Land Life Company, The Wege Foundation, CMAR Gets $118M to Protect Ocean Life!

THE LAND LIFE COMPANY

We’ve just coined a new term: Nature Tech. Nature Tech is the process of using technology to accelerate the implementation of nature-based solutions. Like using underwater robots to plant corals. Or using drones to plant trees in rocky or non-humanly accessible terrain. In the reforestation example, according to Sofia Faruqi, founder of the Land Accelerator at the World Resource Institute, “The long-term growth outlook is positive as technology lowers the costs of tree-planting.” 

And those are the marching orders for the Land Life Company. The Land Life Company was founded on the shared conviction that business and technology can drive innovation to restore nature. According to its website, the Land Life Company is committed to its high-tech approach to smart reforestation and applies it every step of the way: from beginning the process with detailed climate analysis to using specialized machines that mechanically speed up the planting of biodiverse species to then monitoring growth with our proprietary terrestrial monitoring app and drones. All of which can be tracked on our site-specific customer dashboard. 

The company has a team of 70 on four continents focusing on three target markets—Companies, landowners and its proprietary Cocoon planting product—not presently available. Companies can work to fund massive reforestation projects. Land Life offers landowners ways to restore their land and support local communities, principally in Australia, Iceland, Spain and the U.S. 

Why does the Land Life Company matter to us? It’s goal to reforest 2 billion hectares of degraded land. 2 billion hectares is almost 5 billion acres. According to AmericanForests.org, every 20 acres of forest = 10,000 trees. There are 250M 20-acre parcels in 5 billon acres. Multiply 250M by 10K trees and you get 2.5 trillion trees planted. More than enough to satisfy the UN’s Trillion Tree Campaign. Let’s go!!!!

DEEPER DIVE: LandLifeCo., Trillion Tree Campaign, American Forests

THE WEGE FOUNDATION

“Is the planet worth saving?” That’s both the question and the slogan posed by the Wege Foundation of Grand Rapids, MI. Peter M. Wege founded the Wege Family Foundation. His father, Peter Martin Wege founded Steelcase the company that allows the foundation to exist back in 1912. 

We at The Climate Daily discovered the Wege Foundation while doing research on Dr. Dorceta Taylor. She’d been invited to participate in the Wege Speaker Series. The mission of the foundation is Planting seeds that develop leaders in economicology, health, education, and arts, and enhance the lives of people in West Michigan and around the world.

Why does the Wege Foundation matter to us non-Michiganders? The environmental/educational programs areas on which it focuses. The first is to assure access to experiential environmental education for public school students that is regular, systematic, integrated with curricula, and connected with “real world” community initiatives such. An example of that is Urban Core Collective – Engage communities of color in environmental action with focus on increasing access to nature. 

The second focus are is to Develop and implement long-term strategy to restore, protect, and make available for appropriate uses by all the lower Grand River watershed, including restoration of the namesake rapids in downtown Grand Rapids. An example is a grant supporting houses of worship to protect watersheds, create habitat and build diverse, resilient communities. 

A third goal is to Assure that Michigan is a national and international leader in policies to protect the environment, including the Great Lakes, in ways that recognize the connection between environmental protection, human health, and promoting economic and social justice. But the fourth is I think most important is Assure Grand Rapids continues to be a national and international leader in its commitment to sustainable development, i.e. “Economicology.” An example that isWest Michigan Sustainable Business Forum – Equitable sustainability program that addresses racial and economic inequities.

So, Is the planet worth saving?…Yes. Yes, it is

DEEPER DIVE: Wege Foundation, Dr. Dorceta Taylor Wege Conversation

“CONNECT TO PROTECT” COALITION MAKES $118 MILLION INVESTMENT IN EASTERN TROPICAL PACIFIC MARINE CORRIDOR

Great news for the climate. Turns out last year, The Connect to Protect Eastern Tropical Pacific coalition committed almost USD$120M  in private and public funds to support conservation efforts in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama. The goals of the projects are to strengthen marine protections for the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor (CMAR). The CMAR harbors one of the most biologically diverse and highly productive areas in the ocean. 

The CMARr is a swimway for many migratory species. It’s a biologically and ecologically significant area where humpback whales, hammerhead sharks, ridley and leatherback turtles, and seabirds migrate, feed, and nest. The goal of the coalition is to create a transboundary biosphere reserve that will connect and protect the marine environments of the Cocos Island (Costa Rica), Cordillera de Coiba (Panama), Galápagos Islands (Ecuador), Gorgona, and Malpelo islands (Columbia) encompassing more than 600,000 square kilometers (235,000 square miles) of ocean. The coalition engagement also supports the efforts by all four countries to deliver on the new global biodiversity target, to protect at least 30% of the ocean by 2030.

Why does this coalition matter to us? Because it’s comprised of philanthropic, government, and non-government organizations, working alongside elected leaders, communities, Indigenous groups, government officials, and scientists to provide technical and financial assistance in support of marine protection management; sustainable financing; collaboration in transparency, surveillance, and regional enforcement. The funds will be disbursed over the course of the next two-to-four years.

DEEPER DIVE: CMAR, C2PETP Coalition, ReWild