The Potomac Valley Audubon Society welcomes Linda Walker, Senior Director of the World Wildlife Fund’s US Forests Program!

SCHEDULE

• 6:30 PM: Social time with light refreshments. In order to reduce waste, we are asking that people bring their own mugs. 
• 7:00 PM: Presentation begins!
• 8:00 PM: Approximate end of the program – though it may last longer depending on questions and discussion!

PVMN Continuing Education Eligible

This in-person program is free and open to the public.  All ages are welcome to attend.
We will also be offering this program virtually! Here is the Zoom link so you can join in from home. If you are not able to attend live, in-person or virtually, you can view a recording of the Monthly Program presentation later! We typically post the recording within several days.

Presentation Description – Forests are essential to life on earth – they filter the air we breathe and the water we drink; they help mitigate against climate change, they provide essential food and medicines for indigenous communities around the globe, and they provide places for us to relax and recharge. Forests also provide products made from trees that we use every day – wood, paper, food, rayon, even rubber tires! But forests are under threat, from deforestation and forest degradation. In 2022, the world lost more than 16 million acres of forest around the globe —an area bigger than West Virginia—according to the 2023 Forest Declaration Assessment. Some of that is related to illegal and unsustainable logging; a lot is related to clearing forests for agricultural commodity production like palm oil, beef, soy, rubber, cocoa and wood pulp.

How can we as consumers be part of the solution to keep forests standing and healthy in some of the world’s most valuable forests? The answer: with choices that we make every day. Come learn about how each of us can make a difference with what we buy – or don’t buy – to support sustainable forestry, and businesses that are showing leadership compared with their peers. We will also share more about the FOREST Act that was just introduced with bipartisan support in Congress late last year.

About the Presenter:

Linda Walker is a forester and Potomac Valley Audubon Society member who works for World Wildlife Fund, one of the world’s largest conservation organizations. As the US Forests Team lead for corporate engagement, she works with companies to reduce their supply chain impact on forests, and to support other actions like forest restoration, protection and improved forest management to keep forests thriving around the globe. Linda previously worked for The Nature Conservancy in the US and in Indonesia, where she focused on orangutan conservation, and also for the Rainforest Alliance. She also has served on the boards of the Forest Stewardship Council and the Rolling Ridge Conservancy. In her free time, Linda can often be found in her garden planting natives and adventuring in the wilds of West Virginia with her husband Shawn and son Rowan.