When you start small, but think big, there’s no limit to what you can achieve.

Since 2013, our team has seen incredible successes and positive changes in our local ecosystem. We’ve seen a significant increase in native wildlife/pollinator species in the area and have logged over 2,695 hours with participating volunteers. Our efforts have garnered recognition from prominent officials and agencies, with letters of appreciation from Governor Christie, Mayor DeBlasio, and Mayor Bloomberg. Multiple U.S. presidents have acknowledged our efforts with our Bringing Nature Home initiative!

RESTORATION

In just the past 50 years, we have lost more wildlife habitat than ever before. Now it’s time for us to reverse that.

Poorly planned property development has caused massive habitat loss for local plants and animals. Overuse of herbicides is killing native plants critical to the survival of local wildlife. By reintroducing indigenous plants to the local landscape, we aim to mitigate this damage.

Invasive Plants Removed

0

Native Plants Planted

0

We’ve observed a marked increase in diversity and total population of pollinators, birds and bats on the properties where these plants were planted, and look forward to tracking additional increases over time.

One of the best examples of this is the work we’ve done with the Monarch Butterfly, which has seen a 90 percent population decline since the mid 1990s. This decline can be attributed mostly to the loss of Monarch habitat from the adoption of glyphosate tolerant corn and soybeans in the last 10 years and the conversion of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land to biofuels crops.

The total loss of Monarch habitat is about 147 million acres since 1992

AN AREA 4X THE STATE OF ILLINOIS!

This is why we’ve chosen to make Monarch restoration our very first priority. Here’s how we’re doing it:

MILKWEED SEEDLINGS GROWN FOR MONARCHS + POLLINATORS:

9,746

Milkweed is the ONLY host plant for Monarch Butterflies. Without this essential host plant, monarchs are unable to reproduce and will become extinct within the next decade at their current rate of decline. In response to this crisis, one of our main nursery initiatives is to grow, plant and distribute milkweed.

Monarch Butterflies Protected:

667

Our plan is to keep this initiative growing internally while also inspiring others – property owners and educators alike – to start to provide habitats for Monarch butterflies.

CLEANUP

It is not enough to teach others not to litter. Municipal waste and illegal dumping pose significant threats to our wildlife and ecosystems.

267.8 million tons of trash is thrown away every year in the U.S.; that’s approximately 3 ½ pounds per person PER DAY. What most don’t realize is how harmful trash is for local wildlife, who often ingest plastic wrappers or caps, get trapped in plastic bottles or beer cans, or are hit by cars while scavenging roadside litter. Nationwide, over 100,000 animals suffer from these trash-related injuries every year – many are beyond recovery. If we’re going to bring back threatened and endangered wildlife, cleaning up trash is a great place to start.

BAGS OF TRASH REMOVED FROM RAMAPO
MOUNTAIN STATE FOREST:

1,380

We host 12 cleanup events every year, and have had incredible turnout so far. If you are interested in helping us with these initiatives, you can apply to join our team or simply sign up for the next restoration or cleanup event.