On September 9, 2020, ALUS Canada announced a significant New Acre™ Project sponsorship by Silk®, a brand in Danone Canada’s plant-based product category.
Through its $100,000 commitment, Silk will help ALUS Canada’s network of farmers and ranchers in three provinces—Alberta, Ontario and Quebec—use parcels of land in a restorative way to produce ecosystem services that will benefit both nature and local communities.
“We want to thank Danone for their investment in the New Acre™ Project. We strive to sustain agriculture, wildlife and natural spaces one acre at a time, and today’s funding announcement will help us achieve this goal,” said Katherine Balpataky, who leads the New Acre™ Project as ALUS Canada’s Director of Corporate Partnerships and Business Development.
With this sponsorship, Silk will help support the management and restoration of 90 acres of farmland over the next seven years, to help improve water quality and watershed health, restore habitat for wildlife and combat the effects of climate change.
“Silk has always worked tirelessly to be responsible in everything we do—from the way we bring food to your table to the way we take care of our planet. Our involvement in the New Acre Project advances our ongoing mission to support local communities and promote sustainable local practices, such as water
conservation and helping pollinators, through our existing drought-resistant plants project,” said Geneviève Bolduc, Director Plant-Based Category at Danone.
The Silk funding has been directed to ALUS communities in Alberta (ALUS Lac Ste. Anne, ALUS Red Deer County), Ontario (ALUS Norfolk, ALUS Middlesex, ALUS Elgin, ALUS Ontario East) and Québec (ALUS Montérégie).
“We are delighted that the Silk brand has chosen to team up with the New Acre™ Project to help deliver nature’s benefits on the working landscape, thereby improving the environment,” said Balpataky.
New Acre Project will provide Silk with annual progress reports on key performance indicators, such as overall biodiversity gained, percentage increase in beneficial insects, nutrient retention for water quality improvements, soil organic carbon accumulated in restored marginal lands when planted in permanent cover and total standing biomass. Silk intends to share these reports publicly.
Photo courtesy of ALUS Canada.