What originally began in 2012 by the United Nations General Assembly, on March 21st, countries around the world work to promote the importance of our area’s local forests on the International Day of Forests. Considering this is an international event, countries are encouraged to undertake local, national and international efforts to organize activities involving forests and trees, such as tree planting campaigns. Each year has a different theme, with the 2026 theme being: “Forests and Economies.”
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, this theme celebrates “the essential roles of forests in driving economic prosperity.” These specific roles are not just related to income and forest jobs, but also to the trade from “renewable raw materials and foods.” The forests also sustain family and community agriculture in a variety of ways, including enhancing agricultural productivity and safeguarding healthy watersheds. The numbers speak for themselves regarding the vital role forests have in helping our economy. According to the organization, “the forest sector generates jobs for at least 33 million people, and forest products are used by billions.”
Specifically, within our area of North Carolina, there are several different organizations helping safeguard our area forests and lands. First, the Piedmont Land Conservatory is a group to consider partnering with or even volunteering to help. According to their website, “Since 1990, PLC has protected more than 32,000 acres of land, completing more than 250 land protection projects.” The group has worked to protect numerous areas in the Piedmont, including: “9,800 acres added to state parks, turned into nature preserves or now otherwise designed as places to hike, bike, fish and connect with nature; 7,600 acres of farmland protected from development (with these acres remaining dedicated to agriculture); and 10,600 acres of land, adjacent to water resources, now stewarded to protect the water quality of our region.” This non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization, primarily protects lands within nine North Carolina counties including Surry, Stokes, Rockingham, Caswell, Yadkin, Forsyth, Guilford, Alamance and Randolph.
If interested in volunteering with the Piedmont Land Conservatory, the first thing to do is to sign up via their website (piedmontland.org/volunteer). There are countless opportunities available, from helping preserve PLC’s nature preserves, to general office help, to planning community outreach informational sessions and organizing area events and outings, like multi-farm tours or “monthly outings designed to connect people of all ages with nature.”
Another local organization dedicated to preserving our area’s local land is the Gateway Nature Preserve. In 2008, a group of neighbors from Washington Park and West Salem worked together to help protect a 19-acre site bordering Salem Creek from commercial development. The group was successful, and thanks to the generous support of community foundations, individuals and the City of Winston-Salem, the group raised $409,000 to purchase this land in 2014. According to their website (gatewaynaturepreserve.org), this success enabled the group to “protect it in perpetuity under a conservation easement.”
Today, the Gateway Nature Preserve continues to advance and execute its mission – “revitalizing the land in the nature preserve and creating forest trails, a pollinator garden and natural playscapes.” This urban wildlife habitat can support a brilliant ecosystem which would have been demolished. The group also provides community educational programs which “highlight our connection to the complex beauty of the natural world.”
Specifically, the group is able to establish and develop new projects including: “planting butterfly gardens, breaking down soil contamination or assessing stream health, which supports ecosystem resilience – nature’s system of checks and balances that sustains a healthy environment in the surrounding communities.” The group also partners with area schools, local citizen groups and environmentalists in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County to create a “new awareness around the environment and climate change and finding ways we can work together toward a more sustainable world.”
Like the Piedmont Land Conservatory, this group also offers countless volunteer opportunities.
First, there are quick options to help with the group’s social media campaigns, as well as more hand-on volunteer work, like weeding and watering areas of the preserve. Students are encouraged to check out volunteer opportunities, as the group is happy to offer service hours for local middle and high school students. According to their website, specific volunteer opportunities include joining the Pollinator Garden team to work in the garden on Saturdays, helping with clean-up efforts on trails and along Salem Creek, sharing Gateway’s message at the Earth Day Fair and other events, writing a nature column or blogpost, and helping plan events such as the biannual Art Sale.
Overall, the International Day of Forests is an excellent celebration which raises awareness of the importance of our area’s forests. Luckily, Winston-Salem and our surrounding areas have several great organizations dedicated to ensuring we all can continue to protect our local forest and land.
