Tu B'Shevat 2023

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Bob Perschel, Chilmark resident and Executive Director of the New England Forestry Foundation, will talk about an exciting forest restoration initiative that has the potential to offset 30% of our regional climate mitigation needs. NEFF’s climate program was featured on Chronicle TV Magazine and recently awarded a $30 million grant from United States Department of Agriculture to pilot this innovative approach.

Related articles: 

• New England Forestry
• WCAI.org
• Central Maine
• Boston Globe
• New York Times

Previous to his position at New England Forestry Foundation, Bob was the Eastern Region Director for the Forest Stewards Guild. In his 40 years as an environmental professional he has worked on forestry, large landscape conservation, and wilderness issues. Bob worked for the forest industry before establishing his own forestry consulting business and founding the Land Ethic Institute. He is an original co-founder of the Forest Stewards Guild. Bob has a master’s degree in forestry from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a psychology degree from Yale College. He and his wife Anne been Chilmark summer residents since 1980 and full time Vineyarders since 2022.

Bob’s work in the last ten years addressed the opportunity for forests to play a role in mitigating climate change. He led NEFF to codify regional Exemplary Forestry Standards and modeled the implementation of those standards across the New England landscape to prove that improved forestry practices could mitigate 30% of the region’s carbon reduction needs. NEFF was awarded a $30 million grant from the USDA in 2022 to pilot the 30% Solution approach and identify approaches to expand the program nationally and globally.