Botanic gardens join forces to restore ecosystems
A global research initiative aimed at restoring damaged or destroyed ecosystems, the Ecological Restoration Alliance, was launched last month (23 May). The alliance brings together ten botanic gardens from across the world, and will be coordinated by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), based in the United Kingdom.

Washington: Returning farmland to a state of nature
Amanda Parrish and Joe Cannon have been tramping across acres of stream bank this spring planting trees and shrubs in a major watershed restoration along Coulee and Deep creeks in northwest Spokane County. The two workers for the Lands Council have been joined by volunteers in an ambitious effort to plant 2,500 native species on four private parcels.

California: Napa River Rutherford Reach Restoration Project receives Senatorial recognition
Governor Jerry Brown joined California state senators and assembly members in congratulating and recognizing the Napa River Rutherford Reach Restoration Project in the Rutherford and Oakville appellations at the State Capital on May 21st. "The Rutherford Dust Restoration Team represents the epitome of a collaborative community effort to restore a living and resilient river."

Airbus Joins IUCN's Forest and Land Restoration Initiative
Airbus has joined the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in its efforts to launch the "Plant a Pledge" campaign for the largest land restoration initiative in human history. The campaign is being launched ahead of the Rio+20 Earth Summit. It is a 150 million ha target and Africa holds a huge potential with more than 715 million ha for land and forest restoration.

Mexico: Farmers Use Traditional Knowledge to Deal with Climate Change
Small farmers in Mexico, who receive little institutional support, are drawing on their traditional knowledge to deal with and adapt to climate change, experts say. The academic carried out the study "Saberes y prácticas climáticas de los pueblos indígenas de México: los choles" (Climate wisdom and practices of the Chole indigenous people of Mexico), focusing on an indigenous community in the city of Tila in the southern state of Chiapas, one of the country's poorest states.

North Korea lifts the veil on its agroforestry practices
A new study offers a rare glimpse into North Korea's agriculture and forestry policies, and may open up new international connections with the country, say researchers. The report describes how locally appropriate, participatory agroforestry is helping reverse food shortages and land degradation.

China scientists find ways to clean polluted soil
There are ways to clean heavy-metal-polluted soil, according scientists that attended a two-day forum in Beijing that ended Thursday. A total of 300 soil scientists and ecology experts attended the 2012 Forum on Heavy Metal Soil Remediation and Ecological Restoration. They cultivated a dozen more pollution-extracting plants, called "hyper-accumulators" that can ensure "soil recovery with lower costs and lower risks of secondary pollution," said Chen.

US: Appalachia offers climate refuge, study finds
 Parts of the Appalachian Mountains are so buffered against climatic shifts they may provide a 'stronghold' against global warming, researchers report. The study covered 156 million acres from Virginia to Nova Scotia, looking for landscapes that are best-equipped to handle global warming. "If you're going to make specific investments in things like land restoration or energy development, these areas are good for long-term investments. They will still have functioning, healthy ecological systems."

Loss of biodiversity increasingly threatens human well-being
The researchers present their findings in the June 7 edition of the journal Nature, in an article titled "Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity." The paper is a scientific consensus statement that summarizes evidence that has emerged from more than 1,000 ecological studies over the past two decades. There's still time-if the nations of the world make biodiversity preservation an international priority-to conserve much of the remaining variety of life and to restore much of what's been lost, according to Cardinale and his colleagues.

California: Conservation Program Has Restored One Fourth of CA Wetlands
There is plenty of reason for California to celebrate National Wetlands Month now before May gives way to summer days. The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), a Farm Bill Conservation program, is marking its 20th anniversary and in those two decades the program in California has managed to protect and restore over 120,000 acres of historical wetlands that are home to almost 200 species of birds.

New Jersey: Hawk Rise Sanctuary in Linden to open today after five-year restoration
Hawk Rise Sanctuary, a 95-acre ecological preserve and wetland complex in Linden, which was carved out of a former landfill through the combined efforts of the Department of Environmental Protection, the city of Linden, and the New Jersey Audubon Society, opened May 30^th following a special ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Illinois: Wetlands restoration and interpretive project begins in Metro East
Last Friday officials broke ground on the future Arlington Wetlands: An American Bottom Interpretive Experience site. The 84-acre site will include restored wetlands and offer educational and recreational opportunities for visitors about the wetlands' role in stormwater management and water quality.

Maine: Hat Trick on The Penobscot River: Fewer Dams, Same Energy, More Fish
The dam destruction on the Penobscot River caps a 13-year, $25 million campaign involving six conservation groups, the local Native American tribe, federal and state governments and two hydropower companies to decommission three dams that have choked the lower river for decades, while upgrading power output on six other dams.

Utah: Massive Ogden River Restoration project completed
Ogden City recently wrapped up the last construction element of the Ogden River Restoration project. The city secured close to $6 million from a variety of public and private sources to clean up the river, a project that has been part of community master plans for more than 20 years.

Washington: (AUDIO) Spring Brings New Life to Washington's Recovering Elwha River
Ashley Ahearn reports that as the two dams come out, new life is coming into the Elwha River. Virgil Bennett and Gabe Youngman are down on their knees peering into a fish trap in a side channel of the Elwha. They're members of the Elwha Klallam Tribe and work on fish restoration. Over the past 100 years millions of cubic yards of sediment have collected above the dams. Now it's moving downriver. Stevens is part of a team that is mapping where the sediment is ending up.

Maine & Canada: Public-private partnership helps fund sustainability project with tribes
Two Native American tribes are collaborating with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on a project that will address wildlife and sustainability issues in the Saint John River watershed. The partnership was announced last week by The Maine Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership, the only voluntary public-private partnership in which corporations and nongovernmental organizations join forces with federal, state and local agencies to restore aquatic habitats, including wetlands, and to support associated educational programs. The initiative will use more than $100,000 for a feasibility study to be done this year.

Minnesota: (Audio & Photo) Cattle help bring back NW Minnesota prairie
A herd of cattle will help improve the habitat for wildlife by grazing on a northwestern Minnesota refuge. Glacial Ridge National Refuge is the largest prairie restoration project in the country. Experts say it's also the largest research project using livestock to manage the prairie.

Mali: Dune wars
 Anakila in Mali is a village under a death sentence. Anakila is a dramatic and visible manifestation of so called 'Desertification', the inexorable march southwards of the Sahara desert by about 5-10 kilometres per year. Estimates suggest that the livelihoods of 850 million people worldwide are directly affected by desertification. "You can't shovel away a dune", he says "but there are ways to stop the dune moving by planting small shrubs in a cross hatch pattern. The roots bind the sand, regulating the supply of water in the soil and that way retard the advance of the dune towards the village." The free grazing of animals also has to be stopped.

UN: "Land Is Our Natural Ally, But Its Patience Is Not Eternal"
Land degradation poses a threat to all life on Earth including humanity. To stop the enormous loss of life-giving land, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is pushing for a sustainable development goal of Zero Net Land Degradation (ZNLD) to be adopted at the upcoming Conference on Sustainable Development, known as Rio+20, in Brazil.

Mississippi: Study--Oyster reef restoration could boost Gulf Coast economy
Oyster reef restoration projects using penalty money from the BP 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill could provide quadruple economic returns for the Gulf Coast states, according to a Duke University and Environmental Defense Fund study.The study, "Restoring Gulf Oyster Reefs: Opportunities for Innovation," identified 132 companies directly and indirectly involved with the oyster reef industry.

Biorock giving new life to coral reefs
The biorock method was developed by architect and marine scientist Wolf Hilbertz and marine biologist Tom Goreau. They found that by running a small electrical current through seawater, a hard shell of calcium carbonate would form on the cathode. You could then attach small pieces of natural coral to the structure. The corals seemed to love these substrates, achieving growth rates often five times faster than normal. Today there are more than 20 Biorock projects around the globe, but by far the biggest - and arguably the most innovative - are in Indonesia.

Indonesia: Praise for Pemuteran coral protection
Starting very small from a community-based coral and marine protection effort to help local fishermen regain their livelihoods, the Pemuteran Coral Protection Foundation is currently one of the most-talked about projects on the international environmental stage, given a prestigious environmental award - the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Equator Prize in 2012.

Malawi: Majete Wildlife Reserve - Ecosystem Restoration Success in Malawi
Majete Wildlife Reserve is situated in the Lower Shire Valley (the southernmost section of Africa's Great Rift Valley). Extensive poaching of large and medium sized mammals during the late 1980's and 1990's rendered most species locally extinct or severely depleted by the year 2000.In 2003, African Parks Majete (Pty) Ltd concluded an agreement with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) to take on responsibility for the rehabilitation, development and management of Majete Wildlife Reserve. Between 2003 and 2012 nearly US$11,000,000 was received and used by Majete.

Denmark's Bornholm Island gets rare bison from Poland
 Poland sent seven bison - one male and six females - to Bornholm by ferry last week. "They look very well," project manager Tommy Hansen told the BBC. Denmark hopes the bison will help the island's biodiversity by conserving meadows, as they like to eat tree bark.

The mining sector searches for sustainability
It is 10 years since the Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (MMSD) initiative was completed. Its findings were game-changing for the sector, and mining CEOs of the day committed to act on its agenda as a robust and credible way to maximise the sector's contribution to sustainable development. So where are we, 10 years on? How far have we travelled towards a sustainable and responsible mineral industry?

Brazil: Alcoa Bauxite Mine Reforestation Done in a Natural Way
Alcoa is using a new, natural method for reforestation at its Juruti bauxite mine in Brazil that is efficient, cost effective and sustainable. The technique is based on the theory of nucleation, where small dense nuclei of plants and animals facilitate the arrival of other species. At Juruti, birds and other elements of nature are helping recover the soil rather than traditional reforestation, which works the soil and then plant saplings.

The biodiverse city
 With global urban land expansion over the next 40 years predicted to encompass an area the size of Mongolia, remnant natural patches, restored ecosystems and managed green spaces will all become increasingly critical as refuges for biodiversity. Cities can also focus on improving and restoring their existing green spaces to draw increased attention to local biodiversity. Planning, design and management of urban areas are integral to maintaining as well as enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Utah: This urban South Jordan property is for the birds
Tucked in the middle of strip malls, townhouses and sprawling office towers, the 120-acre Jordan River Migratory Bird Reserve is a place that's for the birds. The not-open-to-the-public reserve is a work in progress. Hundreds of local volunteers continue to work on planting native trees such as cottonwoods and box elders each year, while removing invasive species such as Russian olives, phragmites and tamarisk.

Russia: Tourism Brings Revenue and Conflict to Russia's Park System
 A century after the first park was designated in Russia, there are hundreds of specially designated sites covering 7% of the country's total landmass. But their mission is undergoing a fundamental transformation as vaguely worded changes to laws at the end of last year are now compelling the parks to attract tourists and earn money - resulting in a philosophical struggle that reflects the ambivalence the state has had toward the parks over the years.

Utah: Field Tour and Summer Meeting-SER Great Basin -June 18-20
SER-Great Bain and The Utah Chapter of the Society for Range Management will hold a combined meeting and field tour on June 18-20, 2012 in Ephraim, Utah.

Brazil: IX Simposio Brasileiro de Recuperação de Áreas Degradadas-July 11-13
Recriando Ambientes Sustentáveis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

SER-Great Basin: Post-Fire Land Restoration Workshop & Field Trip - July 12-13
The workshop will be held July 12-13, 2012 at the Best Western Airport Plaza in Reno, Nevada.

Texas: Soil & Water Conservation Society- 2012 Annual Conference- July 22-25

SER-Texas: 2012 Annual TxSER Conference- Call for Papers- Due Aug 31
TxSER will hold their annual conference from Nov. 2-4, 2012 in Weslaco, Texas.

Thicket Forum 2012: Reconnecting People and Thicket- Sept. 4-6

SER-Europe: The 8th European Conference on Ecological Restoration-Sept 9-14

 EcoSummit 2012-Ecological Sustainability- Sept. 30- Oct. 5

6^th Annual Conference on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration- Oct. 20-24

Florida: Creation and Restoration or Wetlands Workshop- November 8-10

SER-Australasia: Inaugural Conference- -Nov 28-30

2012 Conference Listing on the Global Restoration Network (GRN)

SER Members receive 25% off Island Press book purchases. Contact caroline@ser.org for details!

Mississippi: Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program (WREP) - June 18, 2012
The Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program (WREP) is part of USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service Wetlands Reserve Program. Interested agricultural producers should contact District Conservationist Jerry Hall at 225-687-2184, ext. 3 or visit the Addis Field Office. NRCS accepts applications for financial assistance on a continuous basis throughout the year; however, the first application ranking period for this project will end June 18, 2012. To be considered in the first application ranking pool, applications must be received by June 18, 2012.

US: Chesapeake Bay Trust Restoration Grant Programs- Due July 6, 2012
The Restoration Grant Program supports projects that provide accessible funds to organizations and agencies for demonstration-scale, community-based, on-the-ground restoration projects. Approximately $500,000 is available for the 2012-13 Restoration Grant Program. Applicants for projects identified in or based on a watershed plan may request up to $50,000. Applicants for projects not identified in or based on a watershed plan may request up to $25,000.

UK: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew -- Small Grants 2012
Through the Bentham-Moxon Trust, Kew Gardens (UK) makes 30 to 40 small grants per year to botanists and horticulturalists for plant collection and field research; international visits or work at Kew; travel and conferences; and other project support. Preference is for grants that involve a developing country. The closing date for applications is 30 September 2012.

Australia: The Endeavour Awards 
The Endeavor Award is the Australian Government's internationally competitive, merit-based scholarship program providing opportunities for citizens of the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas to undertake study, research and professional development in Australia. Awards are also available for Australians to undertake study, research and professional development abroad. 

New Hampshire: Grant Funding for Wetlands Restoration and Drinking Water Protection
The Aquatic Resource Mitigation Fund grants are available for eligible wetland restoration, land protection or habitat improvement projects; and drinking water supply protection grants are available for lands in the southern I-93 corridor and Lake Massabesic Watershed. Aquatic Resource Mitigation (ARM) Fund payments are collected according to nine service areas.

US: Emergency Forest Restoration Program
USDA Farm Service Agency's (FSA) Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) provides payments to eligible owners of nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) land in order to carry out emergency measures to restore land damaged by a natural disaster.

Earth Island Institute: Supporting community-based wetland restoration initiatives
Through the Small Grants Program, Earth Island Institute has been able to support locally based restoration efforts to do just that. Small grassroots efforts to restore the coastal habitats of Southern California, which have been depleted by an astounding 98%, have been slowly working to bring our wetlands back from the brink of extinction. By supporting and empowering the new restoration leaders, we ensure our collective success in restoring some of the earth's most fragile ecosystems.

The Gulf of Mexico Foundation's Community-based Restoration Partnership has reached a milestone by providing grants for now more than 80 different projects in coastal areas throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Restoring a total of more than 15,000 acres over the past decade, these CRP projects have improved a wide variety of habitat types, including coastal dunes, coral reefs, oyster reefs, marshes, seagrass beds, mangrove forests and artificial reefs. Funding from NOAA and EPA help make it possible for the GMF to provide more than $3 million to projects, leveraging an additional $5.5 million in non-federal support from project partners. The GMF will be offering a new round of CRP funding for 2012. Visit our website for more information on the upcoming funding opportunity.
 
Terra Viva Grants develops and manages information about grants for agriculture, energy, environment, and natural resources in the world's developing countries. 
 
California: Ecosystem Restoration on Agricultural Lands (ERAL)
Grant funding applications are accepted on a year-round basis. The WCB meets four times each year, normally in February, May, August, and November to consider approval of funding for projects.
 
Tamarisk Related Grant Opportunities
The Tamarisk Coalition has developed a list of available Grant Opportunities to address tamarisk issues and riparian restoration. This list was revised as part of the Colorado River Basin Tamarisk and Russian Olive Assessment.