Posted on May 24th, 2013 by pauline
With Mountainfilm starting today in Telluride, I thought it would be the perfect time to share this post from Hal Clifford, the owner of Take One Creative- a 1% FTP member based in Boulder, CO. This story was originally posted on Mountainfilm’s blog and we thank them for sharing it with us! Have fun this weekend!
I stumbled across Mountainfilm in Telluride in the spring of 1998, a few weeks after I moved to Telluride, Colorado.
A door opened. For a few magical days I felt like an initiate to whom secrets and magic were being revealed. It became my favorite event of the year. Fifteen years later it still is.
I have often tried to explain Mountainfilm to Those Who Do Not Know. I tell them about the mechanics: the ice cream social, the growing number of screens, the fact that you’ll have a conversation with the photographer Aaron Huey or the artist Chris Jordan and it may change your life. But I am unable to convey the ineffable aspects, those things that are both the most evanescent and the most essential to Mountainfilm. They are the qualities that make the festival more than the sum of its parts. Trying to describe them is like trying to explain sex.
For the first few years I was a devoted attendee, living on PowerBars and Cowboy Coffee and too little sleep at that magical green-white moment in May when Telluride is slipping off winter. A decade ago joined the staff and tried to help, with debatable results. Somewhere in there I started to see the 1% for the Planet logo—maybe it was on the screen, or in the program, or on some gear in a local shop. It was just part of the ecosystem.
Then I moved East, had kids, missed a few years.
But the wheel turned. My business partner in Take One Creative, Jason Houston, hung a photography show here in 2009. He returned to Massachusetts with a distinct and recognizable look in his eyes and a similar inability to explain what he had partaken. We were working together at a magazine and so we started teaching ourselves to make videos there because nobody told us we couldn’t.
Our first video didn’t pass muster with the Mountainfilm selection committee (thank you, David, for saving us from ourselves). But for each of the last four years we’ve been able to premiere something on a Telluride screen. In doing so we are putting our creative work before the community we most admire. It feels like BASE jumping. Each time I do it I want to vomit. Then I want to do it again. The cash we give Mountainfilm through 1% is an offering, like the stone you place on a cairn at a mountain pass—just something for the next human to come through.
Last year at the biggest venue, The Palm, on the last morning, the film director Tom Shadyac preached – there’s no other way to describe it – to a packed house of 600. He began by summing up the afterglow we individually experience in the wake of Mountainfilm: We ask ourselves, in the best possible way, “What the hell just happened?”
I may not be able to answer that question, even for myself. But I know it’s important. It’s essential. And every year I can’t wait for it.
Other 1% FTP supporters of Mountainfilm include: Patagonia, Klean Kanteen, Outside, CLIF Bar, New Belgium Brewing, Felt Soul Media and Max Davis Company.
Posted on May 23rd, 2013 by Leah
Stephen Ritz, Dwight Ritcher and Nicole Nelson join Mad Marathon lineup; 1% for the Planet celebrates 10th anniversary
Waitsfield, VT — This July, Vermont’s Mad River Valley will host “The World’s Most Beautiful Marathon” the Mad Marathon, a 1% for the Planet event. While Sunday, July 7 is the official race day, the whole weekend is turning into a can’t miss summer event. The most recent additions to the weekend’s lineup include 1% for the Planet ambassadors Stephen Ritz, founder of Green Bronx Machine, and Dwight Ritcher and Nicole Nelson, both musicians and Vermont natives — Nicole is well known for her stint on the third season of “The Voice”. “Dwight and Nicole” will perform on Friday, July 5 and Ritz will speak about his experience teaching students how to grow vertical ‘living walls’ on July 6th.
Ritcher, Nelson and Ritz are new to the 1% for the Planet family, and excited to be ambassadors as 1% for the Planet celebrates its 10th year.
“Dwight and I are looking forward to performing at an event that does so much good, both for the environment and local and regional communities,” said Nelson. Ritz added, “The Green Bronx Machine is thrilled to come to the Green Mountain State to celebrate our commitment to 1% For the Planet; proof that no matter where you live, work and play, together, we can all make a difference!”
In addition to speeches, musical performances and the official marathon, the weekend will host a fun run for kids and showcase 1% for the Planet’s hometown of Waitsfield, offering participants the chance to enjoy the local Farmer’s Market and cuisine on Saturday before the race.
“We are so honored to have Stephen, Dwight and Nicole join us for this year’s Mad Marathon and the celebration of our 10th year,” said Terry Kellogg, CEO of 1% for the Planet. “The 1% for the Planet family is big and continues to grow, adding nonprofits, businesses, ambassadors and media partners. This event allows us to highlight all of these different groups that come together through our network to make good. Honestly, we can’t think of a better way or setting to have our network celebrate ten years of giving back to Blue.”
1% for the Planet announced its partnership with the Mad Marathon earlier this year, making the third annual Mad Marathon the first marathon dedicated to environmental sustainability. All funds raised by the 1% for the Planet team will be split among three nonprofit partnerships: The Staying Connected Initiative, The Bay Circuit Trail and The Penobscot River Restoration. 1% for the Planet New England nonprofit partners also have the opportunity to create individual teams and raise funds for their organization.
For more information about how to contribute, please visit http://www.crowdrise.com/1percentFTPmadmarathon2013
Posted on May 23rd, 2013 by Leah
The Bay Circuit Trail and Greenway is a 200+ mile trail stretching around greater Boston from Plum Island to Kingston Bay. It’s an amazing place to appreciate and spend some time incredibly close to both urban and suburban areas. The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) supports and promotes the Bay Circuit Trail and Greenway, as one of their major initiatives and is collaborating with The Trustees of Reservations to lead the Bay Circuit Alliance.
“The Bay Circuit Trail is one of Boston’s hidden recreation treasures–a beautiful and unexpected long-distance trail that is also close to home.” Charles Tracy – New England Trail Administrator for the National Park Service.
The trail traverses 57 communities and is in the sphere of more than 4 million people and population centers in greater Boston, New Hampshire, Central/Southern, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. It is a multi-use trail allowing hiking, trail running, biking, horse-back riding, and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and paddling. The trail is also accessible by public transit in some locations and connects multitudes of public lands flanking it.
In January 2013 AMC began a trails inventory of the Bay Circuit Trail. This inventory aims to catalogue trail conditions, signage needs/enhancements, problem areas and obstacles along the trail. Through this assessment a list of priority areas in need of enhancement will be developed.
In order to the complete priority trail projects AMC plans to:
-Hire a seasonal, full-time Bay Circuit Trail Coordinator
-Work with volunteer leaders of the Bay Circuit Trails Committee, as well as towns, communities, college outing clubs and local corporations to recruit and train volunteers to maintain and steward the trail
-Make our members and the public aware of the trail by leading monthly hikes and local chapter family activities on the trail
-Ensure that the trail is easy to follow and has blazes and directional signage throughout and develop a system to establish educational kiosks at key spots along the trail
We are in need of funding to:
-Support the Bay Circuit Trails Coordinator
-Cover the costs of signage, kisoks etc.
We are in need of volunteers to:
-Help maintain the trail
-Lead hikes on the trail and
-Someone who is web savvy to help us maintain the Bay Circuit Alliance website
Please consider supporting the Appalachian Mountain Club and the Bay Circuit Alliance and the good that it models.
“Residents connect with each other and with local industry. Voters connect with their government. Towns connect with neighboring towns. Towns connect with their historical past and preserve land for posterity: Green gems connected by the string that is the Bay Circuit Trail. The positive energy originating from this undying idea sparks a sense of community vigor and cooperation; of physical and mental health; of hope.” Marlies Henderson – Trail Volunteer – Bay Circuit Alliance
For more information, please contact: Kristen Sykes, Director of Conservation Strategies – Appalachian Mountain Club & Director of Operations – Bay Circuit Alliance, ksykes@outdoors.org or 617-391-6565
ABOUT AMC
Founded in 1876 the Appalachian Mountain Club is the oldest conservation and recreation organization in the country. The Appalachian Mountain Club promotes the protection, enjoyment, and understanding of the mountains, forests, waters, and trails of the Appalachian region.
We believe these resources have intrinsic worth and also provide recreational opportunities, spiritual renewal, and ecological and economic health for the region. Because successful conservation depends on active engagement with the outdoors, we encourage people to experience, learn about, and appreciate the natural world.
Posted on May 23rd, 2013 by pauline
1% for the Planet member, The Greenfield Group, has recently switched its focus towards internet marketing. The Greenfield Group is known for its carbon negative marketing programs, in which small environmentally friendly companies can utilize their marketing services to increase sales and help reduce carbon emissions. By focusing on SEO and social media management, The Greenfield Group is now able to reduce the CO2 generated from plastic room key cards and the harmful effects from shipping products across the country.
During this transition, The Greenfield Group was able to donate to two 1% for the Planet recipients: Guitars in the Classroom and Below the Surface.
Guitars in the Classroom trains, equips and empowers classroom teachers to transform learning every subject into a creative, musical process that engages students and promotes learning. Founded in 1998, participants in their free programs learn to play guitar and ukulele, sing and write songs for learning, and to lead singing, songwriting and hands-on music making with students of all ages as an integral part of lessons. They have trained over 9,000 educational song leaders so far and their regionally based programs serve well over half a million students each week.
Rob met Jessica Baron, the founder of Guitars in the Classroom, at a sustainable brands conference and Rob was looking for a solution to recycling his old hotel room key cards. Jessica came up with the idea to turn them into guitar picks, and Picks for the Planet was formed. Since then, The Greenfield Group has created and supplied thousands of recycled guitar picks to Guitars in the Classroom and other groups. Rob has also funded them through his adventures and is currently learning ukulele and guitar in some of their classes.
Below the Surface is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploration of and education about the issues surrounding water. Since 2008, Below the Surface has presented its field observations to groups from Chicago to New Orleans, Redding to San Diego and many points in between. Inspired by Google’s Streetview maps, motivated to rapidly show the general public how water pollution impacts rivers, and driven by a sheer passion to protect our waterways; Below the Surface has put together a team of organizations to bring life to the Riverview Project! Be sure to read more about their Riverview Project and leveraging of the private sector to address water sustainability issues.
Rob introduced Below the Surface to 1% for the Planet and has been working with the founders Jared and Christian on the Riverview Project. The Greenfield Group is also their official sponsor for their biodiesel truck.
Along with a partnership with these two great non-profits, The Greenfield Group is dedicated to different types of Green Initiatives. In 2012 they donated over 400 CFL bulbs to their free CFL bulb exchange in which they partnered with CALPIRG Energy Services. As compared to their incandescent counterpart, over the life of these 400+ bulbs, over 82,500 KwH will be saved and 130,350 lbs of CO2 emissions will be prevented from entering the atmosphere throughout the city of San Diego. Along with their Green Bulbs program, The Greenfield Group partakes in company trash cleanups, picking up roughly a thousand pounds of trash around San Diego in 2012.
The owner (and new 1% FTP Ambassador), Rob Greenfield, has dedicated his life towards improving the environment. He left last month on a coast to coast cycling adventure where he will be living completely off the grid and will be promoting and educating individuals on sustainability. You can learn all about his off the grid adventure, and follow him pedal by pedal all summer by visiting Greenfield Adventures.
We look forward to seeing Rob in Vermont on August 1st!
Posted on May 22nd, 2013 by pauline
Our friends at R&D Events sent over this great explanation of why they continuously support Friends of Nevada Wilderness- thanks for Loving Blue in the desert guys! Also, let us know when you can host a scavenger hunt in Vermont…
A lot of people see Nevada as a desert wasteland – full of brown sagebrush and dirt. But at R&D Events, we see our home a bit differently. We see it as a wild and fun adventure of expansive trails, challenging hikes, gorgeous vistas, and a thriving ecosystem of native plants and critters. We need to give back to the Nevada wilderness that has given us recreational sanctuary and personal fulfillment exploring its lands.
To date, R&D Events has donated more than $16k to our partners, Friends of Nevada Wilderness, through 1% for the Planet. We care passionately about keeping Nevada wild and look forward to a thriving partnership beyond the dollars donated by getting our hands dirty through volunteering – always making sure to steer clear of the prickly pear cactus.
To learn more about R&D Events: www.rndevents.com
To lean more about Friends of Nevada Wilderness: www.nevadawilderness.org
Posted on May 21st, 2013 by pauline
Grounds for Change joined the 1% for the Planet community in October of 2003, as member number thirty, and since that time has cultivated long-lasting relationships with numerous nonprofit organizations across the country.
Migratory bird habitat, the health of our oceans and marine wildlife areas, clean energy, livable wages at home and in coffee producing countries, clean drinking water, access to medical technology, microlending in disadvantaged communities and healthy environments are all issues that Grounds for Change supports through our 1% for the Planet nonprofit partners. Their mission, “To support social equity and environmental sustainability through fair trade, organic, shade grown coffee,” has, at its foundation, the idea that businesses partnering with nonprofit organizations, working toward common goals, can indeed change the world.
In these times, faced with some of the most pressing social and environmental issues ever, it will take collaboration, community and creativity to come up with solutions. These valuable partnerships through 1% for the Planet are a means for this change.
Cheers to Stacy & Kelsey for their continued support of our network! Check out their Facebook page for updates, giveaways AND to enter their haiku contest today! Here’s mine…
Member since 03
Giving back year after year
Thanks for your support
Posted on May 21st, 2013 by barbara
Stephen Ritz, Dwight Ritcher and Nicole Nelson join Mad Marathon lineup; 1% for the Planet celebrates 10th anniversary
Waitsfield, VT — This July, Vermont’s Mad River Valley will host “The World’s Most Beautiful Marathon” the Mad Marathon, a 1% for the Planet event. While Sunday, July 7 is the official race day, the whole weekend is turning into a can’t miss summer event. The most recent additions to the weekend’s lineup include 1% for the Planet ambassadors Stephen Ritz, founder of Green Bronx Machine, and Dwight Ritcher and Nicole Nelson, both musicians and Vermont natives — Nicole is well known for her stint on the third season of “The Voice”. “Dwight and Nicole” will perform on Friday, July 5 and Ritz will speak about his experience teaching students how to grow vertical ‘living walls’ on July 6th.
Ritcher, Nelson and Ritz are new to the 1% for the Planet family, and excited to be ambassadors as 1% for the Planet celebrates its 10th year.
“Dwight and I are looking forward to performing at an event that does so much good, both for the environment and local and regional communities,” said Nelson.
Ritz added, “The Green Bronx Machine is thrilled to come to the Green Mountain State to celebrate our commitment to 1% For the Planet; proof that no matter where you live, work and play, together, we can all make a difference!”
In addition to speeches, musical performances and the official marathon, the weekend will host a fun run for kids and showcase 1% for the Planet’s hometown of Waitsfield, offering participants the chance to enjoy the local Farmer’s Market and cuisine on Saturday before the race.
“We are so honored to have Stephen, Dwight and Nicole join us for this year’s Mad Marathon and the celebration of our 10th year,” said Terry Kellogg, CEO of 1% for the Planet. “The 1% for the Planet family is big and continues to grow, adding nonprofits, businesses, ambassadors and media partners. This event allows us to highlight all of these different groups that come together through our network to make good. Honestly, we can’t think of a better way or setting to have our network celebrate ten years of giving back to Blue.”
1% for the Planet announced its partnership with the Mad Marathon earlier this year, making the third annual Mad Marathon the first marathon dedicated to environmental sustainability. All funds raised by the 1% for the Planet team will be split among three nonprofit partnerships: The Staying Connected Initiative, The Bay Circuit Trail and The Penobscot River Restoration. 1% for the Planet New England nonprofit partners also have the opportunity to create individual teams and raise funds for their organization.
Posted on May 17th, 2013 by jon
Youth are increasingly disengaged from the natural world, spending more and more time sitting in front of screens and less time outdoors. This environmental deficit among young people is a serious problem. For 40 days every summer, Adventure Risk Challenge (ARC) takes a group of high school youth away from their plugged-in lives and into the woods. Using alternative learning strategies they provide intensive, life-changing experiences through wilderness expeditions, outdoor classrooms, and place-based environmental science studies.
Taking it Home
Youth return to their families, neighborhoods, and schools with a new perspective and desire to give back and make a difference. After a summer in the wilderness learning about sustainability, they are far more likely to participate in community service projects for local and regional environmental causes.
ARC is influencing the next generation to build strong bonds with nature, instilling a love of the wilderness and a desire for stewardship. In the words of a participant, “This program has helped me to find my way; it has opened new doors, reinstalled a sense of empowerment, cemented my desire for life in the outdoors and most importantly, showed me the value of service to others and the environment.”
Jamie Husain photo
Support from the Network
A couple of 1% for the Planet member businesses have already stepped up to support the cause, including:
Successes:
- In ten years, ARC has spent 2,400 days in the wilderness, positively influencing youth to spread the ripples of their learning out into their communities.
- Participants learn the principles of 1% for the Planet nonprofit partner Leave No Trace, and embrace our four core values of determination, integrity, compassion, and service, all of which they take back into their communities and homes.
Call to Action:
The success of ARC can be traced back to every hour and every investment made by individuals who believe in inspiring youth through the outdoors. Our volunteers are incredible mentors to our young people, providing hundreds of hours of service every summer as writing coaches, workshop facilitators, and outdoor guides. Contact scottley@berkeley.edu to learn more about our volunteer opportunities, and consider donating here.
ARC also invites the public to attend our Voices of Youth events in Tahoe or Yosemite, an annual presentation of profoundly moving poetry, written in and about the wilderness, and performed by our participants every July.
Jamie Husain photo
The Environmental Leaders of Tomorrow:
ARC’s outcomes are multi-leveled. Over the past 10 years, 77% of our summer course graduates have gone on to college, compared to 46% nationwide. These young people are the next generation of decision-makers, and because of their participation with ARC, they are armed with an ethos of conservation and a love of the outdoors. Lets help this trend continue!
Contact Sarah Cupery Ottley, Director of Programs, scottley@berkeley.edu, 559.676.5096 with any further questions. You can also visit www.arcprogram.org or www.facebook/AdventureRiskChallenge.
Here’s some quotes from recent participants of the program:
“Being in the wilderness has calmed me down and taught me not to take everything for granted. I want to protect the parks and make sure everything isn’t urbanized. We need to work with nature instead of against it.”
“I consider myself special, because not many people are able to see the Sequoia trees and admire all of this. I also think that we all need to take care of nature more and not destroy it.”
Posted on May 11th, 2013 by pauline
Fine Featherheads, a member since 2011, does more than just keep us all looking good; they support nonprofits that keep us healthy too! Last year alone, they donated $45,000 to the Keep A Breast Foundation.
As a company started by a woman, mostly run by women, and selling predominantly to women, they feel breast cancer awareness is an important issue to highlight. The Keep A Breast Foundation does a great job of educating people, especially youth, about cancer-causing toxins in our everyday environment to help with prevention, early detection, and, more importantly they do so in a fun and engaging way.
They also generously donated a large portion of their 1% commitment directly to us! Thank you Fine Featherheads! This type of support above and beyond membership helps us to broadcast the 1% for the Planet message, increase the size of our network and the amount of funding for environmental causes, and deepen member relationships and impact with their 1% FTP non-profit partners. 1% for the Planet leads the movement to harness the strongest force in our time, commerce, with the greatest need in our culture, sustainability.
We are extremely appreciative for the support that Fine Featherheads has offered in the past to both Keep a Breast and 1% for the Planet. We’re thrilled to be Loving Blue alongside them and look forward to increasing our impact together.
Posted on May 10th, 2013 by pauline
Mark Nicholson of Wilderness Creations sent us some info on why he donated to a diverse assortment of nonprofits this year- thanks for Loving Blue Mark!
We gave to 5 different charities this year. We chose to support the Coral Reef Alliance and The Sea Turtle Conservancy because the oceans are just so crucial and face so many challenges. When we do have a chance to get away from work and from the New England winters, we love to go down to the Caribbean and enjoy the beautiful weather and waters. We love to snorkel, dive, and view all of the amazing ocean life.
Another charity we gave to was the Adirondack Council which helps protect the Adirondack Park in upstate New York. Being in the Rustic/Adirondack furniture business, we are very tied to the beauty and culture of Adirondack’s.
We also gave to the Rainforest Alliance and to Save the Redwoods. We feel that it is incredibly important to find ways to protect the vital rain forests from abuse and degradation. The redwoods are a magnificent tree that deserve to have protection from irresponsible logging, so that future generations can witness their greatness.
Check out Mark’s Rustic Furniture Gallery to see his amazing work! My personal favorite is the barrel sauna….
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