Alex Singleton is a Fiber Specialist at International Paper in Port Wentworth, Georgia and he played an instrumental part in Founding the Sustainable Forestry and African American Land Retention Program (SFLR) in Charleston, South Carolina. Previously, he founded a conservation curriculum for underserved youth. This career camp helped shape the minds of our students and gave them a sturdy introduction into the forestry and natural resources field! Find out more about Alex and his incredible work on today’s episode. Landowners have trust issues when it comes to working with others, and they have every reason to be skeptical.
Key Takeaways:
[1:40] A message from Leadership Nature.
[2:20] A quick intro about Alex’s background.
[4:10] How did Alex first get started in forestry?
[8:40] Ms. Balkman was a scary Spanish teacher, but Alex credits her for making the connections necessary to get him introduced to forestry.
[13:40] Alex shares what his experience at Mead Westvaco Paper was like.
[18:00] Alex started a career camp for minority students in Charleston. The camp was active from 1993 to 2006 and a lot of students were exposed to the natural resource industry during that time!
[23:30] How did Alex get introduced to the SFLR program?
[26:45] If you’re not familiar with how the timber markets work, landowners can get poached by buyers and really lose out on the worth of their timber.
[33:45] As Alex was trying to put a program in place for rural African American landowners, the U.S. Endowment gave him a call and was offering a $500,000 grant.
[39:35] Once they started the program, the Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation had phones ringing off the hook from curious landowners.
[46:10] Landowners definitely have trust issues when it comes to working with others, and they have every reason to be skeptical.
[51:35] What advice does Alex have for landowners?
[55:20] What advice does Alex have for fellow resource professionals?
Mentioned in This Episode:
Sustainable Forestry and African American Land Retention Program (SFLR)