Introducing: The Chelsea Green Foundation

foundation_blog

Here at Chelsea Green, we’re dedicated to working with authors who bring in-depth, practical knowledge to life and give readers hands-on information related to organic farming and gardening, ecology and the environment, healthy food, sustainable economics, progressive politics, integrative health, and wellness.

To expand the reach of our values, we have recently established a name-sake foundation! The Chelsea Green Foundation is a private operating foundation that supports practitioners in challenging orthodoxy by exchanging creative and critical thinking that inspires ecological and societal resilience.

Like Chelsea Green Publishing, the foundation fulfills its mission at the intersection of ideas and practices of people & organizations on the leading edge of change.

What Is The Chelsea Green Foundation?

The Chelsea Green Foundation is a New Hampshire-based private operating foundation that has a unique place within the mosaic of not-for-profits engaged in the sustainability space. It supports activists, artists, farmers, writers, and other practitioners to challenge orthodoxy by exchanging creative and critical thinking that inspires ecological and societal resilience through hands-on knowledge of soil, food, water, health, economics, energy, politics, and local communities.

The Chelsea Green Foundation’s principal activities and contributions will inspire hope for the future by asking the pertinent questions of the day, inspiring and supporting resistance in the face of oppression, and engaging broad perspectives in repairing our relationship with one another and the natural world.

Why Now?

Establishing this new foundation coincides with an inflection point for humanity. Rapid biodiversity loss and ecological collapse driven by destructive economic and technological forces that unravel social cohesion including the loss of personal liberty and local governance. The emergence of cascading crises and the failure of governments and institutions to address them creates an urgent need for holistic responses.

In recognition of the perilous circumstances facing humanity and the natural world, the foundation views advocacy on specific social and ecological issues as one of the pillars of its work. Our hope for The Chelsea Green Foundation is that it will identify, inspire, and foment inspirational and practical solutions to ecological and societal problems by identifying and supporting leaders who can scale up to make a positive impact.

How It Works

But how can we make all of this happen? This foundation leverages the expansive community of practitioners who have written for Chelsea Green to help initiate ecological and social change.

Grants

The Chelsea Green Foundation makes grants to individuals and not-for-profit organizations that have successfully demonstrated the capacity to advance unorthodox practices and approaches to problem solving that expands ecological and societal resilience and transformation. To identify who will receive those grants, the Foundation relies on a group of external nominators who are knowledgeable and deeply experienced in work related to ecological and societal resilience.

We also hope to engage with early professional life activists, artists, farmers, writers, and other practitioners. Therefore, we provide participation grants to people who the board views have future promise for leadership in ecological and social resilience work.

Gatherings

The Chelsea Green Foundation hosts gatherings and residencies to consult a conversation about critical ecological and societal issues. Gatherings are designed to help expand our connection to the work of our grantees in collectively understanding how to confront beliefs and practices that deteriorate the wellbeing of society and to provide inspirational and practical alternatives. The foundation awards travel funding, accommodations, and communal meals for participants to attend gatherings.

While consulting these in person conversations, the foundation also creates content for curation in its own publications. Our Executive Director, board leadership, and our contracted consultants will speak, write, and regularly develop content in the form of podcasts and long-form interviews for publication and promotion through the foundation’s website and other media outlets.

 

Interested in learning more about The Chelsea Green Foundation? Visit this page to learn more!

Recent Articles

Miyawaki Method

The Miyawaki Method: Imagining a Mini-Forest’s Potential

Want to witness the magic of the mini-forest? When you practice The Miyawaki Method, a unique approach to reforestation, you’ll see an empty lot or backyard transform into a biodiverse forest before your very eyes. The following is an excerpt from Mini-Forest Revolution by Hannah Lewis. It has been adapted for the web. Photo Credit:…

Read More

How to Plan the Best Garden Ever

When you plan out how you want your garden to look and operate, you’re setting yourself up for long-term success. Here are some helpful tips on how to plan the best garden this upcoming growing season! The following excerpt is from The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times by Carol Deppe. It has been…

Read More
Fresh-Fig-Pecan-Bread

Fresh Fig Pecan Bread

This fig pecan bread is a  sweet, delicious, and nutritious side that everyone around the table will enjoy this winter (or maybe you’ll want to keep it all to yourself, we won’t judge). Enjoy! The following is an excerpt from From the Wood-Fired Oven by Richard Miscovich. It has been adapted for the web. What…

Read More
arugula

The Endless Arugula Bed

What if we told you that there was a way to extend your growing season and save time & money? The answer is all in arugula. With quick hoops and greenhouse film, you’ll be on your way to harvesting sweet & flavorful arugula in no time.  The following excerpt is from The Resilient Farm and…

Read More
axe

DIY: How to Make Your Own Hatchet

Ever wanted to make your own hatchet? Then today’s your lucky day! With some scrap steel, a hacksaw, a file, a drill, a bonfire, a bucket of water, and an oven, you can make this simple, hardy, “democratic” axe. The following excerpt is from A Handmade Life: In Search of Simplicity by William Coperthwaite. It has…

Read More