ECOLIFE’s Summer Campaign: How You’ve Contributed to Wildlife Conservation

This summer, we mounted a campaign to secure a sustainable future for people and wildlife. Following the life cycle of a monarch butterfly, we saw our goals reached as our campaign developed from an egg to a caterpillar, a pupa, and finally, a butterfly.

But why did we choose this illustration for our campaign? Well, by protecting the future of ECOLIFE Conservation, you’re protecting the future of the monarch butterfly. Every year, these monarch butterflies will journey up to 3,000 miles across North America to their overwintering site in Mexico. This summer, ECOLIFE’s journey had an end goal of saving not just monarch butterflies, but people and the planet as well.

With help from our amazing community, we successfully reached the end of our journey and continue to successfully secure a sustainable future! Here’s how these funds help keep our programs going strong and allow us to continue making life-saving impacts for people and the planet.

How Our Summer Campaign Secures a Sustainable Future

Our board of directors covers all of our overhead costs, so every dollar of our summer campaign will go directly to protect wildlife, natural resources, and the people who depend on them. ECOLIFE Conservation has chosen to focus on wildlife conservation through Sustainable Agriculture and Community-based Conservation. Money raised through our summer campaign allows our Patsari stove project and Modular Aquaponics Response Kit (M.A.R.K.) to continue to provide solutions to animal extinction and human health issues.

Sustainable Agriculture Program – The M.A.R.K.

We understand the importance of working with communities to implement appropriate solutions to the issues facing their communities and the resources they depend on. This has led to the development of the M.A.R.K., which enables anyone, anywhere to grow nutrient-dense produce and protein-rich fish in a wide variety of environments.

Community Food Grant Program

We are excited to share that we are scheduled to build the M.A.R.K. on Viejas tribal lands. This will provide a sustainable source of fresh produce and protein to this community while aiding in climate adaptation, community development, and STEM education.

The Community Food Grant Program, made possible through grant funding from the San Diego Foundation and the County of San Diego, will have a transformative impact on the Viejas Tribal Community. The primary objective of the Community Food Grant Program is to increase accessibility to sustainable food options for this community. However, this program will also help conserve rapidly depleting natural resources such as land and water. Implementing innovative and sustainable farming methods using the M.A.R.K. will promote efficient resource utilization, reduce food and material waste, and help establish food sovereignty.

Support from donors like you is also to thank for this milestone! The design and build of the M.A.R.K. was made possible by your ongoing and generous support.

Patsari Stove Project

As you know, monarch butterflies face a long journey every year to reach their winter home. However, due to deforestation and climate change, their challenges don’t end when they reach the oyamel forest.

This site used to be the perfect place for monarchs to spend winter because while weather fluctuated outside the forest, the forest’s fir trees provided a protective barrier. It was cold enough for monarchs to go dormant and save energy over winter, but warm enough to prevent them from freezing to death. With the layers of trees reduced as a result of deforestation, the oyamel forest is no longer the haven it once was for these butterflies. We need to take steps to preserve their winter home to preserve the monarch butterfly population.

Our Patsari stoves protect this forest by reducing local dependence on firewood, leaving habitats intact. These stoves were developed with input from local communities and have been designed to provide a culturally appropriate solution that benefits community members just as much as monarch butterflies. 

Carbon Credits

Carbon credits are another important component of the Patsari stove project. Carbon credits help mitigate climate change by funding planet-protecting programs like our stove project. Carbon Credits are verified emission reductions. 

Each credit is equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. The carbon credits created by our stoves are third-party certified by the Gold Standard, then sold on the voluntary market to organizations committed to reducing their carbon footprint.

Carbon credits provide a sustainable revenue source for ECOLIFE and ensure that our positive impact on health, climate, and sustainable development goals ARE REAL AND VERIFIABLE. Carbon certification now brings in funding for the Patsari stove project, but we still need donor support to surround the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve with stoves. 

Thank You For Helping Us Secure a Sustainable Future!

ECOLIFE Conservation is continuing to redefine the concept of ecosystems to include people. We know that those committed to wildlife conservation can longer afford to think of people and nature separately. We’re committed to providing communities with ways to grow and cook food that will protect their health and the habitats where they live. Achieving this is only possible with support from you, so we thank you for helping ECOLIFE thrive this summer!