During his teenage years his visit to the Belize rain forests inspired him so much that it propelled him to go out and play a part in protecting forests that are at risk of being deforested in Central and South America.
Emerald Canopy Rainforest Foundation
How it came about
One of his notable contributions include the setting up of Emerald Canopy Rainforest Foundation. After spending countless hours in the rain forests of Belize, the need to protect the threatened forests in Central and South America grew stronger for Jeff.
“We need to look at how we reproduce, how we use our resources, and how we function as a global community. We are not far from the day when the only rain forests left are rain forests that are locked up in exclusive, restricted, private and public sanctuaries.” –Jeff Corwin in his own biography, Jeff Corwin: A Wild Life: The Authorized Biography published in the year 2009.
With the help and funding of Bridgewater State College, he established the foundation when he was still in his second year of college!
Vision and Efforts
Emerald Canopy Rainforest Foundation is a grass-roots organisation that is dedicated to protect rain forests. The foundation wanted to inform the masses of the need to protect rain forests and did so via education. The masses are educated on how humans’ constant destruction of the forests are also affecting the habitats of numerous species of animals to the point that they are driving these animals to near extinction, and also how fragile the ecosystem actually is.
It is reported that for the case of Central America, it lost around 1,426,000 hectares of forest between 2000 to 2005. The total deforestation rate between this period was about 1.3% per year, meaning that Central America actually lost an average of 285,000 hectares of forest annually. The table below as provided by Mongabay also illustrates the same point regarding the extent of deforestation in Central America, with ha representing hectares.
Change in the extent of forest and other wooded land
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As such, this devastating numbers and facts are also conveyed to the masses such that they can better feel the effects of destruction humans have been putting on the rain forests, and hence activates our need to do our part in order to conserve and protect these rain forests.
One of the highlights of Jeff’s work with his own foundation includes him serving as a member of a youth action committee for the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The UNEP looks at environmental problems as a whole and brings these problems to light by notifying the concerned governmental parties as well as international communities. After Jeff’s graduation in 1993, he addressed an environmental conference at the General Assembly of the United Nations, where world leaders, conservationists and students all gathered, regarding the need to save rain forests.
JeffCorwinConnect
How it came about
His efforts in setting up organisations in order to reach his goals of saving the natural habitats and wildlife does not simply stop after focusing on saving the rain forests. After establishing the Emerald Canopy Rainforest Foundation, he felt that the practice of conservation should be applied to all wildlife species and habitats as a whole. Hence he set up his social enterprise company, JeffCorwinConnect, to garner funds from his programs to contribute towards conservation as a whole.
Vision and Efforts
Their main mission is to create links between the global citizens and the planet, and also to build the next generation of environmental stewards via attempts such as creating engaging, positive and fun experiences. This is so as to inspire these future generations to do their part as individuals.