s project has changed their entire way of life. And they are fighting back.
You can read the rest of the blog and take action to support the First Nations peoples in their fight against the most destructive project on the planet here.
African-American landowners grow networks and longleaf pines!
by Amadou Diop, NWF's Southern Forest Restoration Manager in Atlanta, GA
On Saturday March 26, 2011, NWF hosted a landowners' workshop and field day in southwest Georgia. "Field days" are a common way to share what farming strategies have been working on the land. A typical gathering place for minority landowners in the deep south is at one of the rural community churches, in this case the St. Paul AME Church in Jakin, GA.
|Amadou Diop (pictured in yellow shirt) speaks with rural landowners about opportunities around integrating longleaf pine restoration into their farming practices. |
African-American landowners still control a significant portion of the land in the southeast (more than in any other part of the US), but most of them have not yet been able to fully benefit from their land-based assets. Minority and other underserved rural landowners typically lack the knowledge to manage their forests and market the products and services that derive from them. This is in part due to their limited access to available public and private resources.
This event was an attempt to address these challenges by informing landowners about opportunities around longleaf pine restoration, available programs and services, and connecting them with the resource providers. For many participants, this was the first time they heard about longleaf pine and the available cost-share programs for restoration through Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency.
The church meeting room was filled with over a hundred landowners from three states. Jakin is at the apex of where southwest GA, southeast AL and the FLA Panhandle come together. It is also just a few miles from the Apalachicola River, one of the most biologically diverse river systems in the U.S. with headwaters above Atlanta.
Our event provided a mix of presentations on longleaf pine restoration, Farm bill programs, and carbon markets, as well as a sumptuous southern homestyle lunch, and outdoor time looking at new longleaf stands and the integration of grass-fed beef rotational grazing systems. The Field day session provided an opportunity for landowners to see first-hand several longleaf stands and the integration of grass-fed beef rotational grazing systems and pine straw is harvesting. Just as important, leaders from public agencies and regional minority groups such as the Federation of Southern Cooperatives and McIntosh Seed were in attendance.
To learn more about the importance of longleaf pine restoration to decreasing the negative impacts of global warming and carbon pollution, click here.
For more information on this project, please contact Amadou Diop.
EPA Environmental Education Regional Grants- $1.9 million
Application Due: May 2, 2011
Eligible Applications: Local education agency, college or university, state education or environmental agency, nonprofit organization, or a noncommercial educational broadcasting entity
EPA is seeking grant proposals from eligible applicants to support environmental education projects that promote environmental stewardship and help develop knowledgeable and responsible students, teachers, and citizens. This grant program provides financial support for projects that design, demonstrate, and/or disseminate environmental education practices, methods, or techniques as described in this notice. Under this solicitation EPA expects to award environmental education grants from the 10 EPA Regional offices. EPA expects approximately $1,943,000 to be available for grants in amounts of a minimum of $15,000 and a maximum of $100,000. Each of EPA's 10 Regions anticipates funding a minimum of 2 grants resulting in a minimum number of grants issued to be approximately 20 grants nationwide. For more information, contact Karen Scott at EEgrants@epa.go