Rachel Toker's Contact Details

Rachel Toker's Company Details

Urban Ecosystem Restorations, Inc.

Glen Echo, MD, US • 5 - 9 Employees
Waste/Recycling/Environmental

Natural green space is a precious resource in Washington DC and other growing cities. As our metropolitan region has developed over the past decade, we've lost over four square miles of green space annually -- or the equivalent of nine National Malls each year. When we lose natural areas (and with them, their natural system functions), we lose the capacity to combat many of the most pressing environmental and health challenges urban areas face -- deteriorating water and air quality, the urban heat island effect, increased flood risk from climate change, chronic public health challenges (like obesity, diabetes, and other health risks that stem from limited physical activity or decreased access to nature), reduced habitat for the pollinators so critical for local food production, and more.Urban Ecosystem Restoration's vision is to increase protected green spaces throughout urban regions, but not just any green space. We create, protect, and aggregate Eco-Functioning Spaces. Eco-Functioning Spaces are green spaces that address many different environmental challenges by virtue of their design and engineering, while at the same time adding social and economic value to the urban areas around them. Eco-Functioning Spaces capture and clean water, improve air quality, manage temperature extremes, and provide native habitat. Critically, Eco-Functioning Spaces provide the physical and mental health benefits that science increasingly documents people derive from nature, even in small spaces. UER's mission is to catalyze the installation of Eco-Functioning Spaces in the DC area, making the business case to landowners and demonstrating the performance capabilities of these sites. We protect and steward these spaces so they perform over time. And we engage people in these spaces, helping them understand why these spaces are so special and how to make the most of them.Eco-Functioning Spaces make every square foot count. With your help, we can use them to transform our region and our future.