World Environment Day: Five Charities We Support

1. Supporting Farmers: One Acre Fund

“It’s a bitter irony that the majority of the world’s hungriest people are farmers,” says One Acre Fund. An incredible organization that supports Farmers in different areas within Sub-Saharan Africa. “When farmers prosper, their communities prosper too,” so when you support farmers, you’re supporting their families and communities at large. One Acre Fund provides farmers with modern tools and sustainable techniques to help them boost their crops and harvests. They started in 2006, with a group of 38 farmers in Kenya, and by 2020 they had funded one million farmers. When you donate to their fund, you are helping to fund struggling farmers get the help they need to prosper.

One Acre Fund’s page explaining how they are tackling climate change is incredibly informative. Their goal “is to transform one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable populations into a frontline force against climate change, putting farmers at the forefront of the global climate dialogue, where they belong.” To achieve this, their approach is guided by three core principles of climate-smart agriculture: building smallholder resilience and adaptation, implementing practices that mitigate climate change, and sustainable intensification of farm production. This page provides detailed information on each of the principles so we recommend taking a read!

2. Supporting Women Affected by Climate Change: Women's Earth Alliance

“Globally, women and girls are the most adversely and disproportionately impacted by climate change, health crises, and environmental destruction,” according to Women’s Earth Alliance, who are training women in environmentally threatened regions. They are an inspiring organization, who train women to combat ecological issues within their communities. “When women thrive, communities, the environment, and future generations thrive” – an incredible message that we support 100%. So far, they have worked in twenty countries, training over six million people, and working on one-hundred and twenty-five projects. When you donate to WEA, you are supporting women in climate-threatened regions to make a difference for the planet and their communities.

3. Supporting Our Forests: One Tree Planted

Since 2014, One Tree Planted has been able to plant more than 2.5 million trees around the world, thanks to just one dollar per tree. For every dollar that is donated in 2020, they will plant where trees are needed most. Right now, Australia needs trees the most, as they lost 18 million hectares (46 million acres) of precious nature in the recent devastating fires. It should not have to be said that trees are essential for our survival. Not only do forests provide jobs for over 1.6 billion people but they clean the air we breathe, filter the water we drink, provide habitats for 80% of the world biodiversity, and trees are the key ingredient in 25% of all medicines. When you donate to One Tree Planted, you are donating to help protect our air, water, and health of the Earth. 

4. Supporting the Cleanup of Our Oceans: Surfrider Foundation

According to the Surfrider Foundation, there are currently over 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic floating in the ocean, weighing over 250,000 tons. As we touched upon in our plastic piece, our consumption of plastic is unacceptable and until we change our lifestyles, our Earth will continue to be overrun with plastics. Thanks to foundations like Surfrider, people are trying to clean up our oceans. Thirty-four years ago, a group of surfers came together to try and protect Malibu from pollution and overdevelopment. Since then, Surfrider has been continuing to protect our beaches and oceans. Their work is varied and incredibly vital.  From testing the ocean to ensure our waters are clean, cleaning up our beaches, preserving coastlines from deterioration, and protecting the ocean from offshore drilling. When you donate to Surfrider, you are directly helping to defend our precious oceans.

5. Supporting a More Sustainable Future: Conservation International

Since 1987, Conservation International has been, “fighting to protect nature for people.” They have helped to protect more than 6 million square kilometers (2.3 million square miles) of land and sea, across over 70 countries. Conservation International is a varied organization that simultaneously works to protect natural resources, indigenous communities, conserve our oceans, promote nature-based development, and help companies become more sustainable. They have a long list of incredible projects all over the world, where they are working to communities along with Mother Earth. Head over to their list of projects to see exactly where your donation is going to. If you want to donate, see this link.