Environmental Leadership & Training Initiative

We are happy to announce that the Environmental Leadership & Training Initiative (ELTI) at the Yale School of the Environment has several opportunities to join our New Haven-based team!

In collaboration with the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture, ELTI is excited to kick off a new, multi-year national (U.S.) coastal resilience technical assistance program, with generous support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)!

We are hiring three program managers to work on this grant, two of which will be hosted within ELTI, while the third will be based at YCNCC.
▪️Coastal Resilience Lead (YCNCC)
▪️Coastal Resilience Convening and Events
▪️Nature-based Solutions & Coastal Resilience Training

Visit elti.yale.edu/news to learn more about these opportunities and submit your application today. Start date for all 3 positions is "ASAP," and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Apply today!

We are excited to share this lineup of speakers sharing "Notes from the Field" and stories on bridging gaps in forest restoration in Kigali on Friday.

Featuring two of ELTI's own: Dr. Amy Vedder, senior lecturer at Yale and TFL instructor, and Angelina Serwaa ('26 MEM, '24 TFL), as well as Dr. Maurice Mugabowindekwe, Mujawamaliya Providence, and Dr. Adrie Mukashema.

Link to register: https://lnkd.in/ej_8AU-u

Today, the Tropical Forest Landscapes online certificate program mentors hosted admitted learners in a virtual "Admitted Participants Day" event! Our team enjoyed getting to see our applicants for the first time and learning more about their motivations for enrolling.

We are looking forward to officially starting the program in July and are excited to support you on your journey!

Coral Rodríguez, ELTI's Field Coordinator in Panama, attended the Participatory Workshop for the Development of the National Forest Restoration Program, facilitated by Panama's Ministry of the Environment, which served as a forum to create a roadmap to guide restoration efforts in Panama over the next decade. Coral facilitated a working group that discussed practical restoration activities that can be implemented with landowners, using ELTI's model farm networks throughout Panama's central provinces as a successful example, which illustrate how farmer's have adopted a range of restoration activities that improve on-farm production while conserving ecosystem services and biodiversity.

We are thrilled to introduce Dr. Amy Vedder as a featured speaker for our 2nd Annual Forest Landscape Restoration Symposium. Dr. Vedder will share insights on translating her decades of conservation science and practice, forged in Rwanda, to teaching and mentoring the next generation of forest conservation and restoration professionals.

🌍 Join us from Friday, June 5th, for an evening of reflection and exchange on forest landscape restoration across Africa.

👉 Full details and registration: https://elti.yale.edu/events/second-annual-forest-landscape-restoration-symposium-and-reception

From March to April 2026, professionals and practitioners engaged in restoration, sustainable land use, and productive landscape management took part in the Productive Systems for Forest Landscape Restoration online course, an initiative that demonstrated how well-designed productive systems can actively contribute to restoring landscapes and strengthening biodiversity.

Over six weeks, participants deepened their technical knowledge of agroforestry systems, silvopastoral systems, and native species silviculture, exploring practical examples applicable to the Central Atlantic Forest Corridor in Brazil. The course combined scientific foundations, real-world case studies, and exchange among experts and field practitioners engaged in restoration efforts, with contributions from university professors, along with specialists from leading companies at the forefront of productive systems and sustainable land-use innovations in Brazil.

Beyond improving productivity and livelihoods, the course reinforced a core message: producing and conserving can go hand in hand. Integrating productive systems into forest landscape restoration is a key strategy for transforming rural areas into more resilient, connected, and biodiverse landscapes.

WCS Rwanda program manager Gracie Bachmann travelled to Laikipia County, Kenya, to join Natural State’s first cohort of the Landscape Restoration Projects Course. Over the course of the week, Gracie joined restoration strategy development sessions and visited restoration sites stewarded by neighboring conservancies and indigenous communities.

Reflecting on the experience, Gracie shared, “It was powerful to see how the cultural identity of Laikipia’s pastoralists and cattle ranchers is driving the restoration of degraded savanna.”

Join us on June 5th from 2:30-8:00pm for our second annual Forest Landscape Restoration Symposium and Reception in Kigali, Rwanda. We look forward to seeing you there!
Register here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=u76M3Tkh-E20EU4-h6vrXMvaB9mTirtIs20XxvJ94zlUMzlIRE9CUlZQVDZMWlpOSVhPWVlTUERLQi4u&route=shorturl

🤝🌱 Strengthening collaboration for sustainable mangrove management

At Blue Forests’ Restoration Opportunity Assessment Method (ROAM) workshop in South Sulawesi, the Blue Forests–ELTI Indonesia program coordinator, Lely Puspitasari, shared insights on sustainable mangrove management, highlighting blue carbon as an integral part of the approach.

The workshop brought together the South Sulawesi Mangrove Working Group, connecting regional and local government, academia, NGOs, and the private sector, to support more effective mangrove restoration and long-term management.

Today is commencement for Yale School of the Environment!

The ELTI team would like to extend a heartfelt congratulations to the 2026 graduates, especially to our student fellows, who have worked so hard to further ELTI's mission over the past few years.

▪️ Allen Glen Gil, YSE, Master of Forest Science
▪️ Julius Bronola, YSE, Master of Environmental Science
▪️ Micah Franklin, School of Divinity, Master of Arts in Religion
▪️ Nandini Arora, YSE, Master of Environmental Management
▪️ Tiffany Hu, Yale College, Bachelor of Science in Statistics & Data Science and Bachelor of Arts in English

We have enjoyed collaborating with you, and we cannot wait to see all that you accomplish in the future!