Houston, Texas – The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive. They are a team of experts, scientists, advocates, leaders and staff focused on protecting biodiversity and clean air and water, as well as addressing climate change.

At any given moment, TNC is working in 70+ countries and on 100+ marine conservation projects. One such project that they brought to Edaren was a pilot research project to study something called blue carbon.

Coastal wetlands, such as tidal marshes, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests, sequester billions of tons of carbon—known specifically as “blue carbon”—from our atmosphere at concentrations up to five times greater than forests. Once captured, this carbon is then transferred into the rich soils held by wetland plant roots. As layers of soil accumulate over time, new plants can grow above. This stored carbon can remain in the soil for thousands of years. After talking about many different projects that we might be interested in supporting, TNC approached Edaren to help launch a scoping project to determine the best application for blue carbon projects along the Gulf Coast. This particular project was very early stage for TNC, and it gave Edaren a chance to leverage a grant at the early stages of a project, in hopes that it will lead to greater understanding or discovery in an important area of research that would then attract more funding.

Edaren agreed to a two-year commitment of $50,000 / year to seed funding for scientists and research. That commitment allowed the research to begin and conversations with larger partners to take place. This initial gift helped lead to a grant of from a global foundation of over $1 million to further this important research.

Edaren is proud to partner with The Nature Conservancy in such important work, and looks for opportunities to fund early stage projects with seed funding that have the potential to leverage a non-profit’s progress into a significant, more strategic advancement.