Environment Foundation Grants Update Fall 2018
During the Fall 2018 grant cycle, the Environment Foundation donated over $90,000 to 16 projects across the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond. The largest donations focused on climate change mitigation, oil and gas development, and an elementary school gardening program. In addition, projects addressing environmental education and stewardship, water quality and conservation, artistic interpretation of climate issues, and carbon sequestration through farming all received grants. Additionally, the Foundation contributed $5,000 to the Roaring Fork Conservancy’s revegetation fund after the Lake Christine Fire earlier this year. The Foundation also continued its multi-year support of Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES)’s environmental science education program with a $10,000 contribution.
Defending The North Fork Valley From Oil And Gas
The Environment Foundation is supporting efforts to maintain the integrity and health of the North Fork Valley ecosystem, its agricultural heritage, and the livelihoods of those living there. Citizens for a Healthy Community, in partnership with the Western Environmental Law Center, received a grant for $10,000 to support their efforts in the North Fork Valley. This region is home to Paonia, Hotchkiss, and Crawford, and is an agricultural hub for the state. The North Fork Valley also sits on the Mancos Shale formation, making it a tempting site for fossil fuel development.
Oil and gas development can be a dirty business and can cause severe, long-term damage to natural ecosystems and human health. Citizens for a Healthy Community and the Western Environmental Law Center are working with local residents and agencies to prohibit the leasing of oil and gas drilling in the area. If this fails, they are ready to fight for stringent environmental and public health measures for all drilling projects and hold the companies accountable.
“We sincerely appreciate the generous grant funding we receive from the Environment Foundation, which enables our organization to offer pro bono legal representation to our clients,” said Kyle Tisdel, staff attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center.
“We sincerely appreciate the generous grant funding we receive from the Environment Foundation, which enables our organization to offer pro bono legal representation to our clients,” said Kyle Tisdel, staff attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center.
Encouraging New Leaders And Outdoor Stewards
The Buddy Program changes lives for our valley’s youth every day. The Environment Foundation donated $5,000 to support their Leadership through Exploration, Action, and Discovery (LEAD) initiative.
LEAD’s Carbondale program provides 26 seventh- through 12th-grade students the opportunity to develop leadership, planning, and team-work skills through a 300-hour-long course for high schoolers and a 100-hour-long course for middle schoolers. Their curriculum includes experiential learning on single- and multi-day trips hiking, rock-climbing, snowshoeing, and camping. Aside from technical outdoors skills like first-aid, meal-planning, and navigation, students learn how to lead themselves and a group, how to make decisions, solve problems, and adapt to changing situations.
A previous participant in the Buddy Program’s LEAD initiative said, “Because of Outdoor Leadership, I can look in the mirror without feeling like crying or wanting to change the way I look. I finally love myself the way I am supposed to.”
A previous participant in the Buddy Program’s LEAD initiative said, “Because of Outdoor Leadership, I can look in the mirror without feeling like crying or wanting to change the way I look. I finally love myself the way I am supposed to.”
Carbon-Capturing Apples
Formerly called Aspen TREE, the Farm Collaborative received a $5,000 grant for their alley-cropping and carbon sequestration project at Cozy Point Ranch.
Alley-cropping along the contours of a section of land provides for wide, empty rows that can be used for rotational grazing, standard row-cropping, and tours. The Farm Collaborative plans to incorporate an alley-cropped orchard to serve as both a food source and a carbon sink, since fruit trees suck carbon from the atmosphere and the alley-cropping system helps store carbon in soil long-term. The Farm Collaborative has a history of successful and impactful work in the community.
Fall Grants
| FALL 2018 | |
| Aspen Center for Environmental Studies - ACES Ed: Children’s Environmental Science Education Programs | $10,000.00 |
| Conservation Colorado Education Fund - Making Colorado a Leader in Fighting Climate Change | $5,000.00 |
| The Farm Collaborative - Heritage Orchard | $5,000.00 |
| Buddy Program - LEAD Outdoor Leadership in Carbondale | $5,000.00 |
| Community Office for Resource Efficiency - Imagine Climate | $4,020.00 |
| Independence Pass Foundation - Young Stewards Program | $2,000.00 |
| White River National Forest - Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Core Permit Implementation Wilderness Ranger Lead | $10,000.00 |
| EcoFlight: Student flights – Engagement in civic and local landscape initiatives | $2,000.00 |
| Wilderness Workshop - Oil and Gas Defense | $5,000.00 |
| Citizens for a Healthy Community and Western Environmental Law Center - North Fork Valley Oil & Gas Defense Campaign | $10,000.00 |
| Roaring Fork Conservancy - Citizen Science Training | $3,000.00 |
| Western Resource Advocates - Developing Collaborative Water Solutions for the Upper Roaring Fork Valley | $6,000.00 |
| Colorado Water Trust - Restore Flows to the Crystal River | $5,000.00 |
| Glenwood Springs Elementary School - Serenity Garden | $10,000.00 |
| Basalt Middle School - Recycling & Compost Education Program | $3,000.00 |
| Roaring Fork Conservancy – Lake Christine Fire Revegetation Fund | $5,000.00 |
| Total | $90,020.00 |
