Community Forests International

10/16/2026

Join the rally next Tuesday, and let the government know we want clean, affordable, and renewable energy for all.

10/14/2026

10/09/2026

We are excited to announce a meaningful event hosted by Le Chat Bleu Le Chat Bleu Bistro to support the communities we work with in Zanzibar, and we will be accepting donations for our work there.

Join us for a unique afternoon featuring an exciting Swahili-inspired culinary experience, and learn more about our work in Zanzibar, how you can support community-led efforts that directly mitigate the impact of climate disasters, and help create sustainable, diversified income streams for those who need it most.

What to expect?🌱

A short presentation from Community Forests on our work in Zanzibar, followed by a delicious Swahili-inspired menu prepared by Le Chat Bleu. Plus exciting door prizes, including spices grown in Zanzibar😊

You'll get to try something new while learning about women’s leadership and community-led projects that build climate resilience in Zanzibar. Right now, international aid cuts are severely impacting communities that have contributed the least to climate change. Stepping up to support them is a powerful act of solidarity that brings hope to future generations. We suggest a $35 donation to help women and their families build sustainable, secure livelihoods.

If you can't attend, sharing this event with your friends and family will help us tremendously. 💚

Event details:

📍Location Le Chat Bleu, 342 NB-970, Baie Verte, NB E4M 1N5
🕐Time: 4:30 pm
🎟️Tickets: $45 + tax + suggested donation of $35

You can purchase your ticket here 👉https://loom.ly/4LODo7k.

The ticket price covers food and staff costs; we encourage a $35 donation to support our work in Zanzibar. You can make your donation here https://loom.ly/NrfJt5s

10/07/2026

If you missed our previous update, we are working on an intervention to transition a pure hemlock stand to a more diverse stand as we navigate the threats of the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. This pest migrated to eastern Canada a few years ago and kills eastern hemlock trees by feeding on the tree's sap and starving the host.

In this video, our Forest Program Director, Megan de Graaf, shares some of the factors we considered as we moved forward with the intervention.

1. Protection of carbon in the stand
2. The emotional significance to the previous caretakers and the team
3. Increasing coarse woody debris to build up the soil carbon and animal habitat
4. Building resilience of the forest.

You can learn more about the intervention here https://loom.ly/tmPqwWs

10/06/2026

We're adding a new method to our research on how our climate-resilience interventions affect our forests: measuring bird diversity. 🦅

We have installed autonomous recording units (ARUs) in different forest stands before interventions. Afterward, we will reinstall them and see if and how it affects the birds that call these forests home. Although we expect a small dip in bird diversity right after the intervention, our goal is for diversity to increase over the long term. 🦉

In this video, our Forest Diversity Manager, Dani Miller, explains why we record bird songs and how our interventions help protect bird populations. 🐦

10/05/2026

HAPPENING TODAY!

The Atlantic Wildlife Institute, in partnership with Nature NB and EOS Eco-Energy, is hosting a BioBlitz at AWI's forest site in Cookville, NB.

A BioBlitz is a hands-on citizen-science event: for a few hours, you will explore the forest together and record every species you can find - birds, plants, insects, fungi, anything living - using the iNaturalist app. No experience needed, just curiosity. You'll leave having contributed real, verifiable data on this site's biodiversity.

This matters beyond the day itself. The forest surrounding Centre Village and Cookville is home to countless species, and the observations you log will help build a documented record of the ecological value of this area - data that can inform how it's considered and protected going forward.

Details:
What: BioBlitz at the Atlantic Wildlife Institute
When: Monday, October 5, 3:00-5:30 PM
Where: 220 Cookville Rd., Cookville, NB
What to bring: Weather-appropriate clothing and footwear for the woods; a smartphone with iNaturalist installed if you have one (we'll have some support on-site for those who don't)

09/30/2026

Today, we encourage you to take time to learn about Canada's history and honour the culture and traditions of the people who were here before us. Acknowledging the truth of what happened is an important step toward reconciliation.

"We really want to understand our culture. That would be such a positive thing. That is your identity — that is part of who you are."
- Jamie Thomas, Director of Culture and Tourism, Lennox Island First Nation

You can watch the full video here https://loom.ly/sz-Thog

🎥 Desmond Simon

09/25/2026

As climate change brings warmer winters, our forests face a higher risk of pests. One is the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA), a small insect native to East Asia. The pest arrived in Eastern Canada in the early 2010s, reaching Nova Scotia as it moved north from the eastern United States.

HWA spreads in several ways, including wildlife migration (attaching itself to fur), wind, and transporting firewood from infested forests, to name a few. Warmer winters also increase the pest's survival rate.

Fortunately, the HWA has not been found in New Brunswick. But our team knows the question is not whether the pest will arrive in NB, but when. Right now, Nova Scotia is dealing with the devastating impacts of the HWA, and our team has supported some of those efforts while learning a lot from the methods being implemented in the province.

One of the first properties we acquired, and therefore a very sentimental place, is Whaelghinbran Forest. Within this forest, there is a special 13-hectare eastern hemlock stand. Composed of about 95% hemlock trees, the stand is highly vulnerable to the HWA. For a few years now, our Forest team has been working on a plan to increase this stand's resilience to the pest we know will come.

We are doing this by harvesting some hemlock trees and freeing up space for other desirable tree species to grow, like white pine and red oak. These species will grow into healthy trees that can continue to absorb and store carbon. Once the pest hits the hemlock trees, we will have more time to address the pest itself while reducing rapid mortality in a 13 ha stand and the resulting considerable release of carbon. The intervention we are implementing was no easy decision. Still, based on our experience so far and consulting with different partners, we believe this is the best way to increase the hemlock stand's resilience to the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid.

You can learn more about the intervention here: https://loom.ly/tmPqwWs

09/22/2026

Last Monday and Tuesday, Community Forests hosted a staff and board retreat in the Signigt'gewa'gi (Siknikt) district, one of the seven districts of Mi’gma’gi, the home of the Mi'kmaq since time immemorial (Fundy National Park). 🌳 Staff, board members and partners from Nestu'et Consulting, Folding Chair Group, and P4G came together to reflect, connect and envision where we are headed next.

Signigt'gewa'gi directly translates to “the place where the water drains,” referring to the lands and rivers that flow into the Bay of Fundy. The park lies along an ancient inland canoe portage corridor used for travel & trade among the Wolastoqiyik, Mi’gmaq, and Peskotomuhkati Nations. It falls within the larger unsurrendered and unceded homelands of the Wabanaki Confederacy.

We were honoured to have Elder Donna Augustine open and close the retreat. She shared stories and wisdom, opening up a talking circle where everyone could reflect on their "why." We discussed our responsibility to the land and how we all came to this work.

Monday, we visited Whaelghinbran Forest, and Craig and Megan from our forest team guided everyone on a tour of intervention sites where the team has been testing out how to steward the land to increase its resilience to climate change. Tuesday, we reflected on our milestones and looked ahead at our goals.

More info about this retreat will be in our upcoming newsletter. You can sign up for the newsletter here: https://loom.ly/8-aWHlg

You can learn more about Elder Donna Augustine here: https://loom.ly/aFMCyvk

09/11/2026

We don’t turn our backs on friends around the world. 🌍

Now more than ever, we are reminded that what one nation does impacts another. As we continue to experience the effects of climate change around the world, we need to advance climate justice by respecting human rights and equality and taking responsibility for our actions, acknowledging that countries that contributed least to global warming often suffer its worst consequences.

It is an honour to help our friends in Zanzibar. Our work in Zanzibar is built on relationships of trust and respect, and the understanding that Community Forests Pemba and the community members are the experts. We prioritize a community-led approach, actively listening to and supporting community needs.

Our 2024-2025 impact report is live, and you can read the full report here 👉 https://loom.ly/LV6zhpA

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Nous ne tournons pas le dos aux amis du monde entier. 🌍

Aujourd'hui plus que jamais, nous nous rappelons que les actions d'une nation ont un impact sur une autre. Alors que nous continuons de ressentir les effets des changements climatiques aux quatre coins du globe, nous devons faire progresser la justice climatique en respectant les droits de la personne et l'égalité, et en assumant la responsabilité de nos actions tout en reconnaissant que les pays qui ont le moins contribué au réchauffement planétaire en subissent souvent les pires conséquences.

C'est un honneur d'aider nos amis à Zanzibar. Notre travail à Zanzibar repose sur des relations de confiance et de respect, ainsi que sur la conviction que Community Forests Pemba et les membres de la communauté sont les experts. Nous privilégions une approche axée sur la communauté, en écoutant activement et en répondant aux besoins de celle-ci.

Notre rapport d'impact 2024-2025 est en ligne et vous pouvez le lire en entier ici 👉 https://loom.ly/UL15Aws