The Demand Side of Conservation
Every year, our small but mighty VWS team works to further demonstrate our founding mission of forest conservation. Ken and I created Vermont Woods Studios in 2005, employing Vermont-made furniture to raise awareness about forest and wildlife conservation. We want people to know where their furniture, flooring and other forest products come from. The point being, that far too many wood products are made from trees that have been harvested unsustainably. Timber is often clear cut illegally in rainforests where indigenous people do not have the resources to protect their land. As their forests disappear, so do the endangered animals who live there. At VWS, we’re trying to do our part by lessening the demand for illegal and unsustainable furniture. It’s a small piece of a big puzzle but you have to start somewhere, right? Margaret Mead said,
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Monarch Conservation Starts at Home
We Use Trees so We Plant Trees
At VWS, your furniture is made with wood that’s harvested sustainably in North American forests. Furthermore, we plant an average of 30 trees for every furniture order we fulfill (the number of trees planted depends on the price of the item). Most of the trees are planted by our friends and trusted partners at Forests for Monarchs. Together we are helping to restore the forest habitat where monarch butterflies (from Vermont and all across North America) overwinter in Mexico. We also plant trees in Vermont, on the woodland that’s home to our showroom, Stonehurst.
Join Our Monarch Conservation Efforts
If you’re as crazy as we are about monarch conservation and forest restoration, we’d love to have your support. You can help us plant trees and milkweed on the 109 acre managed woodland that’s home to our Stonehurst showroom in Vermont. Or if you’re more adventurous, you can travel to Mexico with us. That’s where we do reforestation work with our colleague, Jose Luis Alvarez, founder of Forests for Monarchs. Over the years, many have asked to join us in this endeavor. We’re eager to show people our environmental mission in action. If you’ve ever dreamed of visiting the monarch sanctuaries in Mexico, come see them with us and leave a legacy of newly planted trees behind. Contact me if you’re interested.
