The Nature Conservancy teams up with breweries across the country with OktoberForest campaign.

image courtesy The Nature Conservancy

Press Release

The Nature Conservancy and one hundred breweries across the nation will celebrate the critical link between healthy forests and beer’s main ingredient this October: water.

This summer, breweries across the country are signing up to celebrate OktoberForest, a campaign to raise awareness for the role healthy forests play in filtering water, beer’s main ingredient. This is the third year of The Nature Conservancy’s OktoberForest campaign, with breweries in more than half the United States participating. 

Partner breweries are on tap from Throwback Brewery in New Hampshire to Good Life Brewing in Oregon. See the full list at www.OktoberForest.org. Many breweries will hold OktoberForest trivia nights and other events this October to highlight the roles of healthy forests and clean water and the need to restore millions of acres of America’s forests.

The relevance of America’s forests to breweries is clear: 95 percent of beer is water, and more than half of America’s water comes from our forests. America’s forests improve water supplies in many ways. Forests shade streams, lakes, and snow from evaporation; the forest floor helps filter sediment; and tree roots hold soil together so it can store water like a sponge.

Recently forests have become threatened by more severe fires, drought, and increased pest damage. The U.S. Forest Service estimates that about half of its forested lands are in need of restoration in order to maintain natural benefits for people, water, and wildlife. 

“As a longtime homebrewer myself, I am thrilled The Nature Conservancy is partnering with breweries on the OktoberForest campaign,” said Chris Topik, director of The Nature Conservancy’s Restoring America’s Forests program.  “The Nature Conservancy has been working to conserve and restore America’s forests for more than 60 years—we are drinking in the opportunity to help conserve beer’s main ingredient.”

Breweries are participating by:

1. Hosting OktoberForest trivia nights and other informational events;
2. Sharing educational coasters, posters, and table toppers;
3. Promoting OktoberForest through social media;
4. Matching donations to help forest and water conservation efforts in each brewery’s state. 

You can participate in OktoberForest by visiting www.OktoberForest.org:

1. Text “TREES” to 50555 to donate $5 for the Conservancy’s forest and water conservation efforts. Pick which participating brewery you would like match your donation.
2. Watch—view a one-minute video highlighting the connections between healthy forests, water, and beer. 
3. Post—your favorite forest and brewery photos to Twitter and Facebook at #OktoberForest
4. Talk to your favorite brewer about the importance of forests for beer’s main ingredient, and ask them to participate in OktoberForest.

 Five Forest Facts:

• The United States is home to the world’s oldest, tallest, and most massive trees.
• America’s forests generate more than $13 billion in income for businesses and communities. 
• Our forests provide 1 million square miles of outdoor recreation space for families, campers, hikers, backpackers, hunters, and anglers. 
• The nation’s nine worst fire years have all come since 2000 (cumulative records starting in 1960).  2015 year was our worst fire year with more than 10 million acres burned; 2017 was our most expensive firefighting year. 
• Non-native pests have killed more than 150 million trees since 1990. 

The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world's toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable. Working in 72 countries, we use a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. To learn more, visit www.nature.org or follow @nature_press on Twitter.