The Story
A New Mission — World Restoration
For nearly a decade, Mike's life was defined by mission. Every morning he woke knowing exactly why he was there. His team depended on him. His work mattered. His purpose was clear.
Then one day the mission ended.
Like thousands of military veterans each year, Mike returned home carrying leadership, discipline, resilience, and a deep desire to continue serving something greater than himself. What he did not bring home was a clear answer to a simple question: "What's my next mission?"
At the same time, America is fighting a different kind of battle. Water resources are disappearing. Productive land is degrading. Rural communities are struggling. The people who feed us face mounting environmental and economic challenges. The need for practical, real-world restoration has never been greater.
What if one solution could address both problems?
What if the men and women who once protected our nation could be equipped to help restore the land and water that sustain it?
A new generation of restoration leaders
The Challenge
America Is Fighting a Different Kind of Battle
Water resources are declining. Productive land is degrading. Rural communities are struggling. Per the UN, today, 40% of the world's soil is so degraded it can no longer support food production; and more than 40% of the global population lacks access to safe drinking water.
Desertification is advancing across every inhabited continent. These aren't future projections — they are present realities affecting the communities and landscapes that sustain us.
The reason isn't lack of awareness. It's lack of trained people with the tools, skills, and operational discipline to implement solutions at scale. While there is a massive and increasing demand for tradespeople, for every 4 people leaving trades work, statistically, only 2 people are replacing them. This is a critical situation in our country and completely unsustainable.
Why Veterans
The People Built for This Work
Military veterans bring qualities that environmental restoration demands but rarely finds: mission focus, physical resilience, operational discipline, team leadership, and the capacity to work in difficult and remote conditions.
Tens of thousands of veterans transition out of military service each year facing a civilian workforce that doesn't always know how to value what they bring. The World Restoration Trade School bridges that gap — converting military skillsets directly into high-demand land and water restoration careers.
For veterans, WRTS offers purpose, training, community, and career. For America, it offers the skilled workforce that restoration at scale actually requires.
The School
A Live-In Trade School Built for Real-World Work
Core Training
Six Trades. One Mission.
Career Pathways
Where WRTS Graduates Are Headed
Land and water restoration specialist
Private sector environmental consultant
NGO field restoration team leader
Regenerative farmer and/or rancher
Water resource development contractor
Tradesman conscious of how to avoid negative environmental impact.
Founding Sponsor Registry
Put your name on the land.
The World Restoration Trade School will operate on 200+ acres on a ranch/retreat type of property for our campus. Before the first class of veterans arrives, we are opening a founding sponsor registry — a permanent record of the people who helped to make this land possible.
Founding sponsors claim a named portion of the WRTS compound. When the property is secured and the campus is built, your name goes on the land — at the base of a planted tree, on a bench, a boundary marker, or a plaque, depending on your sponsorship level. You will receive updates as the property search progresses, and you will be among the first to know when land is acquired.