“SFI’s commitment to making better choices for the planet also means better choices for its people,“ said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of SFI. “Our grantees are leaders in their communities and we look forward to collaborating with them on so many important issues that will strengthen local communities and support solutions to important sustainability challenges.”
The grants address key themes across SFI’s work including urban and community forestry, forest literacy and education, building a diverse and resilient workforce, promoting Indigenous forest stewardship, and connecting communities to conservation.
Urban and Community Forestry: SFI is elevating its role in this important issue with the development of a new SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard. Several SFI Community Grants help build on this effort:
*Supporting Curriculum on Urban Forests, Carbon Storage, and a Changing Climate—The Michigan State University Department of Forestry, through its work with SFI, will expand course content on forest carbon to create case-study-based materials for foresters, planners, builders, and decision-makers in cities and municipalities. The climate benefits linked with sustainable forest products and green buildings will also be featured. (American Forests and International Society of Arboriculture Michigan)
*Promoting Urban Forestry and Harvesting Waste Wood—This project is helping Waukesha County, Wisconsin, complete its urban forest management plans for wood that must be removed due to disease, pests, or other circumstances. This project is in collaboration with the Sustainable Resources Institute (SRI), who will help share this work so that other communities can benefit in their urban tree lifecycle planning processes. (Wisconsin SFI Implementation Committee)
Forest Literacy and Education: SFI is committed to helping all people better understand the values and benefits of sustainably managed forests. A key tool in this effort is Project Learning Tree’s (PLT) Forest Literacy Framework, which translates the complex language of forests, trees, forest practices, and sustainable forest management into accessible concepts that everyone should know and be able to integrate into their lives and careers. PLT is an initiative of SFI that provides activities for educators, community leaders, and families, including its flagship resource the Explore Your Environment: K-8 Activity Guide. The guide engages kindergarten through grade 8 students in exploring their environment through 50 field-tested, hands-on activities that integrate investigations of nature with science, math, English language arts, and social studies. There are more than 800 workshops across the U.S. every year organized to train educators on implementing PLT, and contributing to building a lifetime of learning for youth to build a green career pathway. The SFI Community Grants advance SFI’s education work with projects targeted at both youth and adults:
*Teacher Tours in New Hampshire—The New Hampshire SFI Implementation Committee is bringing teachers together for a four-day workshop featuring forest and mill tours in July. Teachers will learn about the PLT curriculum, sustainable forest management, and forest products manufacturing, in order to engage students in learning about the natural world. (New Hampshire Project Learning Tree and SFI‑certified company partner Nine Dragons Paper Company)
*Creating Climate Training Module for Wood Producers—The Quebec SFI Implementation Committee will develop an interactive, user-friendly training module on climate change mitigation for wood producers that will align with the requirements of the SFI Sustainable Forest Management Standard which was launched on Earth Day this year. (Quebec SFI Implementation Committee)
*Forest Literacy and Education on Forest Certification Standards—The Association forestière de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue will be engaged in learning opportunities focused on forest certification standards and the benefits of sustainable forest management, delivered to local schools and through in-person events at public libraries. Elevating forest literacy will help create better understanding around the connections of forests to solving sustainability challenges. (Quebec SFI Implementation Committee and SFI-certified company partners Norbord La Sarre, Resolute Forest Products, and Eacom Val-d’Or)
*Sustainably Managed Forests Training for Architecture Students—Students at the University of Miami School of Architecture will experience timber harvesting in a sustainably managed forest. This will provide hands-on experience of the sustainable nature of forest-based supply chains and the emerging influence of forest products, such as mass timber, on climate-smart building design. (Florida SFI Implementation Committee)
*Community Training to Enhance Wetland Conservation Through Sustainable Forest Management—Ducks Unlimited Canada will provide training and resources to forestry students and Indigenous communities across Alberta to ensure better understanding of the role of sustainable forest management in effective wetland conservation. (Western Canada SFI Implementation Committee and SFI‑certified company partners Millar Western Forest Products Ltd., Weyerhaeuser Company Ltd., and West Fraser)
much more at: https://www.forests.org/sfi-community-grants-support-collaboration-on-education-climate-indigenous-relations-urban-forestry-and-biodiversity/