Rangers have been a pretty big part of my life these past several years. They seem to pop up everywhere in life – in books, in parks, in environmental law class, in SUVs on California highways, and now… on iPhones.
Since coming to 1% for the Planet, I’ve been quite prideful of my Junior Ranger status, and it’s been most rewarding to watch as my affinity for park rangers and my work here at 1% for the Planet overlap again and again. Just after a few months in house, I connected with a with a staff person at Rocky Mountain Nature Association by way of sharing our Junior Ranger experiences. We took to signing our correspondences to one another, “from one Junior Ranger to another.” Less than a month later, I found out one of our members, American Park Network, was responsible for the publication of the renowned Oh, Ranger! book that I’d read while gallivanting the grandeur of Yosemite valley. Who knew!? Mark, of American Park Network, made my day when he found his way to our 1% booth at Outdoor Retailer this January, and there we exchanged Ranger stories.
And now, now, American Park Network offers a wonderful new smart phone application, Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder™. This notification came to my inbox and without a breath I downloaded the app. Being familiar with the geography in Vermont, I hadn’t put it to use until a couple weeks later when I found myself in Oregon, driving in no particular direction, in search of a campsite before sunset. With darkness looming and growing tired of the relentless logging roads, I recalled the Oh, Ranger! app and put it to use. This app changed everything.
The horizon before us was no longer filled with tractor trailer trucks and endless highway, but it now glimmered with abundant waterfalls, hot springs, ski areas, campsites and even, not too far off, Crater Lake (the app informed us that we’d clearly taken a route due south further than we’d realized)! I couldn’t think of a more useful application for someone such as myself who all too often goes off the map, has a horrendous sense of direction, and enjoys spontaneous adventure – all in the company of a best friend with many of the same attributes. While one part of camping and adventuring is going off the charts and turning off the phone and computer, I will fend for the smartphone in this instance and say that if you’re out and about on a drive and want to find a fun stop, a nearby park to explore, or just spice things up with some adventure, definitely bust out the Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder™ app. It’ll make your day – possibly even your trip – as it puts to use modern technology to get back to the natural environment that we’re all working hard to conserve. While the app inherently supports all parks by raising awareness about them, the 1% donation given on behalf of this app from American Park Network supports nonprofit partners Tread Lightly! and The Student Conservation Association (SCA).
Once you scout out a park with your new Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder™ app, be sure to go and get certified as a Junior Ranger – no matter how old you are
Last night Brittany and Brodie muscled (not motored) their way by bike to Onion River Sports just over the hill from 1% HQ in Montpelier, VT for a Patagonia Advocate Week event. Patagonia Footwear’s Advocate Weeks program is taking place at more than 80 independent retailers across the US this year. Inspired by Patagonia Footwear’s 1% for the Planet Advocate Moc, retailers select a local conservation NGO and Patagonia footwear donates $10 for each pair sold during a two week period, Onion River Sports chose to support the Green Mountain Club, a 1% recipient NGO that protects and maintains all 273 miles of Vermont’s Long Trail. Onion River Sports invited both Green Mountain Club as well as 1% to have tables in their store to explain how each organization worked as well as the details of the Advocate program. Onion River also showed appreciation to their patrons by having a table of snacks and drinks.
Photo Courtesy of Brittany
This event kicked off a month at Onion River where donations will be made for each pair of shoes sold. Other Advocate Weeks like this are happening all over the country, supporting numerous NGO’s that are working to protect your favorite areas! Check out the Advocate Weeks microsite to find an event in your city.
And. If you’re still wondering what this program is all about, check out this video from Mountain Sports in Arizona about the Patagonia Advocate Weeks program—it’ll clear things up!
News to me, but definitely not to the pop-culture conscious middle and high school students who teamed up with member company TREW Gear in Washington and non-profit partner Envirolution in Nevada for recent events.
Chris, John and Tripp from TREW spent the morning last Thursday with a class of 7th graders from The Dalles Middle School exploring a piece of protected land outside of Dallesport, WA. Their “bioblitz” was run by the folks at the Columbia Gorge Ecology Institute, the recipient of TREW’s 1% donation.
30 students joined several volunteers from Columbia Gorge and TREW to catalogue the incredibly diverse ecosystem they found just outside town. They discovered water beetles, a scorpion, sparrows and turkey vultures, various kinds of indigenous vegetation, and checked out a pond formed more than 13,000 years ago. As TREW front man Tripp pointed out, “realizing that in just this small area there is so much variety of life can help these young kids to appreciate the even more monstrous diversity of our planet.”
After the Blitz the TREW Crew headed north to ski a recent dump of spring powder and we turned our attention to Nevada.
The coalition, known as GREENevada (Growing Resources for Environmental Education in Nevada) launched a High School Sustainability Plan competition in November and held final presentations on Earth Day. Nevada Governor Bryan Sandoval was on hand, along with experts from the renewable energy industry and academia.
Students from nine high schools competed for $28,000 that they could use to implement sustainability plans they entered in the contest. The money, awarded as part of a $50,000 Pepsi REFRESH grant, will allow students to address environmental challenges they identified at their schools through energy audits and consumption analysis.
Events like this are empowering the next generation to be proactive about addressing climate change. At 1% we’re thrilled to see member companies and non-profit partners teaming up with youth to create positive change. Us old folks might even learn what a Bieber is in the process.
With the 41st Earth Day mere days away, innovative member and NGO partnerships have been streaming in. Here’s a few more to get you in the spirit…
-For 1% non-profit partner San Diego River Park Foundation, Earth Day is just business as usual. With park and river clean-up brigades canvassing local areas weekly, their volunteers have removed 1.3 million pounds of trash from the San Diego River in the past few years. In executive Director Rob Hutsel’s words “We are at it again on April 23rd as we tackle a new stretch of the river. We anticipate more than 100 volunteers joining us.” To join the April 23 San Diego River clean-up project on April 23, please visit their website for additional details (and get inspired by enthusiastic river clean-up volunteers below!)
-One of our newest members, Ohmlop, is debuting their 1% membership with a $1 donation for every connector cable sold in April to the Basel Action Network (BAN). An industry trailblazer, Ohmlop’s USB, iPhone, and iPad are completely free of PVC and are covered instead by braided cotton. Their partnership with BAN, whose mission is to end environmental degradation and social injustices caused by the electronic waste trade, is particularly well-aligned!
-Get a discount on organic, fair-trade, shade-grown coffee from 1% member Grounds for Change. Use coupon code PLANT-A-TREE-15 to save 15% and they will plant a tree for each order received using that code.
-Patagonia Footwear Advocate Weeks are taking place nationwide this week and throughout the rest of the spring. Inspired by the 1% for the Planet Advocate Moc, the Patagonia Footwear team has partnered with Patagonia stores and independent retailers to help raise awareness and funds for local conservation efforts. During Advocate weeks, Patagonia Footwear will donate $10 to local conservation organizations selected by the retailer. Check out the full listing of events to find an event near you!
BREAKING: Our members in France are now celebrating their 100th 103rd member! But before we missed the 100th member party entirely, our very own Marketing VP, Melody, caught up with 1% member / photographer Emmanuel Donfut from his company Balao for a Skype interview and inspiring slideshow. Watch a couple minutes in for a view of 1% in France through a camera’s lens.
With this aptly chosen reenactment of the famous French Revolution painting, Liberty Leading the People, member companies on the French Riviera celebrate a present-day tour de force: 100 members of 1% for the Planet… and counting!
Getting members together for a networking event is a great way to share sustainability stories, recruit prospective companies to join, collaborate around a new giving project, or show off the great people, companies, and non-profits behind 1%. Big thanks — and CONGRATULATIONS — to the 1% members in France for expanding the pool of funding going to environmental projects each year.
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Join us Wednesday, May 12th, at 1:00 pm EDT (New York time) for a brown bag lunch call with Woody Tasch, founder and president of Slow Money, a nonprofit that connects investors to their local economies.
Today, a growing movement stands behind the idea that our lives would be richer if money would just slow down a bit. By directing our money into more local enterprise (remember the “buy local” and “eat local” movements?) the Slow Money team says we can take a vital first step toward building what they call a ‘nurture capital industry.’ But the truth is, investing locally just isn’t easy at this point. Take, for example, our retirement savings: when we put money away, those funds are teleported into a global capital market that shuffles around 3 trillion dollars each day. Imagine putting this money to work locally.
Next Wednesday, Woody Tasch will explain to us how moving towards more local economic principles can benefit our planet and everyone involved.
Enter your contact information below to sign up for the call. Then keep an eye out for an email will all the call-in instructions. The call, including a question and answer session with Woody, will last about an hour.
Registration is no longer available — this call has already taken place.
We’ve posted the recorded call above!
About Woody Tasch and Slow Money: Slow Money is a new nonprofit organizing an international movement to bring money back down to earth.
Founded by Woody Tasch, a pioneer in merging investing and philanthropy, Slow Money’s mission is to build local and national networks, and develop new financial products and services, dedicated to:
• investing in small food enterprises and local food systems;
• connecting investors to their local economies; and,
• building the nurture capital industry.
Can’t make the call? No problem — you can still submit a question. Just send an email with your name, location, and question to brownbag@onepercentfortheplanet.org. We’ll post the full audio recording of the call right on this blog following the call, so you can always peruse past BBL calls on your own schedule.
This Saturday we encourage you to drop all plans, grab your circle of friends and family, and join the big circle, our global community, in action for 1% for the Planet Non-Profit Partner 350.org‘s International Day of Climate Action. Voice, act, dance, paddle, ring, play, sing, whatever you can offer, in show of your support for the number 350, representing 350 parts per million, the scientifically backed “safe upper limit” for CO2 in our atmosphere. With creative events and gatherings across the globe, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved with this powerful message that affects us all. Click here to find out what’s happening nearest you.
How are we celebrating? You can find us at Vermont’s 350 Dance Party at Higher Ground in Burlington. Headlined by 1% for the Planet member Barefoot Truth (member since Jan. ’08) the show will be simulcast online and on cable throughout the state so all can join.
1% for the Planet will also have a presence in New York City, circumnavigating Manhattan Island with a group in kayaks stenciled by area students.
Calling all 1% for the Planet members, if you’re participating in a 350 action this Saturday, please write me at kate@onepercentfortheplanet.org. We’d be happy to share your support with updates to our blog post here!
This call has already taken place. Listen to the call streaming!
Or download the entire file. Right click on this link, then “Save Link As…”.
About the call:
2009 could mark the most significant year in climate change history as world leaders meet in Copenhagen this December to tackle a new plan for curbing global greenhouse gas emissions.
Currently, our atmosphere carries over 387 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide – the leading cause of global climate change. Our top climate scientists (James Hansen, Nicholas Stern, Rajendra Pachauri, and Al Gore) have indicated that a safe climate future rests at 350 ppm (or less). Actions across the globe will take place on October 24th - the International Day of Climate Action – to help spread awareness around this number and the forthcoming release of the United Nation new international climate change treaty.
Join 350.org’s Bill McKibben this Thursday for a briefing on this historic time in climate change and how you (and your organization) can get involved.
The call is open to everyone, so please spread the word!
Reserve your spot now for the Bill McKibben and 350.org climate change briefing on Thursday, September 24th, at 1:00 p.m. (EDT – New York time)
Space is limited, so sign up early! We’ll send you a confirmation email and the call-in information before the call, as well as information on upcoming events (you can always unsubscribe from future emails with one click).
About Bill and 350.org:
An American environmentalist and writer, Bill McKibben is the founder of 350.org, an international climate campaign. This October 24, 350.org is organizing the 350 International Day of Climate Action, with thousands of events planned at iconic places around the world. Bill frequently writes about global warming, alternative energy, and the risks associated with human genetic engineering. Beginning in the summer of 2006, he led the organization of the largest demonstrations against global warming in American history. McKibben is active in the Methodist Church, and his writing sometimes has a spiritual bent. More about Bill here →
About the 1% Brown Bag Lunch Series:
This new conference call series from 1% for the Planet aims to help educate our 1% community — members, partners, and friends — about the latest environmental topics that experts in the 1% network are working on. We’re currently looking into the topic of climate change and how individuals and organizations alike can get involved. Earlier this summer, 1% non-profit partner Clean Air-Cool Planet led our first 1% Brown Bag Lunch Series call to brief us on climate and energy legislation in the U.S. For upcoming calls, please submit your ideas to brownbag@onepercentfortheplanet.org.We are picking upcoming topics based on your requests.
Some like it hot, but tonight on The Colbert Report acclaimed author and 1% for the Planet Non-Profit Partner Bill McKibben of 350.org will teach us all a thing or two about how we really, really need to cool it down. We encourage you to tune in to The Colbert Report on Comedy Central at 11:30 pm ET and PST, (or you can see the taped version on The Colbert Nation website here). Two brilliant men with a knack for hilarity, addressing a planetary issue with a clear call to action, this promises to be a great show.
On Tuesday, July 28 at 1:00 pm (EST), we will hold the first of our 1% Brown Bag Lunch conference call for our 1% community of 1% Member businesses and approved environmental organizations.
Our good friends and 1% Recipient organization, Clean Air–Cool Planet, will lead the first call of the series. For about an hour, we will learn about the latest in climate and energy legislation in Washington, D.C., the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), which currently resides in the Senate. The historic bill aims to put a price on the emissions of greenhouse gases created in the United States. The plan may transform the way we support our economy’s growing energy demands, use our transportation systems, and invest in businesses and technology.
If you are a 1% Member business or 1% approved non-profit partner, keep an eye out for call-in details in your inbox. Also, we’ll be sharing the the full-audio recordings right here, on the 1% for the Planet Blog, during the week following the call. And if you find yourself tirelessly trolling social networks for the latest news like we are, you can find and contribute to live updates of the call on the 1% Twitter page.
About the experts:
Clean Air-Cool Planet is a leading non-profit organization dedicated solely to finding and promoting solutions to global warming. CEO Adam Markham will lead with a brief overview of the organization’s work in practical corporate engagement in climate change solutions. President Rafe Pomerance will follow and answer your questions about the American Clean Energy and Security Act – also known as the Waxman-Markey Bill – and efforts in Washington to help develop new climate policies. Formerly Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Environment and Development and U.S. representative to Kyoto negotiations, Pomerance is also the founder of National Clean Air Coalition coordinator and Climate Policy Center.
