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By Emma Castleberry<\/p>\n
David Huff and Jim Warlick have co-founded the George Masa Foundation, a national foundation based in Asheville with the goal of providing young people with tools for engaging in creative and impactful strategies for conservation and climate action.<\/p>\n
Masa was an immigrant who worked in service at the Grove Park Inn and committed his life to conservation. A self-taught photographer, his images depict the natural beauty of what is now the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and show how the area was damaged by wide-scale logging in the early 1900s. \u201cGeorge Masa was an ordinary person who simply followed his passion for preserving wild places,\u201d says Huff. \u201cRather than being paralyzed by the ecological destruction he witnessed, he chose to tell the story of this place through his photography, help to create an organization dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources and advocate for the protection of these mountains. We want to inspire young people to tap into their own creativity as they face the challenges of a rapidly changing planet.\u201d<\/p>\n
The work of the foundation will center around scholarship, innovation, collaboration and action. Projects will include an annual photo contest, grant funding and an annual conservation and climate action conference in Asheville. Jen Zuckerman, director of strategic initiatives at Duke University World Food Policy Center, is on the board of advisors for the George Masa Foundation. \u201cSimply put,\u201d she says, \u201cwhat we have done to date is not working, and it is life and death for all of us. We need new ideas, new momentum and new energy to address climate and conservation issues. Young people need the resources and networks to put their ideas to action.\u201d<\/p>\n
To learn more or to donate, visit GeorgeMasaFoundation.org<\/a>. For additional information about Masa, see Paul Bonesteel\u2019s documentary found at vimeo.com\/ondemand\/georgemasa<\/a> or read the book George Masa\u2019s Wild Vision by Brent Martin.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" David Huff and Jim Warlick have co-founded the George Masa Foundation, a national foundation based in Asheville with the goal of providing young people with tools for engaging in creative and impactful strategies for conservation and climate action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":57429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[105,114,57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservation","category-education","category-lifestyle"],"yoast_head":"\n