The Forecastle Foundation is excited to announce our newest partnership with The Nature Conservancy's Kentucky Chapter. The Foundation will assist in funding three projects; protecting the Green River’s Watershed and Central Appalachian Mountain Chain, as well as reef-life in the Coral Triangle.
Founded in 1951, the Conservancy is the world's leading conservation organization. They work to establish local groups that can protect land and water in order to help create a world where diversity of life thrives. Through their dedicated efforts to protect nature, The Conservancy has more than 600 scientists located in all 50 US states and in more than 35 countries, which allows them to make an impact both globally and locally.
“The partnership with The Nature Conservancy represents a long-term vision and priority to protect and improve the land, waterways, wildlife and people on our great planet,” said JK McKnight, Founder of the Forecastle Foundation. “TNC shares this vision of a healthy planet, rich with diversity to sustain us all, and we believe this alliance will impact the world in a multitude of naturally awesome ways.”
The Conservancy takes on tough issues facing conservation today – from climate change to coral reefs, to energy development in a growing world – to make a collaborative and lasting impact on the environment.
“The Nature Conservancy is thrilled to partner with the Forecastle Foundation to advance awareness and understanding of our work,” says David Phemister, State Director for The Nature Conservancy’s Kentucky Chapter. “They have demonstrated a keen interest in supporting conservation both here in Kentucky and around the globe. Their energy and enthusiasm is inspiring, and we welcome the chance to tell our story to a young, diverse audience eager to engage and take direct action to improve their neighborhoods, hometowns, and places much farther afield.”
Funding from the Forecastle Foundation will benefit three projects:
Green River near Mammoth Cave
Name: Kentucky's Green River Watershed
Location: Central Kentucky, including the upper Green River watershed, major tributaries (nolin, Rough, and Barren rivers and Pond Creek), wetlands complexes in the lower Green River, and Mammoth Cave National Park.
Tell Me More: This river is one of Kentucky’s crucial waterways and gives life to more species of plants and animals than any other Ohio River tributary – especially in an unhindered 100-mile stretch that flows from the Green River Reservoir Dam and through Mammoth Cave National Park.
Arnavon Islands
Name: Coral Triangle Initiative
Location: Asia-Pacific region, specifically in Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.
Tell Me More: Outside of Kentucky, the Conservancy works to protect the largest living structures on the planet – coral reefs. The Coral Triangle project is just one of many initiatives which aims to conserve reef life. These reefs are among the greatest storehouses of biodiversity on Earth, and unfortunately one of the most threatened marine systems. Scientists estimate that without immediate action, up to 70 percent of coral reefs could be lost 2050.
Bear Rock Preserves
Name: Central Appalachian Mountain Chain
Location: Eastern United States, specifically Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Tell Me More: The Appalachian mountain chain carves through the Eastern United States like a backbone. The heart of these celebrated highlands – the Central Appalachians – provide globally significant landscapes that are home to more than 200 rare plants and animals, ample recreation opportunities, safe drinking water for 22 million people and clean air for millions more. The Conservancy works to protect this unique, intact landscape that connects wildlife corridors extending through Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia,
West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
The Forecastle Foundation currently supports Kentucky Natural Lands Trust, funding the purchase of land in the Pine Mountain project, the largest landscape level conservation project ever undertaken in the state. The area that serves as a migration path and refuge for hundreds of species, some of which are found nowhere else in the world. In a striking illustration of the interconnectedness of life on earth, the project in Kentucky is linked to the Foundation’s second project in Parana, Brazil, by the migration of several neotropical species. The collaborative project between the Forecastle Foundation and the Guayaki Foundation will help ensure restoration, preservation and long-term stewardship of 3,000 acres of South American Atlantic rainforest.
The Forecastle Foundation is the non-profit environmental activism arm of the Forecastle Festival, which is held annually at Louisville’s Waterfront Park. The Foundation works year round to benefit conservation work in highly-threatened, biological hot spots. Since its inception in 2011, The Forecastle Foundation has contributed nearly $100,000 to education and conservation efforts in Kentucky and beyond.
Be sure to check out the Foundation's Activation Area at this year's Festival, which takes place July 17-19, tickets can be purchased here and $1 from each ticket sold goes directly back to the Foundation and it's efforts.