Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Stephen Fitch.
Hi Dr. Fitch, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am Dr. Stephen Fitch, the Founder and CEO of Accelerated Restoration Collaborative (ARC), a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to “Natural Restoration Projects that Scale and Transform.” My background includes 17 years of service as the Founder and CEO of Eden Reforestation Projects. In 2022, I also founded Compassionate Carbon and briefly served in the role of CEO.
Under my leadership, Eden became the first international nonprofit organization to plant over one billion trees. The milestone was achieved by providing fair wage employment to thousands of local community members for the production, planting, and protection of trees. My experiences with Eden and Compassionate Carbon have provided invaluable lessons in leadership multiplication, cross-cultural literacy, fundraising, and large-scale forest restoration.
My environmental restoration journey began in 1998 when I had the chance to work in Ethiopia and witnessed firsthand the dire consequences of deforestation on local communities and the environment. Then, in 2004, President Haile Mariam of Ethiopia’s Southern People’s Region surprised me with a request to take over a failed seedling nursery and forest restoration project. Recognizing this as an opportunity to make a difference and address the destructive impact of deforestation I had observed in Ethiopia and beyond, I eagerly accepted the challenge.
And so, with funds raised and a dedicated team recruited, trained, and deployed, we embarked on the project. Fast forward to 20 years later, we now have planted over one billion trees in Ethiopia, Madagascar, Haiti, Nepal, Indonesia, Mozambique, Kenya, the Philippines, Brazil, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Additionally, more than twelve thousand impoverished villagers have been provided with employment, leading to a significant transformation in their socio-economic well-being.
Presently, I am positioned to collaborate with like-minded individuals and organizations through ARC in the development of global restoration projects. I am also committed to training other environmental sector leaders and teams in the systems necessary to scale their own restoration projects.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In the early days of environmental restoration, there was a steep learning curve as I navigated the complexities of building organizational infrastructure to plant millions of trees across multiple nations. From grappling with corruption and cultural disparities to enduring constant travel and frequent separation from my family.
Building organizational structures in both the US and within the planting nations was always the starting point. It also required recruiting, training, and monitoring a capable and diverse international staff to handle administrative tasks and the planting systems. On the US side of the equation, securing steady funding sources and providing detailed socio-economic data and environmental impact data to sponsors was no simple task.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At ARC, we are dedicated to crafting simple, efficient, and scalable solutions to address the complex sociological and environmental challenges facing our world. Our mission is clear: to empower communities by providing economic opportunities and fostering their role as responsible stewards of our planet. We firmly believe that employing local communities as forest stewards is the most effective method for restoring both local and regional forests. Leveraging economies of scale ensures a more affordable price per tree and cost per hectare. Ultimately, ARC is not interested in merely making a marginal impact—we are striving for meaningful and lasting change.
With over 50 years of combined field experience in forest restoration systems, our leadership team has collectively planted over 1 billion trees worldwide. We maintain an extensive global network, spanning from government officials to remote local community members. We understand that effective forest restoration projects begin with building relationships—not just accumulating knowledge.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
My upbringing in the Philippines as a son of missionary parents instilled in me a deep love for exploration and nature. As an avid scuba diver and outdoor enthusiast, I was disheartened to witness the widespread environmental destruction upon returning to my boyhood home in 1997. The lush jungles where I once played had been cleared, and the soil runoff caused by deforestation was polluting the ocean, smothering the coral reefs I once explored as a child. Witnessing such ecological devastation in a place I once called home left a profound impact on me. It served as the catalyst and my motivation to initiate multiple forest restoration initiatives aimed at addressing these challenges. That experience further solidified my commitment to environmental restoration and conservation initiatives that have the power to make significant and transformative impacts on people’s lives and their regional forests.
Pricing:
- 3 Trees = $1
Contact Info:
- Website: www.arcrestoration.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arcrestorationorg/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/arcrestorationorg
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/arcrestorationorg
