About. Wetlands provide an array of valuable “services” for society and the environment. Besides sustaining a huge number of plant and animal species, they can improve water quality, reduce erosion and flooding, and even moderate the effects of climate change. Not to mention, they’re often beautiful places for people to hike, paddle, birdwatch, and enjoy the outdoors. Looked at from the perspective of what they do, the value of wetlands becomes quite tangible and, in some cases, quantifiable. For the past two centuries, the value of wetlands has been little regarded as they have been drained, leveed, channelized, or destroyed in other ways to make way for farms, homes, cities, and industry. Significant loss of wetland ecosystems has resulted in the decline of many species, worsening water quality including “dead zones” in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere, more flood damage, and other costly problems.

TWI’s Vision: A world with plentiful healthy wetlands improving water quality, climate, biodiversity, and human well-being. TWI’s Mission: TWI designs, restores, and creates wetlands. They innovate, collaborate, and employ sound science to improve water quality, habitat for plants and wildlife, and our climate. They combine two basic strategies in their work: on-the-ground restoration of wetland landscapes both independently and in partnership with other organizations, and innovation of ways to promote and finance large-scale wetland restoration by others. TWI is a leader in showing through its own restoration projects how wetlands long drained and degraded can be returned to high-quality wetland ecosystems, once again able to perform their natural “services” like cleaning water, providing habitat, and sequestering carbon. http://www.wetlands-initiative.org/

TWI’s Accomplishments.

• Dixon Waterfowl Refuge at Hennepin & Hopper Lakes: In 2001, TWI turned off the “drainage pump” to this important wetland area in Illinois and have been restoring it ever since. Now, the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge is one of the premier natural areas in the state and consists of lakes, marshes, and prairies that provide a refuge for wildlife, capture carbon, and filter water.
• Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. This is TWI’s longest running restoration project, working in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service, providing a critical habitat for many of Illinois' rarest plant, bird, and wildlife species.
• Smart Wetlands. Fertilizer in agricultural runoff is the primary cause of the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico. So, as Florida residents, this project is of particular importance to us. Basically, TWI works with farmers and cropland owners to reduce the flow of fertilizer from farm fields into local waterways by installing “constructed wetlands.” These “Smart Wetlands” intercept and remove the agents in fertilizer that contribute to the Dead Zone through a combination of physical, biological, and chemical processes—and, in the case of nitrogen, transforming it into a harmless gas.

[For more information, visit https://www.wetlands-initiative.org/overview.]

Why EcoBrands supports The Wetlands Initiative. Similar to last month’s explanation of why we support Oceana, people do not typically live on oceans or in this case, wetlands, so they do not see the destruction that man has had on these massive ecosystems – ecosystems that provide free, invaluable services to mankind. In my home state of Florida, wetlands primarily act as a massive water purifier and storm flood “drain.” With nearly 1,000 people moving to Florida every day, wetlands are critical to the sustainability of our state. The best analogy for wetlands is that they are the “kidneys” of our environment, filtering out all of the sediments, chemicals and impurities from our water. Your body cannot survive without its kidneys, and therefore, we cannot expect to survive without our wetlands. Furthermore, during the rainy summer and hurricane seasons, if we didn’t have wetlands to take on all of the rainwater, our homes would be completely underwater. While Florida provides a perfect case study for the importance of wetlands, every state in the US has wetlands that provide the same vital functions. This is why we must protect our wetlands and why EcoBrands supports The Wetlands Initiative.

As always, thank you sincerely for reading. We wish you all the best on your path to sustainable living, as we continue on our own!