Rainforest Trust launched its new Women’s Conservation League (WCL) on March 8 in honor of International Women’s Day at a kick-off event at Old Bust Head Brewery.

Created in 2018 to coincide with Rainforest Trust’s 30th anniversary and the integral moment in time for women’s empowerment, the WCL is a professional networking group for women that promotes environmentally sustainable lifestyles around the world through local partnerships and community engagement.

“Women have always been a positive force for conservation in their communities,” said Rainforest Trust Chief Philanthropy Officer Leslie VanSant. “Rainforest Trust sees the Women’s Conservation League as a way to connect women and their efforts with other like-minded individuals and movements around the world to add volume and focus to the importance of protecting our planet.”

With Rainforest Trust’s international headquarters located in rural Virginia, the WCL provides the nonprofit with the opportunity to better engage in already-established, local conservation efforts, while maintaining its mission to protect biodiverse habitats in some of the most environmentally threatened areas of the world.

The first of these local conservation efforts will take place Earth Day weekend, when WCL will host an Earth Day of Service that includes trash pick-up with the Adopt-a-Highway program, a park beautification project with the Fauquier County Parks and Recreation department and an electronics recycling drive with ALC Recycling.