Innovate to meet the challenges of conservation...

From the creation of the Boston Common in 1634 to the emergence of landscape-scale conservation initiatives in the 21st century, innovators have risen to address seemingly intractable land, water, and biodiversity conservation challenges.

It will require our best talent, technology, financial tools, and social innovation to tackle today's global conservation challenges, says Jim Levitt, director of the Program on Conservation Innovation at the Harvard Forest and a fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

In this talk from TEDx BeaconStreet, "Innovate to Meet the Challenges of Conservation," Jim connects examples from successful conservation initiatives to emerging paradigms for public, private, and global cooperation that point the way for enduring conservation.

A Green appeal for commencement...

Dear Friends,

Most of you probably know I am wrapping up my master’s degree in Sustainability and Environmental Management this week – commencement is Thursday! Many of you have provided support and encouragement for which I am grateful.

Overall it was a wonderfully enriching experience – highlights that come to mind are a report for the Massachusetts Commission on Financing Forest Conservation, being a part of World Forestry Congress XIII in Buenos Aires, publication in Germany of a study on renewable energy, and presenting my research on Payments for Environmental Services at the International Sustainable Development Research Conference at the Earth Institute.

During this time, I’ve been inspired by the work of colleagues at the Armenia Tree Project and more importantly by the individuals and institutions that have invested in our work. ATP has been planting trees since 1994 and environmental education has been a core program since I joined the organization in 2004.

Armenia Tree Project Slideshow

View more presentations from jsohigian

Given the urgency of the environmental crisis, I drafted this note to encourage your direct participation. I hope each of you reading this will plant at least ONE TREE in Armenia in honor of this important work. I have set a goal to raise $2,500 on the occasion of my graduation so please use this link to make a small online gift of $20 or more:

http://www.armeniatree.org/donate_online.htm

Many employers will match your charitable donation so that would double your gift. I have told my colleagues at ATP that we will raise these gifts between Commencement and Memorial Day so I hope you will join this effort TODAY.

Armenia is home to dozens of rare and endangered species which are of global conservation significance including the Caucasian Leopard. So please take this small step to create a green future and help me achieve this new milestone. Thank you for your commitment to this cause!

Eco regards,

Jason A. Sohigian

Here’s an appeal update: To date, 29 of you donated a total of $1,515 in support of ATP’s mission to plant trees! A big THANK YOU to everyone that contributed – you’ll get a formal acknowledgment from Armenia Tree Project. Others may continue to sponsor trees via the ATP website.

Why a blog?

I decided to experiment with a blog to share ideas, news about events, and interesting people and places without having to flood everyone with email! Now friends, colleagues, and family can visit me here to find out what I've been doing and what I've been thinking about.

The main idea was to post important stories from the media and share reports from public events on this blog, and it will likely be a space to explore issues from the Environmental Management program I'm starting at Harvard this summer.

Although blogs are adding to the quantity of information, much of it terribly unimportant, my goal is to actually decrease my contribution to the Data Smog (David Shenk, 1997) by using this blog as much as possible instead of sending email to friends and colleagues all over the world!

This will be a very personal site, but it will be mostly about my professional interests in the Environment and in Sustainable Development in Armenia and other countries. A word about the title: cicer (chickpeas) is one of my favorite foods (I am a vegetarian). It's great in an Indian curry, in Middle Eastern food, and even in a burrito. It's a great source of protein and I find it to be very hearty and healthy.