*** $20,000 needed this week *** *LINK*
Ellis Walentine
No, not for WoodCentral, although donations are always gratefully accepted. 
I don't usually advocate for causes here, because I think all of you are fully capable of determining what's worthy in your estimation, and you will support them as you see fit. But, this is a cause that I happen to believe in, and it's personal to me because my son is one of the principals. Being woodworkers and tree lovers, I suspect that you may also be convinced.
My son March Young and his partner Ayana Young have dedicated the past five years to the reforestation of Cascadia, the coastal mountain bioregion that runs from northern California to southern Alaska. They have established their headquarters on a large tract of redwood forest land, off the grid and alongside the south fork of the Eel River, surrounded by over 100,000 acres of existing, preserved redwood forests.
As you may know, redwood trees are nature' most effective sequesterers and processors of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Throughout their native range, many of Cascadia's redwood forests have been decimated over the past two centuries by suburban sprawl, logging, wildfires and drought, taking with them the rest of the biodiversity -- primarily mycelia (mushrooms and other fungi) -- and the rest of the flora and fauna that only exist in healthy forest biomes.
Anyhow, to make this long story shorter, Ayana and March are winding down a month-long Kickstarter program that will fund the next phase of their very ambitious "One Million Redwoods" project, in which they will finish construction of a large redwood nursery on their property that is currently well underway, and propagate and distribute millions of redwood seedlings to municipalities, associations, forestry programs, and volunteer groups up and down the coast. In their own words:
The 1 Million Redwood Project draws on ecological, economic, and social innovations with a multi-scalar approach that incorporates land conservation, ecological restoration, multi-disciplinary research, and large-scale plant propagation in a restorative native species nursery. The nursery will function as a living library and laboratory that will help to safeguard rare and endangered plant and fungal genetics of the redwood range.
To succeed in this venture, they need to raise the final $20,000 needed to reach their goal of $100,000 by the end of the year. Their project is already the most popular farm project in Kickstarter history, and success is well within reach; but, with Kickstarter, it's all or nothing, and this is the week that was.
I encourage you to check out their website and learn more about this project and its potential importance, and, if the spirit moves you, to consider participating in any way you can. While you're there, you may enjoy listening to some of their 62 (and counting) podcast interviews with authors, scholars, scientists and ecologists around the world.
I've never posted a solicitation like this in the 20-odd years I've been hosting woodworking sites, so I apologize in advance if you find it in any way intrusive. Thank you so much for your forbearance and participation in this worthwhile venture.
Ellis Walentine, Host
FOR THE WILD