieved a total investment of $7.1\u00a0million, supporting more than 50 SFI Conservation and Community Partnership Grants with over 150\u00a0partners across North America. All of these partnerships promote education and understanding about\u00a0thriving, working forests and sustainable communities,\u201d said Abusow.<\/p>\n

Project grants were also awarded to:<\/p>\n

The Center for Native Peoples and the Environment<\/a>, at the State University of New York in Syracuse, is\u00a0developing an educational program for the Native Earth Environmental Youth Camp focusing on the\u00a0sustainability of ecologically and culturally significant tree species.<\/p>\n

The Greening of Detroit<\/a>\u2019s Citizen Forester Program will recruit and train 50 new volunteer Citizen\u00a0Foresters, prior to the spring and fall 2014 planting seasons.<\/p>\n

The Greenwood Area Habitat for Humanity<\/a> in South Carolina will build a family home using SFI\u2010certified\u00a0products and the support of many volunteers, including youth.<\/p>\n

Tree Canada<\/a> is developing a pocket\u2010sized educational booklet describing Canada\u2019s provincial trees, their\u00a0specific identifying characteristics and the various uses of wood.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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