The Power of “1 Acre”

“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”
– Native American Proverb

As the central message and principal cause of Save Your World’s conservation goals are based upon “1 Product = 1 Acre of Rainforest Saved for 1 Year”, we believe our customers should have a more thorough, vividly realized portrait of what “1 Acre” means in this ever-changing world.

What Is the Measure of “1 Acre”?

When considering an accurate determination for what 1 Acre could be, remember 1 Acre is a unit of measure used to express or define an area of land, and therefore has no particular width, length, or definable shape – it can be round, square, polygon, etc.

According to the ever-expanding online resource, Wikipedia, “one international acre is equal to 4,047 square meters”, or approximately 4,840 square yards. To give U.S. customers an idea, that’s 93 yards of a 100-yard long football field, given the NFL’s standard 50-yard width dimensions.

Other measures of the area of 1 Acre could be:

One/Half (1/2) New York City block = 1 Acre
Three (3) high-school gymnasiums = 1 Acre
Four (4) Olympic swimming pools = 1 Acre
One-Thousand (1000) king-size beds = 1 Acre

What Is the Value of “1 Acre”?

Beyond the simplified comparison between an NFL field and the size of 1 Acre, here are a few clarifying descriptions and comparisons.

The word “acre” is derived from Old English æcer, originally meaning "open field", which is similar to the German Acker, Latin ager, and Greek αγρος, or “agros,” as in “agriculture.” The “acre,” as originally determined, was approximately the amount of land tillable by one man behind one ox in one day. One man, one ox, one day equals 1 Acre.

1 man + 1 ox + 1 day = 1 Acre

In the valuation of property, how the U.S. dollar trades for 1 Acre of land can vary widely, depending on the location of the land. For instance, 1 Acre of oceanfront property in sunny Malibu Beach, California goes for around $3 million per acre, whereas 1 Acre of riverfront property along the Rio Grande in west Texas goes for around $60 per acre.

$3,000,000 USD + Malibu, Ca. = 1 Acre or $60 USD + Lajitas, Tx. = 1 Acre


What Is the “Value” of Save Your World’s Land Acreage?

With Save Your World, we want to have a different valuation of land acreage. Rather than assessing its importance for development, business, or tourism, Save Your World measures the value of our land acreage for its sustainable, ecologically sound environment supporting indigenous people and native flora, fauna, and wildlife.

Guyana Wildlife

For instance, in Guyana’s Upper Essequibo region, we found an opportunity we feel fortunate with because of the genuine eco-value of Guyana’s land and resources. Over three-quarters of Guyana’s landmass are made up of forest, and about 60% of that is classified as primary or “old growth” forest. This is significant for its biodiversity and eco-value.

1 “Save Your World” Acre = Primary Forest!

Primary forest is a forest that is of superior age and growth maturity, possessing diversified and unique biological features. Because of the older age and height of many trees within old growth, primary forests, they are often more shaded than other types of forests.

Primary forests are unique, and usually have intricate, highly evolved layers of vegetation, with myriad species and aging of trees. To consider an accurate “value” of these lands would be difficult. In terms of their ecological importance, primary forests are truly “priceless” – valued beyond standard real-estate assessments. What is of upmost value and importance to Save Your World is the conservation of our planet’s primary forest stands.

Deforestation and Destruction

Primary forests are threatened by habitat destruction due to massively destructive logging and clear-cut logging activity, which reduces biodiversity both in terms of decreasing the amount of primary forest and habitat that remain on the planet as well as the destruction and, therefore, reduction in the level of remaining native or indigenous species living within primary forest habitat.

Guyana's primary forests are highly diverse: the country has some 1,263 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles, and 6,409 species of plants. According to an assessment by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), the forests in Guyana can be classified as follows: wet evergreen (36%), montane (35%), swamp and marsh (15%), dry evergreen (7%), seasonal (6%), and mangrove (1%).

1 Acre = 1 World

As you might imagine, we believe you can help us to Save Your World -- 1 Acre at a time. Failing to preserve rainforests like the Guyana Reserve and their plants and animals can lead to their extinction. These plants and animals may have unknown medicinal qualities that would be lost forever if they died out.

Although a quarter (25%) of Western pharmaceuticals contain ingredients from plant sources, only 1% of rainforest plants have even been tested for medicinal value. Protecting the rainforest keeps these valuable resources intact and prevents further loss of species.

The destruction of rainforests over the next 25 years is predicted to wipe out or endanger almost half the world’s animals, plants, and microorganisms. 1 Acre of primary forest in Save Your World’s Guyana Reserve can support up to 500 trees! That’s why it’s so important we do what we can to reverse these actions and take necessary measures, such as those implemented in our Upper Essequibo Conservation Concession through partnerships with Conservation International.

Our Conservation Mission

In 2006, a group of family and friends joined together to create Guyana Reserve with the Save Your World project. The mission of this organization is to provide financial support for and create public awareness around conserving our world’s natural resources.

By purchasing our products, you are contributing to the Save Your World project, a partnership with Conservation International and the Government of Guyana Forestry Commission. The project secures rainforest habitat that would have been leased by mining or logging companies. Every purchase you make helps protect one whole acre of dwindling habitat, thus keeping it in its pristine condition:

1 Product = 1 Acre of Rainforest Saved for 1 Year.

Do your part today and reverse humankind’s acts of destruction by making a purchase of Save Your World products where “1 Product = 1 Acre of Rainforest Saved for 1 Year”. It’s just like a carbon calculator only better, as you get great all-natural products while reversing negative effects on the environment by saving rainforest acres.