Businesses and nonprofits are both working to restore habitats.
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It’s common knowledge that, because of the actions of both individuals and large corporations, many environments are struggling. To combat this, groups like RES (Resource Environmental Solutions) and SER (the Society for Ecological Restoration) are working not only to preserve endangered species, but to actively rebuild degraded environments in a process called environmental restoration. That means replanting local flora and helping individual environments get back on the path to being what they once were.
In some cases, this means significant investments and donations, such as RES’s financial cooperation with KKR through KKR’s ESG program, headed up by Ken Mehlman, KKR’s Global Head of Public Affairs. In other cases, it means volunteering and advocating for change via nonprofits like SER.
With native plant nurseries in Louisiana and Pennsylvania, RES strives to help businesses offset their carbon output and do everything they can to keep the land around them healthy. With assistance from KKR and other green-leaning businesses, RES controls invasive species, provides hydrologic and soil manipulation, and replants native plant species in struggling environments. These include coastal, estuary, marsh, and barrier restoration projects. Some of the grasses, plants, and tree species they nurture include California bulrush, smooth cordgrass, sea oats, swamp chestnut, and white oak.
Outside the business realm, SER, comprised of individuals and organizations from around the world, uses a variety of tactics to spread conservation knowledge to scientists, engineers, community advocates, and policy makers. Founded in 1987, SER now has members in 60 nations around the world, covering North America, Europe, Latin America, and Australia. According to the SER website, their mission is “to promote ecological restoration as a means of sustaining the diversity of life on Earth and reestablishing an ecologically healthy relationship between nature and culture.” Like RES, SER focuses on environmental restoration. SER works toward their goal by hosting biennial conferences, publishing their peer-reviewed journal Restoration Ecology, and creating technical documents for use by policy makers.
Whether it’s a nonprofit supported by volunteers or a large business partnering with an ecologically-minded service, environmental restoration is vital to keeping nature and development at peace with one another. By protecting and revitalizing environments, we can assure that both nature and business continue to flourish.
