The beauty of North Carolina’s beaches and the charm of its small coastal towns beckon travelers from across the country looking to unwind in nature. Here, swamps and marshes give way to sandy hills and forested savannas, creating a diverse landscape full of flourishing plants and wildlife.

What We’re Doing

Through a precedent-setting initiative, Apple is working to protect — and create — as much sustainable working forest as is needed to produce the paper it uses in its product packaging. Apple is partnering with The Conservation Fund to permanently protect more than 36,000 acres of working forest in the eastern United States, including Brunswick Forest in North Carolina. This initiative prevents forest fragmentation, addresses climate change, filters water for communities downstream and provides a steady supply of sustainably harvested timber to paper and pulp mills.

The 3,600-acre forest we’re protecting in North Carolina will connect to the 17,000-acre Green Swamp Preserve, improving biodiversity and connectivity for wildlife in the area. A natural resource assessment that we commissioned found six rare species, including the carnivorous Venus flytrap plant, present in Brunswick Forest. As of February 2016, we had planted 185,000 trees across 300 acres, including 40 acres of native longleaf pine and Atlantic white cedar, which provide a home for the rare Hessel’s hairstreak butterfly. The property is currently being managed as a working forest under the standards of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.

Why This Project Matters

North Carolina illustrates a trend occurring across the country: Working forests are being sold and then resold into smaller pieces — chopped up and converted to subdivisions and shopping centers, which threatens to destroy wildlife habitat and community character. Safeguarding our working forests helps our environment and our economy, and improves our quality of life.

Learn More

• Where We Work: North Carolina