Improving social and environmental sustainability in mountain communities

Fellows may use initial funds to support an ongoing or new project focused on improving social and environmental well-being & sustainability in mountains. We particularly encourage projects that elevate community voices and address community needs in mountains, and build/enhance long-term relationships with mountain communities.  

Examples of past projects include:

• Documenting knowledge of medicinal plants by community members through interviews to create a plant guidebook and short documentary film for the preservation of local/Indigenous ecological knowledges
• Engaging mountain community members in sustainability projects through avenues such as workshops, resource mapping, or co-development of learning materials
• Interviewing community members about how the mountains provide safety during COVID-19 and creating a book of poetry and art from the interviews
• Working with a local school to expand access to online learning materials related to mountain sustainability
• Increasing food security for communities through facilitating community workshops on local agriculture products and establishing community gardens
• Working with other community groups to improve facilities or programming in community centers
• Ethnographic research exploring Indigenous women’s perspectives of climate change and ice loss in the Andes
• Establishing a small-scale network of solar energy for community use
• Developing a local radio talk show to cover community-related topics