Gnarly Tree Sustainability Institute

04/11/2025

Hope to see folks at this upcoming R-STEP workshop and tour on April 24!

04/03/2025

We are so excited to have Paola Ronda representing our team in Puerto Rico. Paola has proven herself to be essential in supporting our USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities project, led by Caribbean Regenerative Community Development, Inc.. through which we are assisting cacao and coffee farmers in the implementation of climate-smart agriculture practices, MMRV, and marketing. She is also supporting our efforts to support urban forestry in southwest Puerto Rico through the U-Tree project, also led by Caribbean Regenerative Community Development, Inc. Thanks for being such a great team member!!

03/31/2025

Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill out Smart Ag Puerto Rico survey aimed at better understanding consumer preferences related to coffee and chocolate. We had 123 responses to the survey and they are proving extremely helpful in guiding our marketing approach for this initiative. As promised, one lucky participant will be receiving a delightful Puerto Rican coffee and chocolate gift basket! The winner of the gift basket is Carlos Barreda. Our colleague Paola Ronda will deliver your gift basket to you. With CRCD Puerto Rico and Cafiesencia Puerto Rico

03/31/2025

Meet one of our newest team members, Juliana Ward! Juliana is a first-year Master in Public Affairs student at O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, pursuing a concentration in Environmental Policy and Natural Resource Management. Juliana is interested in leveraging her quantitative analysis skills to support policies that protect the environment and human health. A couple of her first assignments at GTSI include supporting economic impact analysis for proposed solar projects in Indiana and social media management.

GTSI is helping train the next generation of sustainability leaders by engaging students like Juliana in consulting projects and working with them closely to produce high-quality consulting deliverables. We also help our research associates gain valuable skills by hosting regular skills sessions, supporting networking events, leading mock interviews, and reviewing their resumes. Learn how GTSI is fulfilling its mission of preparing the sustainability leaders of tomorrow by creating sustainability solutions for today by visiting www.gnarlytreesustainability.com

11/19/2024

11/03/2024

The team had a great week in meetings with CRCD Puerto Rico over the last week discussing projects supporting sustainable agriculture and forestry we are working on together!

10/15/2024

Por favor, complete esta encuesta antes del 31 de enero de 2025.

Completa esta encuesta y ayúdanos a apoyar a los agricultores de café y cacao puertorriqueños.

Smart Ag Puerto Rico está dedicado a ayudar a los agricultores locales de café y cacao a adoptar prácticas de agricultura y silvicultura climáticamente inteligentes. Nos complace anunciar una encuesta destinada a comprender las preferencias de los consumidores para desarrollar una etiqueta de sostenibilidad impulsada localmente que mejore las oportunidades de mercado para los productos de café y chocolate.

Te invitamos a que tomes unos minutos para compartir tus hábitos de compra relacionados con el café y el chocolate. Tu opinión guiará nuestras estrategias de marketing y ayudará a generar un impacto positivo. Ten en cuenta que todas las respuestas permanecerán anónimas y se almacenarán de forma segura.

Completa la encuesta en el siguiente enlace: https://ee.kobotoolbox.org/x/h1DnOWJa

Como agradecimiento, los participantes de la encuesta entrarán en un sorteo para ganar una canasta con productos de café y chocolate puertorriqueño. Para participar, simplemente proporciona tus datos de contacto al final de la encuesta.

Gracias por tu apoyo en la promoción de la sostenibilidad y el crecimiento de los agricultores puertorriqueños. ¡Juntos podemos crear un impacto positivo!

10/15/2024

Please complete this survey by January 31, 2025.

Fill out this survey and help us support Puerto Rican coffee and cacao farmers!

Smart Ag Puerto Rico is dedicated to helping local coffee and cacao farmers adopt climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices. We are excited to announce a survey aimed at understanding consumer preferences to develop a locally driven sustainability label that will enhance market opportunities for coffee and chocolate products.

We invite you to take a few minutes to share your purchasing habits related to coffee and chocolate. Your feedback will guide our marketing strategies and help make a positive impact. Please note that all responses will remain anonymous and will be securely stored.

Complete the survey in the following link: https://ee.kobotoolbox.org/x/h1DnOWJa

As a thank you, survey participants will be entered into a drawing for a delightful Puerto Rican coffee and chocolate gift basket! To enter, simply provide your contact details at the end of the survey.

Thanks for your support in promoting sustainability and growth for Puerto Rican farmers! Together, we can create a positive impact!

05/15/2024

Position Announcement
Gnarly Tree Sustainability Institute is currently supporting the Smart Ag Puerto Rico project, with funding from the USDA/NRCS Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Program and will begin supporting projects related to urban forestry and land restoration later this year.

GTSI is looking for a qualified associate analyst to support climate-smart agriculture and forestry projects based in Puerto Rico as an independent contractor working approximately 10 to 20 hours each week as-needed. Core responsibilities will include performing qualitative and quantitative research on sustainable agriculture and forestry practices, data management, contributing to written products, and representing the team at meetings with partners and stakeholders. The selected individual should possess a strong understanding of sustainable agriculture and forestry practices, excellent technical capabilities, effective written and verbal communication skills, proficiency in English and Spanish, knowledge of Puerto Rican cultural context, commitment to working effectively within a multicultural team, and experience with MS Office software (including Word, PowerPoint, Excel). The successful candidate must be in the process of earning a Master’s degree in sustainability or related field or a recent graduate from an accredited Master's program. They must provide their own computer equipment and software and have access to an appropriate remote working environment with high-speed Internet access.

Gnarly Tree Sustainability Institute is a small, woman-owned, certified B-corporation sustainability consulting firm based in Bloomington, Indiana. We specialize in building organizations’ capacity to address their social, environmental, and economic impacts; making sustainability resources go further from the start; and preparing sustainability students to become sustainability leaders. We do so by teaming consultants and NGOs with talented university faculty, researchers, and students. These experienced teams integrate policy and management theory with lessons from real-world experience and best practices to provide cost-effective, creative, and collaborative solutions. GTSI’s unique approach to engaging faculty and students on applied projects enables us to fulfill our mission of preparing sustainability leaders for tomorrow by creating sustainability solutions for today.

To apply for this position, please submit a cover letter and resume to Stephanie Hayes Richards, managing principal of GTSI, at [email protected] no later than Tuesday, June 11, 2024. If you have additional questions about the position or GTSI please contact Ms. Richards at 812.929.9803. Note that Bloomington, Indiana is on Eastern Standard Time.

12/07/2023

So proud to be part of this important work in Puerto Rico!

10/16/2023

We had such a wonderful time tonight hosting these O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Masters students for a mid-semester BBQ! These students are among the future sustainability leaders of tomorrow. Guests included representatives of the O’Neill Environmental Professionals Student Association, research associates, and the Fulbright program.