Callie Renner

The Link between Environmental Restoration and Economic Opportunity

Solving poverty and restoring the environment seem to be mutually exclusive issues. However, my summer internship with a small non-profit organization called Plant With Purpose showed me that these two efforts go hand in hand. By working to combat deforestation, teaching and implementing sustainable agricultural techniques to farmers, and establishing micro-credit and micro-enterprise programs in six developing countries, Plant With Purpose works to counteract rural poverty. Their multi-tiered approach to sustainable development creates economic opportunity through environmental restoration. In my presentation, I will further explain the work that Plant With Purpose does and discuss the professionally and personally enriching intern experience I was able to have with them this summer.