The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. (SFI) announced 11 community grants today that will advance the quality of life in communities across North America. SFI is bringing together a diverse range of people from 50 organizations to support community engagement projects that put SFI at the intersection of sustainable forestry, responsible procurement and thriving communities. SFI engages local communities through a variety of initiatives including youth outreach, supporting Indigenous values, forest education programs, and green building projects for low-income families.

These grantees include leading community organizations like Scouts Canada, the Black Family Land Trust, South Dakota Project Learning Tree and Montana’s Whitefish School District. Partnerships represented by these projects reach even more broadly, including the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi, government agencies in South Carolina, British Columbia and Maine, as well as the University of Winnipeg and the University of Wisconsin. SFI Program Participants, SFI Implementation Committees, family forestland owners and brand owners are also making a difference through SFI community grants.

The grants were awarded through SFI’s Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program, which is dedicated to improving conservation of forests and strengthening the communities that depend on them. These projects illustrate best practices and innovative approaches for partnerships focussed on environmental sustainability and the quality of life in local communities. The projects serve to strengthen the link between responsible forest management and youth education, helping underserved communities, and enabling family landowners to improve the environmental and economic sustainability of their land.

“I’m excited to see so many groups coming together to learn about responsible forestry and building connections with local communities,” said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of SFI Inc. “We are engaging youth, supporting family landowners and bringing Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities together to enrich forest-based communities and improve our shared quality of life because forests affect us all.”