Funders & Partners

Funders

Government Grants:

National Fish & Wildlife Foundation: Long Island Sound Futures Fund (2021) supports projects in local communities that aim to protect and restore the Long Island Sound. It unites federal and state agencies, foundations and corporations to achieve high-priority conservation objectives. Funded activities demonstrate a real, on-the-ground commitment to securing a healthy future for the Long Island Sound. Rich Earth Institute is the only project in Vermont funded by LISFF at this point in time.

USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) (2021) offers competitive grants to projects that explore and address key issues affecting the sustainability and future economic viability of agriculture. It has granted funds for Rich Earth Institute to conduct field trials using urine to fertilize hay fields, measuring crop yield, and analyzing nutrient content.

USDA Community Facilities Program: This program provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community for the orderly development of the community in a primarily rural area, and does not include private, commercial or business undertakings. These amenities help increase the competitiveness of rural communities in attracting and retaining businesses that provide employment and services for their residents.

Lake Champlain Basin Program maintains inclusive partnerships that empower diverse communities to take action toward improving and protecting the natural resources and the cultural heritage of the Lake Champlain Basin. The LCBP envisions rich natural resources and cultural heritage of the Lake Champlain Basin that are stewarded by a diverse, inclusive, informed, and engaged community working together for the common good of Lake Champlain for current and future generations.

Foundation & Corporate Support:

Private Donors

Before our first grant, we were fortunate to have the support of many individual donors. These private donors have continued their support, and each year they have been joined by more generous individuals who appreciate the value of our work.

Collaborators

National:

Cornell University is collaborating on our USDA SARE Novel and FFAR – funded research: Biochar from Biosolids and Source Separated Human Urine: Soil Health Impacts and Farmer Perspectives.

University at Buffalo is performing pharmaceutical measurements for the EPA study. Dr. Diana Aga’s analytical chemistry lab has developed cutting-edge techniques to quantify minute levels of pharmaceuticals in challenging materials such as plant tissues.

University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan is performing the biological and nutrient analyses for the EPA study. Dr. Krista Wigginton and Dr. Nancy Love, of Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, provide direction and leadership for the entire study.

Recode is an organization in Oregon that has been working to change codes that legalize an array of sustainable building and development practices.

Brown and Caldwell, the largest engineering consulting firm solely focused on the US environmental sector, is one of our collaborators in the EPA pharmaceutical study.

Hampton Road Sanitation District manages a large network of wastewater treatment plants in the Virginia Beach area. It is one of our collaborators in the EPA pharmaceutical study.

Nutrient Networks is a non profit organization established to advance and implement the practice of ecological sanitation and sustainable resource management. We advocate for and facilitate safe and effective composting and water management techniques that divert valuable nutrients out of the waste stream, reduce pollution of land and water, and work towards closing the food-nutrient cycle.

The Land Institute soil ecology team applied urine fertilizer to an alfalfa field with degraded soil. In future years, they will be growing (and urine- fertilizing!) alfalfa and a perennial grain similar to wheat called Kernza.

MASSTC tests nutrient removal technologies for septic systems, conducts experiments on nutrient leaching from urine fertilizer, and is coordinating the Falmouth Urine Diversion project.

Green Center

Stony Brook University

Point of Shift helps clients across the globe assess, design and implement circular sanitation systems for their home, community or business.

POOP (People’s Own Organic Power) Project uses art, education, and humor to promote critical conversations about sustainable sanitation for the person, planet, and world community. Its founder, Shawn Shafner, is a frequent guest speaker at Rich Earth’s Urine Donor Kick Off events.

Local:

Brattleboro Waste Water Treatment Plant Plant manager Bruce Lawrence has given tours for invited guests of Rich Earth Institute, provided statistical information for our research, and allocated space for winter urine storage.

Bunker Farm is a family run Vermont farm which produces naturally raised meats, annuals, perennials, and award winning maple syrup. It is also an agricultural educational center for students and the community and an emerging event space. Bunker Farm applies the Class A biosolid fertilizer that Rich Earth Institute produces, on some of its non-food crops.

Fairwinds Farm participated in the first SARE field trial in which urine was applied to hay fields. Farmers Jay and Janet Bailey have continued to work with Rich Earth Institute by applying pasteurized urine to their hay fields.

Hope Roots Farm, a small farm in Westminster, Vermont, provides the test site where lettuce and carrot crops are grown for the EPA pharmaceutical study.

Whetstone Valley Farm in West Brattleboro, Vermont became our second site to participate in the SARE project field trial.  Farmer Dean Hamilton has continued to work with Rich Earth Institute by applying pasteurized urine to his hay fields.

Elm Lea Farm is the farm of Putney School, a boarding high school located in Putney, Vermont. Elm Lea Farm is a diverse farm and 60 students are involved on the farm each year.  Rich Earth Institute applied pasteurized urine to the Elm Lea hay fields as part of USDA SARE ONE20-375. Rich Earth Institute also supports the ‘Pee Lab’ that Putney School freshman students engage in each year.

Tapalou Guilds is primarily a cut-flower farm that also grows some hemp for CBD production, which they urine-fertilized as part of USDA SARE ONE20-375.

Pete’s Stand grows vegetables on a number of different plots in the Walpole, NH/Westminster, VT area. We worked with John Janiszyn to arrange a trial with sweet corn on a plot in Westminster, VT as part of USDA SARE ONE20-375.

Rebop Farm is a diversified hill farm in Brattleboro, VT doing small-scale dairy, raising pastured meats, and growing some specialty crops, including cold-hardy figs in a high-tunnel, which they urine fertilized as part of USDA SARE ONE20-375.

Yellowbud Farm grows improved trees without any synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Yellowbud Farm applies urine fertilizer provided by the Rich Earth Institute to its tree nursery field in Northfield.

 

Memberships

Endorsements

Best Septic Service has worked closely with Rich Earth in pumping urine from collection sites and transporting it to the farms. Best Septic has also provided urine-only portable toilets for urine collection and community education at Strolling of the Heifers events (2013 and 2014).

Brattleboro Department of Public Works, with Stephen Barrett as manager, has publicly endorsed the work of the Rich Earth Institute.

BuildingGreen, Inc. is an independent company committed to providing accurate, unbiased, and timely information designed to help building-industry professionals. Alex Wilson, founder of the organization, has written about the Rich Earth Institute’s work in the Brattleboro Reformer and in BuildingGreen’s monthly newsletter, Environmental Building News. At the invitation of company president Nadav Malin, the Rich Earth Institute directors participated in a panel discussion on urban water strategies at the 2015 Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA).

Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) selected Rich Earth Institute as one of their top 12 Vital Projects for the 2015 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). The selection of the Rich Earth Institute as a Vital Project publicly and officially acknowledges that our work will result in significant progress towards the Windham region’s economic development goals.

Windham Regional Commission (WRC), headed by Chris Campany, provides an essential link between local, state and federal government. The WRC has included the Rich Earth Institute in the Windham County regional plan.

Windham Solid Waste Management District has included the Rich Earth Institute in their regional Solid Waste Implementation Plan (SWIP), facilitating our application for state permits.

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