December 28, 2023 Outdoor industry funds vital conservation projects

On either side of the Atlantic, the Outdoor industry is supporting projects that conserve ecosystems and support public access the outdoors. Find out what projects just received funding from The European Outdoor Conservation Association and The Conservation Alliance.

At the end of a nearly six month selection process, the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) announced that €180,000 has been committed to four new conservation projects in four different countries.

For the autumn funding round, non profit organizations could apply for funding from EOCA of up to €60,000 for specific nature conservation projects.  Following receipt of over 250 applications, EOCA carried out a thorough selection process to shortlist those which best matched its funding criteria and which delivered the most impact on the ground. The association’s panel of Scientific Advisers were on hand with their expertise in different areas of conservation to guide the decision making process. EOCA then held two votes on its new website to select which of the projects received funding.  Firstly, following a tense online public vote, the general public selected two projects:

• Rewilding Yu: Reconnecting People with Nature to Save Tigers (Malaysia) aims to protect a critical corridor for endangered wildlife through its Citizen Action for Tigers (CAT) programme.
• Be wild and rewild the mountains in the Cape Floral Kingdom (South Africa) focuses on nature restoration, including flora and fauna, through alien clearing, active and passive restoration, education and training, information sharing and awareness-raising activities.

Following the public vote, EOCA members then had the opportunity to vote for their favorite projects and chose a further two:

• It’s Up To Us! – An Teallach (Scotland) will help fix the erosion scars on the An Teallach Site of Special Scientific Interest, through path restoration using natural local rock materials.
• Metamorphosis: saving Transylvania’s rare butterflies in a recreational landscape (Romania) aims to preserve the natural and cultural diversity of the historic regions of Transylvania and catalyses the development of a viable rural economy based on the sustainable use of natural resources.

In total, EOCA committed €390,000 to new conservation projects during the year.  An additional €164,500 was committed by Summit Members during the year – EOCA members who support their own projects through EOCA, with EOCA managing the projects on their behalf. In total therefore, over half a million Euros of funding was committed by EOCA and its members to vital conservation projects during the year.

“The process of selecting which projects receive funding is a stringent one, taking many months,” shares Catherine Savidge, General Manager at EOCA.

“We are delighted that the projects selected are varied in their locations, habitat types and methodologies, but all have the same focus of conserving important, threatened and beautiful biodiversity.”

The Conservation Alliance announces its 2023 Confluence Grantees

The Conservation Alliance (TCA), coalition of like-minded member companies advocating for the protection of wild places and outdoor spaces in North America, announced the recipients of its 2023 Confluence Grant Program. The Confluence Grant Program, designed to support conservation organizations and projects in historically under-represented communities, is awarding $400,000 to the four organizations.

Each grantee will receive $100,000 over a two-year period for their effort to protect land and/or water, and to foster a planet where natural places, wildlife, and people thrive together. The TCA Advisory Committee, composed of individuals from grantee organizations, member companies, philanthropy, and TCA staff, reviewed over 50 applications this year, before making final recommendations. The four projects selected for funding reflect diversity in geography, community, and the type of conservation project they are engaging in.

• Alabama River Diversity Network (Alabama) will lead the creation of a partnership strategy to guide future management decisions of the Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area, an area with extensive biological and cultural diversity, and strong connections to African American and US history.
• Battery Island Drive Neighborhood Association (South Carolina) will place a conservation easement on a parcel of historically, culturally, and environmentally significant land on James Island, South Carolina, followed by the creation of a community park that will provide vital natural open space to an underserved community.
• People of Red Mountain (Oregon), formed by the descendants of local tribes native to the McDermitt Caldera, will continue to lift up community voices and create a strategic plan to protect the area from lithium mining claims.
• Northern Chumash Tribal Council (California) is a women-led nonprofit and California recognized Tribe that is working to incorporate traditional ecological knowledge into the designation and management planning process for the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.

“The Conservation Alliance is thrilled to be able to support these four organizations that are working at the intersection of community, conservation, and culture, and lifting up local voices in the protection and restoration of natural places,” shares Kim Paymaster, TCA’s Grant Program Director.

“The Confluence Program, in partnership with our Advisory Committee, has allowed TCA to grow and diversify its network of conservation partners and we look forward to building meaningful relationships with our newest grantee partners.”

The Confluence Program, launched in 2021, seeks to expand TCA’s network of grantee and business partners with the goal of intentionally connecting to historically and racially excluded people for the protection of natural places. The program is a first step in TCA’s efforts to help create new systems and structures that bring all of the groups, organizations, and businesses committed to conservation closer together.

Photos: An Teallach, Scottland (iStock)