Deadline: 27 October 2015
American Forests is accepting applications for its Global ReLeaf Grants to support restoration tree planting projects with a mission to restore threatened forest ecosystems and inspire people to value and protect urban and wildland forests.
Global ReLeaf provides cost-share grants for restoration tree-planting projects conducted by nonprofit organizations and public agencies in the U.S. and around the world. These grants are expected to be strongly leveraged with other funds and in-kind resources. Grant funds may be used to support a variety of activities associated with restoration tree planting (e.g. seedling acquisition, site preparation, transportation, equipment and supplies, contractors and volunteer organizing). Since 1990, American Forests has supported the planting of nearly 50 million trees, both domestically and internationally.
Objectives
- Forests are healthy and forest cover is expanding, both in urban and rural areas.
- Ecosystem services (such as clean water, carbon sequestration, fish and wildlife habitat and sustainable recreation) are given high priority in the management of public and private forests.
- People recognize that healthy forests are vital to life.
- Threatened forests are restored to health.
- Major threats to forests, such as climate change, invasive species, insects, disease, intense wildfire and conversion of forestlands to non-forest uses, are proactively addressed by policymakers.
Eligibility Criteria
- Non-profit organizations or public agencies that have expertise and experience in conducting tree planting projects are eligible to apply for grants.
- Projects must be conducted on:
- Public lands designated for long-term conservation purposes.
- Private lands with credible assurance of long-term conservation uses (e.g. conservation easement), management capacity and public access.
- Projects should:
- Be conducted on sites that have been damaged or degraded by natural or human causes (e.g. wildfire, hurricanes, tornadoes, insects and disease, unsustainable logging, land clearing, mineral extraction).
- Be designed to help restore environmental and societal benefits through restoration tree planting (e.g. water quality and quantity, wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, non-timber forest products).
- Plant a diversity of tree species native to the area.
- Be supervised by individuals with credible expertise in tree planting, care and long-term maintenance.
- Include plans for:
- Providing photo images of project sites before and after tree planting.
- Collecting data (e.g. survival and growth rates) on tree planting success upon project completion and after one and five years.
- Measuring progress toward restoration goals or desired outcomes.
- Build local partnerships among multiple public and private organizations.
- Engage local volunteers in tree planting, long-term tree care and project-monitoring activities.
- Promote project visibility through educational and media outreach, tours and other events related to the tree-planting project.
- Demonstrate strong leverage of local support (funding and in-kind) to achieve a greater number of trees planted with the grant funds.
How to Apply
Interested applicants can apply online via given website.
For more information, please visit this link.
