The smiles, giggles and amazement on their faces: It was nature in its purest form and something I hope to be able to experience with my children’s children one day.
Conserving one acre of wildlife habitat for every acre of land Walmart developed was the goal of Acres for America, which was founded in 2005 by a partnership with Walmart and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. That was a commitment of $35 million over 10 years.
That original goal has turned into one of the most impressive collaborations in U.S. land conversation history. In 2015, Walmart renewed its commitment to the program by contributing an additional $35 million over 10 years, with a goal of protecting an additional 1 million acres across the nation. And now the program is creating eight new land conservation projects across Hawaii, Northern California, Southern California, Montana, Texas, Michigan, Minnesota and North Carolina, which will protect and connect wildlife habitats across more than 100,000 acres through $3.8 million in grants and $81.2 million in matching contributions.
The 2017 grants include a rare native Hawaiian forest, longleaf pines in Texas and sustainably harvested forestlands in Minnesota and Montana. They protect ancient redwoods in northern California as well as 1,600 year old bald cypress trees in North Carolina, the oldest known trees east of the Mississippi River.
I’m excited that Walmart is working through their Acres for America program to ensure those beautiful habitats are around for generations to come – one acre at a time.