John Magilke
4 min readDec 21, 2020

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Emerging Help at Synergy for Ecological Solutions

Non-profits, many times, are about changing people’s lives. This one is about helping to increase climate wellness.

Synergy for Ecological Solutions (S4ES) is about changing the world one farm field at a time. One pasture at a time. One wood lot at a time. It’s about connecting you with the land in a way you’ve never been connected.

S4ES is convinced the solution is right under your feet.

There is much talk today about carbon offsets, carbon credits, and doing the small things we can do to try to off-set our huge appetite for all things that emit carbon into our precious atmosphere. Jeff Holder is concerned about carbon offsets with a twist. A very simple twist.

A Founder with a Vision

Jeff has spent much of his career guiding, educating, and otherwise influencing our young children from behind the curtain of television media. As VP of creative affairs at Sony Wonder. Jeff served as executive in charge of production for the Sesame Street prime time specials and direct to DVD titles.

He was also a producer for Big Idea where he produced the VeggieTales series, “The Cartoon Adventures of Larry Boy.”

With his hand in influencing a few generations of our young people from backstage, it was only a natural progression for him to have concern for the future of the planet and what we’ll be passing on to our young people.

A Desire for Something Better

Through a deep desire to do what he can for the environment. Jeff looked at what was being done. He researched the carbon offsets or carbon credits that seemed to be all the rage. These concepts left him looking further.

Looking for something else; something understandable.

Something effective.

Something tangible.

Something simple.

Many people that have bought carbon credits don’t understand them or how they actually work.

Do they work at all?

Nobody Does it Alone

It wasn’t until he was working in conjunction with agricultural consultant, entrepreneur, and retired rodeo clown Marvin Nash that his idea began to develop.

Marvin works with his wife, Darlene Nash, owner of Encore Green Environmental, an agricultural company that puts water to beneficial use. Jeff serves as the general manager.

It was while talking to Marvin that they came up with the idea of helping farmers and ranchers build up the health of the soil on their properties and those properties they look after.

With Jeff serving on the board of more than one non-profit, it was a natural transition for his thought process to head in the direction of a not-for-profit organization.

With these ideas in mind, a lot of phone calls and meetings; Synergy for Ecological Solutions was born.

How Does it Work

Plants naturally store carbon and release oxygen into the atmosphere. All plants; not just trees. The more plants the more carbon that is returned to the soil through photosynthesis.

Simple!

Land that is being farmed or set aside for grazing livestock and land held in trusts of many different kinds; land being overseen by land stewards everywhere.

You can help these stewards of the land with donations to S4ES. Synergy for Ecological Solutions will make sure your donations end up in the right hands through science.

Scientific testing and consultation with local farmers/ranchers will yield the valuable information needed. This information will guide today’s land stewards in a direction that will store carbon dioxide in the roots of more plants. At the same time, these plants will produce oxygen into the air we breathe.

Your donations will help them move forward on a course of action that will help bring soil to its optimum potential. The result will be more efficient carbon storage in the roots of plants, and the soil they grow in. Along with cleaner, healthier air as the plants emit fresh oxygen into the atmosphere around us.

What makes S4ES Unique

So, doesn’t the US government have programs for farmers/ranchers to do these things?

Yes, they do. In a sense.

Jeff would point out that S4ES can help stewards of the land in ways the USDA cannot or will not. Synergy for Ecological Solutions will help with:

  • Projects that are too small for the USDA to address.
  • Purchases of equipment that the USDA will not buy.
  • Funding for unconventional projects with the potential to build soil health.
  • Allowing land stewards the flexibility to make decisions without recourse of action.

The USDA has many programs that benefit farmers/ranchers. Their primary focus is not on environmental aspects. It is about advancing agriculture and those whose lives depend on agriculture. With recent rollbacks at the EPA, the focus on the environment is rarely even secondary.

Many times, help from the USDA has so many regulations that the land steward cannot accomplish what they want because of them. Synergy for Ecological Solutions is unencumbered and gives the land stewards what they need that will benefit both the steward and the soil. The only requirement will be that the funds be used to benefit the soil in such a way that the soil captures more carbon and releases more oxygen.

The Purpose is Right Under Your Feet

Synergy for Ecological Solutions, through the guidance of Jeff Holder, stands firm in its commitment to the soil.

S4ES’s focus is simple. As Jeff Holder says, “it is right under your feet.”

You are walking on the solution to a brighter future for our grandchildren.

With proper nourishment, the soil will feed us, replenish the air we breathe, and store carbon for generations to come.

Remember, you are standing on the answer!

Landowners can learn how to be in the program here: CarbonAssetNetwork.com

Those wishing to learn more or donate toward carbon sequestration can join here: synergyforecologicalsolutions.org/

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John Magilke

Copywriter in the Automotive, Agriculture, & Natural health & wellness industry. Helping clients understand the products they need.