Saving Nature

Saving Nature is a non-profit corporation granted tax-exempt status with the irs as a 501(c)(3) organization. The organization focuses on Nature in crisis in biodiversity hotspots, where poverty and environmental destruction drive species extinctions and hardships for local communities. We work in the world's most important and threatened forests to reconnect isolated fragments, restoring ancient migration routes and highway canopies destroyed by human actions. We do this by creating wildlife corridors with native trees. Our projects are a mix of natural regeneration and tree planting. We select wildlife corridors that offer the greatest leverage in reconnecting the last standing forest remnants. Our corridors link isolated habitats to rescue biodiversity and preserve critical ecosystems. By liberating species marooned in fragments too small for their long-term survival, we unlock the potential for genetic rescue, expand access to resources, and reduce human-wildlife conflict. Led by dr. stuart pimm, doris duke professor of conservation at duke university, our conservation projects are firmly rooted in science, focusing on areas with the highest concentration of species at imminent risk of extinction. With our leadership in conservation science, Saving Nature can provide important insights into the most effective interventions that align with nestle's climate goals and conserve biodiversity. Biodiversity to identify areas for biodiversity rescue, we deploy scientific data to pinpoint the best locations to intervene narrowing down hotspots spanning hundreds of thousands of square kilometers to target the most critical locations for practical action generally areas of less than 5,000 hectares. Our approach distills the success factors needed for effective conservation into actionable interventions, focusing on the highest number of threatened, endemic, and small-ranged species; the elevational gradients where they concentrate, the patterns of deforestation, and the immediate threats to the last standing forests. Our data sources include species distribution maps from the iucn (mammals and amphibians) and birdlife international and ebird (birds); endangered species data from the iucn red list; and satellite imagery from google earth and our drone flights. By draping heat maps of these data over 3d habitat visualizations, we get a clear picture of areas needing the most immediate action. Our tactical mapping of exactly where forest restorations can have the greatest impacts was featured in american scientist (see pimm sl, jenkins cn. (2019) american scientist. 107(3):162-9.). Climate changeour approach is a simple, effective, and scalable solution to fighting climate change. Restoring degraded land and reconnecting isolated forests absorbs atmospheric carbon emissions and helps species adapt to climate change by finding safe harbors. The forests we restore soak up co2 for 20 years or more. Indeed, increasing evidence suggests that they will continue to do so for much longer, though at a slower rate. In addition, the corridors we create liberate species trapped and isolated in increasingly inhospitable habitats. Reconnecting forests create escape routes for species seeking higher ground in an era of climate change.tree plantingwe plant the right trees in the right places to safeguard biodiversity, protect Nature, and fight climate change. To date, we have planted over 5 million trees in our projects around the world. On average, we plant 1,675 trees per acre, comprising hundreds of unique species of native trees - fruit trees, nesting trees, pioneer species, and succession species. Importantly, we support nurseries run by the local communities, providing employment opportunities in restoring our lost forests. When you total up the cost of collecting and growing the saplings, weeding, planting, and watering, our costs average $2 per tree.long-term vision Saving Nature conducts extensive due diligence in selecting our conservation partners, ensuring long-term project durability. We collaborate with local partners to build capacity in conservation and climate science. The capacity of potential partners to maintain projects in the long-term is a critical success factor for conservation and climate sequestration. We carefully select local conservation ngo's, focusing on conservation value, proven management experience, and clear land tenure. We look for partners who are locally based or and who have worked in the local communities for a decade or more. Our partners own and manage the land and have teams who live year-round in the local communities. As private conservation reserves, our projects are not vulnerable to government shifts in environmental policies. Monitoring & technical support importantly, we visit the projects so that we can assess their potential and progress. We deploy camera traps throughout the project to monitor which species utilize the restored habitats. To analyze the data, we sponsor conservation courses at duke university that train undergraduate and graduate students in conservation analytics. We also work with duke's technology incubator to develop machine learning, artificial intelligence, and remote sensing technologies to automate monitoring efficiency, accuracy, and reach. For arboreal species, we conduct in-situ surveys of the restored forests and use our extensive natural history experience to identify species that have returned.