another Great year of project RISE

The Student Conservation Association’s mission is to provide environmental education while building the next generation of conservation leaders. Numerous hands-on conservation services to the land are spearheaded by a team of young leaders every day. During these projects, The SCA instills conservation awareness, social responsibility, and leadership skills leaving a positive impact on student participants and inspiring lifelong stewardship.

Throughout 2019, our customers’ participation in Project RISE allowed for donations to fund the construction of 50 miles of trails, provide environmental education to 1,475 people, remove invasive species from 222 acres of land, and fund wildlife monitoring of 2,957 animals. These projects ensure the preservation of our natural environment while connecting students with opportunities to contribute as conservationists!

This non-profit organization, the national branch of Forests Ontario, was selected for participation in Project RISE 2019 for its mission of protecting healthy forests all across Canada. With our forests being challenged more than ever by the effects of climate change, recovering and connecting our national forest cover is crucial to fostering climate resilience. Healthy forests protect our air, water, and soil quality, shelter wildlife, and have a local cooling effect.

Forest Recovery Canada uses a comprehensive approach to tree planting which ensures that what they plant will thrive in forests for years to come. Donations to Forest Recovery Canada supported a huge 2019 accomplishment for the organization of planting over 2.3 million trees in Ontario alone! In addition to tree planting, Busch Systems is proud to have supported stewardship, education, and awareness of Canadian forests through Forest Recovery Canada.

Non-profit organization Climate Solutions works to accelerate clean energy solutions in the Northwest. For 20 years, Climate Solutions has built coalitions with cities and rural communities, business and labor partners, environmental and social justice advocates to drive innovative solutions to the climate challenge. Climate Solutions was carefully chosen for participation in Project RISE for their work supporting climate policy and a wider vision of driving forward sustainable prosperity through clean energy.

2019 was an incredibly successful year for Climate Solutions, with local accomplishments supporting climate legislation and clean energy development. Donations from Project RISE throughout 2019 supported the strengthening of powerful partnerships, furthered the transition to 100% clean electricity and transportation, and helped pass groundbreaking climate legislation.

Photo Credit: Carol Glazer

As an instrumental leader in wildlife preservation, The National Wildlife Federation is focused on saving wildlife populations that are on the decline across North America. Their work is essential to increasing fish and wildlife populations; improving their ability to thrive in continuously changing environments. In 2019 The National Wildlife Federation succeeded in protecting, restoring and connecting wildlife habitat in lands that were once degraded or fragmented. The National Wildlife Federation has transformed wildlife conservation by advancing 21^st-century wildlife management, defending public trust resources, and confronting emerging stressors such as climate change, invasive species, and wildlife diseases.

Throughout 2019, Project RISE donations to this non-profit were put towards driving forward goals in advocacy and education initiatives. In 2019 The National Wildlife Federation was able to defeat 21 bills that would have seized more public land and work to get the Conservation, Management and Recreation Act passed which designates more than 1.3 million acres of wilderness, protects 400 miles of river, creates four new national monuments and bans mining on 30,000 acres of public lands. This non-profit also added 1,500 new schools to their Green Schools program bringing the total to 14,000 schools and reached 4 million college students with recycling activities building towards zero waste.

This non-profit organization was chosen as a participant in Project RISE 2019 for its outstanding work protecting freshwater sources in both Canada and the United States. This includes spearheading programs that ensure communities have access to safe and secure water, such as testing for lead and PFAS contamination and training communities on installing and maintaining household filters. Their work also includes monitoring and addressing the health of freshwater sources within the Great Lakes region, including toxic algae blooms in Lake Erie. 

Freshwater Future was able to help numerous households obtain water security and safety throughout 2019. Donations from our Project RISE program were able to train a community with lead in their tap water to provide, install, and maintain water filters within households with elderly and youth occupants, test multiple homes for PFAs and lead contamination, ensure families their water is not a health concern, and helped families develop plans for removing lead in their water.