Your Forest Podcast by Matthew Kristoff

Project Forest With Mike Toffan

Episode highlight

Mike Toffan is part of the team at Project Forest that is rewilding Canada one forest at a time by planting forests on non-productive agricultural land. By doing so, they allow their investors to stay true to their values of environmental and social responsibility by sequestering carbon, building habitat, and creating a sustainable forest legacy.

Resources

Project Forest:

Website: https://projectforest.ca/  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/projectforestca/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProjectForestCA/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/project-forest/?originalSubdomain=ca

Tree Time Services: https://treetimeservices.ca/ 

Habit Marketing: https://habithq.ca/ 

Tentree: https://www.tentree.ca/

Pachama: https://pachama.com/

JSK Consulting: http://www.jskconsulting.ca/

Eco Impact Awards: https://ecoimpact.ca/

Sponsors

West Fraser: https://www.westfraser.com/

GreenLink Forestry Inc.: http://greenlinkforestry.com/

Damaged Timber: https://www.damagedtimber.com/

Giveaway

Enter YourForest10 at checkout at the Damaged Timber store for a 10% discount!

Quotes

 10.27 - 10.39: “What we've been able to do is... create opportunity for any person or any company who wants to... give back, clean the air, create a forest... a venue and a model to execute that.”

 11.37 - 11.43: “ [At] Project Forest… we have a mission to rewild the landscape one forest at a time and we’re starting right here in Alberta.”

 32.41 - 32.52: “Every tree is an important tree and regardless of you planting it and walking... away or planting it and taking on that liability, both of those things bring value back to what I'll call the global ecosystem.”

 55.13 - 55.21: “Corporations aren't going to invest in projects like this just to save the world. They also want to... help grow their business, there has to be [an] additional benefit.”

 1.20.32 - 1.20.47: “It's really important to me and Project Forest... that any potential carbon credits that we create are 100% owned by the First Nations groups.”

Takeaways

 Positively trending (4.44)

 Mike’s first forestry experience was in the Boy Scouts and he has always loved being in the forest. He wanted a career that allowed him to be outside and active, and forestry provided him with that. He felt a connection with the people he went to university with since they were all aligned in values. He is motivated by the fact that his work allows him to make a difference, help people, learn from their experience and expertise and contribute to shaping the future.

 A community of like-minded environmentally responsible businesses (11.12)

 Project forest has begun an aggressive 10-year plan to plant 2 billion trees on non-productive agricultural land to restore it to its original state by 2030. Their first project, Golden Ranches, is in a UNESCO-recognized biosphere, and all trees planted there will mature into a forest. Project Forest was born from Tree Time Services’ desire to help people and corporations give back and create a forest for future generations to experience.

 Restoring the planet back to health (17.44)

 Project Forest expects to remove 1187 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide per hectare over the lifespan of the forest at Golden Ranches and create 313 metric tonnes of biomass per hectare. Mike works to bring partners together, secure funds and reach out to the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) to execute the reforestation or afforestation programs efficiently. The hope is that the ecosystem will take over once the forest matures.

 Mix it up, but keep it consistent (22.53)

 On Golden Ranches, 10 different species of trees have been planted in consultation with an approved afforestation plan between Project Forest and NCC. This is because the land is not flat, and planting the right species is important to balance drainage across the sections. Project Forest has access to Tree Time’s large seed bank and they use the same metrics and decision-making process for all projects.

 Towards a carbon-neutral future (26.23)

 Mike explains that carbon offsetting or carbon credits don’t factor into the process of creating forests, though planting forests is a great way to become carbon neutral. In the future, it will be possible to measure online the actual volumes of carbon removed from the atmosphere as soon as the plants reach a 2” stem diameter. These calculations will help inform strategy and guide Project Forest towards building natural communities.

 Paris must be proud (30.46)

 Project Forest monitors and manages the land till it shows signs of growing into a mature forest. The first metric is when plants have grown knee-high, then waist-high, then when the tallest tree reaches 1.5 metres in height; that’s when the land is handed back to the landowners. This ensures every land chosen is successfully forested, the forest land base in the country increases, and Canada meets its Paris Agreement commitments. 

 Sustainability planning (35.43)

 Mike shares some considerations in ensuring the longevity of forests planted: a robust mix of species that will last long, species that will help the soil regenerate, and species that are natural habitats for animals. For the 2 billion tree plan to come to fruition, land and funds are needed for proper site preparation, reforestation and management. Mike is working with the Swan River First Nation to forest some Reserve Territories.

 Honouring the authentic history of the lands (41.12)

 Mike sees agricultural lands as opportunities to plant 2 billion trees and transition them back to their traditional use, including producing traditional foods and medicines for people and animals that traditionally occupy the lands. Project Forest is also working with the federal government on a potential afforestation carbon credit protocol to make economical opportunities available for First Nations Reserve Territories. A replicable process is needed to make it effectively scalable.

 Addressing corporate concerns (51.18)

 Mike has received questions from corporations about the risk in investing in Project Forest, the ethics of the process and the quantification of results. However, with Project Forest, contracts outlining the areas being worked on are created and marketing partnerships are offered to help corporations control Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) metrics, fulfill Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) goals and work towards becoming carbon neutral.

 Whatever it takes to make the world a better place (1.03.10)

 As a Not-For-Profit organization, Project Forest’s work is informed by the values of caring for and being stewards of landscapes, executing on all things sustainably and the motto: “do what you say, say what you do, and do it”. With access to grant funding, 100% of their partnership dollars go into rewilding and any dollars left over go back into the community to create a positive impact. Project Forest has created a model to help companies do good.

 The carbon credit conundrum (1.13.02)

 You have to be in a 3rd world country to be eligible for carbon credits on an afforestation protocol, says Mike. With First Nations communities, the intent is to give them 100% equity in the carbon credits to create real economic opportunities as the value of carbon credits rises. Using technology to measure carbon captured in forests allows Project Forest to be transparent and prove results.

 Partner with Project Forest (1.23.21)

 Check out Project Forest’s website and reach out to Mike at [email protected] for a discovery conversation about solving your corporation’s challenges, increasing the ESG rating, and meeting some CSR goals. Mike is grateful to JSK Consulting for nominating Project Forest for Eco Impact Awards. He promises to plant a tree (up to 2000 trees) for every company tagged on their social media posts! He is also working on giving individuals a way to be a part.

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