This week a lively citizen review panel gave its stamp of approval to a tree planting project facilitated by Boxerwood in 2023. The approval means this completed project met COREworks standards of quality. The project will sequester at least 12 metric tons of carbon, which means 12 more offsets are ready for the COREworks online marketplace. Thank you to review team members Marcy Orr, John Driscoll, and Charlie Page as well as Lyndsey Spotts (Chesapeake Bay Foundation) and Dr. Samuel Hirt (SVU ecologist) for your diligence and care.
This project joins four other local earth care projects already listed in the COREworks marketplace. Each of these projects went through a similar verification process prior to listing. During review, the teams assess the application against a rubric that features industry-wide best practices as well as COREworks specific standards. The review includes evaluating project details as well formulas employed to calculate offsets.
Verification is a very important part of the carbon offset industry. Recently, some international marketplaces have been in the news for less-than-credible projects. COREworks avoids that problem by working locally, where all of us can see the trees, solar panels, and other offset-generating projects. The citizens’ panel, known to our community, add a second layer of verification for COREworks customers.
According to COREworks Coordinator Ginny Johnson, “We expect projects listed in the COREworks marketplace to not only meet the quality and transparency of offsets available from other sources, but to also go above and beyond in the benefits they provide to our local communities and ecosystems.” Sometimes that means as a result of a preliminary review Boxerwood (as applicant) has to re-do certain parts of the application, or include additional documents like maps. Ginny noted the critical role the external review teams play in ensuring each project truly lives up to its ideals.
This most recently approved project bundled together several youth-focused tree plantings led by Boxerwood in 2023. As documented in the application, the efforts resulted in just over 100 newly planted trees. During the life of the project, the trees will not only sequester 12 metric tons of carbon, but will also help protect water quality, provide habitat for wildlife, improve air quality, and further engage youth in eco-action: all examples of the “offsets plus” model championed by COREworks.
To learn more about COREworks, acquire carbon offsets of your own, or volunteer for a review team visit coreworks.boxerwood.org or email coreworks@boxerwood.org.