The Cumberland Forest Project with Greg Meade

The ForestLink newsletter sign-upNatureVest (The Nature Conservancy)The Cumberland Forest ProjectBlended FinanceToday, I’m joined by Greg Meade, Cumberland Forest Project Director at NatureVest. In this conversation, Greg explains how the Cumberland Forest Project was structured as a closed-end private investment fund designed to put conservation and community outcomes on equal footing with financial return. We talk about blended finance, sustainable timber harvesting, carbon offsets, conservation easements, renewable energy, and the project’s community fund in rural Appalachia. Greg also shares what NatureVest has learned from building this model, how the fund is performing relative to US timberland benchmarks, and what investors and forest managers can take away from this whole-forest-value approach.“What makes this project different is that we didn’t treat conservation as an add-on—we embedded it directly into how the asset operates, which allowed us to attract concessional capital and approach forest management in a fundamentally different way.”00:12 – Introduction to Forest Invest  00:34 – Greg Meade’s favorite tree: sourwood  01:32 – Greg Meade’s background in forestry  03:07 – What NatureVest does  03:30 – Overview of the Cumberland Forest Project  04:38 – Fund assets and geography  05:51 – Blended finance and concessional debt  09:49 – Who invested in the fund  11:54 – How the project differs from traditional TIMOs  13:27 – Exit strategy and protecting long-term impact  15:48 – Forest management and revenue streams  18:05 – Community fund and local economies  20:41 – Mineral royalties and reclaimed coal revenue  23:35 – Revenue diversification across the portfolio  26:21 – Investor concerns about geographic concentration  27:40 – Local staff and operational setup  29:54 – Impact outcomes achieved so far  33:37 – Financial performance  34:06 – Lessons learned  38:32 – Advice for replicating the model  40:40 – What’s next for NatureVest  43:37 – Advice for new forest investors  44:52 – Closing remarks  Founding Director and Host: Shauna Matkovich - The ForestLinkProducer and Editor: Magdalena Laas - Unscripted CreativesNature by MaxKoMusic/SoundcloudSopwell Woodlands and Scohaboy Bog SAC, Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, IRELAND by wild_rumpus/SoundcloudAmbient Documentary by Sound Guru (Pixabay)Sign up now for the ForestLink’s newsletter, where you’ll receive technical advice, reflections, and best-practice guidance to support you with your forest-linked investment strategy or business straight to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.