Enviva Inc. (NYSE: EVA), the world’s leading producer of sustainably sourced woody biomass, along with Girl Scouts of Greater Mississippi (GSGMS), announced a collaborative partnership to assist the council with programs related to climate change, tree planting and conservation initiatives, and other STEM/natural resources-related education opportunities planned by the GSGMS and Enviva.

As an official partner, Enviva will provide financial support to facilitate the long-term forest management and revenue generation plans for two GSGMS owned camps — Camp Iti Kana (Stone County, MS) and Camp Wahi (Rankin, MS). In collaboration with The Longleaf Alliance – a non-profit dedicated to ensuring a sustainable future for the longleaf pine ecosystem – Enviva will help coordinate reforestation activities at both Camp Iti Kana and Camp Wahi as part of the Girls Scouts’ national Tree Promise Program, which aims to plant five million trees in five years across the U.S. Starting in 2023, Enviva, GSGMS, and the Longleaf Alliance will begin planting 40,000 trees at Camp Iti Kana, a historic longleaf pine ecosystem that was converted to a loblolly tree farm.

“We are proud to partner with Enviva to help restore and replant trees on both Girl Scout camps in Mississippi,” said Becky Traweek, Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Greater Mississippi. “This partnership will help empower our girls to continue to be environmental stewards of the land, and through educational and hands-on programming, will continue to inspire, through action, the leaders of tomorrow.”

Girl Scouts offer young women the unique opportunity to identify and support issues that are important to them, from partnerships with other people, businesses, and organizations, to creating sustainable projects that change the world around them. As it relates to Mississippi, Camp Iti Kana and Camp Wahi experienced a large financial loss due to damage from tree loss and tree removal after a tornado hit the area on March 30, 2022, and from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In an effort to restore the land and generate future revenue for the GSGMS council, GSGMS, Enviva, and The Longleaf Alliance, amongst others, will coordinate traditional thinnings and timber harvests at both sites, following the restoration plans developed by Legacy Land Management Consultants, LLC.

“Enviva and Girl Scouts of Greater Mississippi have shared synergies around the importance of valuing our natural resources, forest health, and climate change mitigation,” said Enviva’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Brandi Colander. “Creating markets for forest products, with a commitment to sustainability, further incentivizes forest landowners to invest in and keep their land as forests. We are thrilled to partner with GSGMS to teach and mentor young women. We recognize that females are a minority within the forestry field, and we are committed to investing in and providing the necessary skillsets to succeed and thrive.”

Enviva is working to expand its partnership with Girl Scouts of the USA across its operating footprint. To learn more about this partnership and/or to coordinate a similar program in your region or state, email restoration@envivabiomass.com. If you are interested in joining and/or supporting the Girl Scouts of Greater Mississippi, please email sedwards@gsgms.com.