We’re excited to announce our latest forestry project: 2,500 Acres in Middlebury, Vermont! This is the first domestic US project that we’ve worked with, and we couldn’t be more excited–in addition to being a critical mixed hardwood habitat, it’s also an opportunity to support the environmental efforts of Middlebury College, one of the nation’s oldest liberal arts institutions, as they go carbon neutral across their entire campus.
This project is a mix of reforestation and improved forestry management–it’s a mix of planting new trees, protecting the existing trees, and protecting the entire forest from diseases and invasive species. If you’re looking for a unique way to support carbon removal, higher education, and protect a classic New England ecosystem, this is it!
We learned about this project initially through its association with Middlebury College. The college has owned–and, since the 1920s commercially harvested lumber from–this forest (in fact, many of the buildings on campus are built with timber from this forest tract). When the school committed to going carbon neutral in 2016, the forest became an integral part of the plan–by prohibiting commercial logging, the school could ensure additional carbon capture through the forest’s growth each year. Plus, by reforesting sections that had previously been harvested, newly planted trees could capture additional carbon–above and beyond what the carbon needs of the school are.
Each year, Middlebury College retains and retires the rights to some of the carbon that the tract has captured to meet their Net Zero goals. The forest captures more carbon than the school produces, however, and these additional tonnes of carbon are what we’re able to purchase through this partnership–directly supporting the on-going health of the forest and its natural work of removing carbon from the air.
We also like this project because, unlike some reforestation projects in other parts of the world, the legal system in the US ensures that the conservation commitments that the school signed to protect the forest are iron-clad, and issues of on-going maintenance and monitoring of the forest are greatly reduced.
Plus: It’s fun to support a project in our own backyard! (Relatively speaking, of course….)
By supporting this project with Hazel, you’ll enable this project to:
- Sequester more than 19,000 tonnes of carbon annually
- Increase the sequestration potential of this forest by adopting techniques that increase the biodiversity of the forest
- Provide an educational resource for students, faculty and the local community
- Provide recreational opportunities for the local community
- Create habitat for local fox, coyotes, moose, fisher cats, turkey and black bear
- Protect freshwater river sources for the surrounding watershed, including the East Middlebury River
Reforestation–planting new forests that were once harvested–is a significant method for removing carbon from the atmosphere. We’re excited to add this forestry project into the mix and work with you to support it!