The Island Spirit Fund

For the past few months, our new partner Protectores de Cuencas in Puerto Rico has been hard at work planting trees to restore land in the Guanica State Forest, especially coastal areas that are prone to erosion and areas burned in wildfires. They've been able to purchase a water truck and pickup trucks so that they can water, weed, and maintain more than 13 acres of reforested land. These tools are essential, as new trees need to be watered as many as 17 times per month!

Meanwhile, in the Houston, TX area, another new partner, Bayou City Waterkeeper, has used their donations to work with local government and community members to protect 269 acres of wetlands, convene decisionmakers, hold community meetings, and conduct training. By protecting wetlands, communities will be less vulnerable to flooding like what was seen in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

Our long-time partners continue their important work, as well. For example:

• La Maraña invited community leaders in Carolina, in northeast Puerto Rico, to imagine what a just recovery would look like. They also openedthree water stations and a community well in eastern Puerto Rico so that access to clean water is available even if weathering future storms.
• The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands has funded the removal of 260 cubic yards of hurricane debris from the shorelines and roadways of Coral Bay on St. John to date. That’s the equivalent of more than seven school buses! They’ve also worked with a local university to recycle glass into sandbags, to offer flood protection to residents and businesses.
• The St. John Long-Term Recovery Group has experienced setbacks in their work rebuilding homes destroyed by the hurricanes since COVID-19 reached the island. They had to pause home reconstruction for vulnerable senior residents and experienced delays in construction permits and supply shipments due to COVID-19 precautions. Over the summer, they began to resume work, with socially distancing, portable hand washing stations, and masks for construction crew members.
• For months, Doorways of NWFL had to close their Community Resource Center in Panama City, FL due to COVID-19, but they fielded thousands of calls for assistance. Last month, they reopened the center with safety protocols in place and delivered food to homebound and high-risk residents with the help of volunteers.

Whether reforesting land, protecting wetlands, envisioning future recovery, giving clean water access, removing debris, offering flood protection, or delivering food, these organizations are doing essential work. Thank you for your generous support to the Island Spirit Fund that helps it all happen.