Martha’s Vineyard nonprofit secures new grant funding
Native nonprofit leaders promote traditional land stewardship
A Native-led nonprofit on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, Sassafras Earth Education Inc., received a $50,000 grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to emphasize climate action close to home through Indigenous environmental stewardship.
The MassCEC program supports sustainability efforts spearheaded by marginalized people in the commonwealth, local journalist Maria Barros reports. Sassafras brings two decades of local experience leading environmental education rooted in traditional knowledge from the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).
The husband-and-wife duo who founded Sassafras, Saskia and David Two Arrows Vanderhoop, plan to use the grant funding to bolster their education programs. In particular, they told the MV Times, they’ll put the investment toward staff training for mentors and new hires to promote their youth programming.
Sassafras’ approach integrates ecosystem restoration, traditional food security and environmental education from a decolonial lens. Their programs foster connection to the land of the island and an understanding of the local environment.
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