ConservationNEXT’s Backyard Collective Preps to Clean Up Colorado

Bend, Ore. — ConservationNEXT, a program of The Conservation Alliance, will organize its next Backyard Collective Friday, August 27th at the Roxborough State Park near Denver, Colo. This marks the fifth Backyard Collective for the organization this year, including previous visits to Seattle, Santa Barbara, San Diego and San Francisco.

The event will focus on cleanup surrounding Sundance Ranch, a historical home and dude ranch with brings much sentimental value to Roxborough State Park. The day will begin at 9:00 a.m. and will feature morning and afternoon work sessions, with a catered lunch in between. An after party and volunteer fair will follow the work from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m, with beverages generously donated by New Belgium Brewing company. Volunteers will pull invasive plant species, clean up trash, and work on trail maintenance.

Title sponsors for the event include: Osprey Packs, Kelty, Sierra Designs, Backpackers Pantry, and Leisure Trends. Employees from Teko Socks, Serac Films and Burts Bees will also be participating in the event. Colorado Environmental Coalition, Colorado Mountain Club, Colorado 14ers Initiative and The Access Fund are four local non-profit environmental organizations that will participate in the volunteer fair. These organizations will engage BYC volunteers in direct actions to help support current Colorado environmental initiatives.

“It’s fantastic to see the ripple effect of enthusiasm for these events. Conservation Alliance member companies are really taking advantage of this opportunity to engage in service projects and learn more about the grantees their membership supports.” Says Gareth Martins, director of Marketing at Osprey Packs and Conservation Alliance Board Member.
The Conservation Alliance is a group of outdoor industry companies that fund conservation organizations. The Alliance launched ConservationNEXT in August 2008 to connect individuals in the outdoor industry with the work of organizations that receive financial support from the group. ConservationNEXT.com provides people with opportunities to take online action in support of conservation. The Backyard Collective moves that action to the field, and gives people a venue to get their “hands dirty” for the sake of conservation.
For more information about this event please contact coordinator, Deanna Lloyd at Deanna@theforestgroup.com or 530.344.0100.

About the Conservation Alliance:
The Conservation Alliance is an organization of outdoor businesses whose collective contributions support grassroots environmental organizations and their efforts to protect wild places where outdoor enthusiasts recreate. Alliance funds have played a key role in protecting rivers, trails, wildlands and climbing areas.

Membership in the Alliance is open to companies representing all aspects of the outdoor industry, including manufacturers, retailers, publishers, mills and sales representatives. The result is a diverse group of businesses whose livelihood depends on protecting our natural environment.

Since its inception in 1989, the Alliance has contributed $8.3 million to grassroots environmental groups. Alliance funding has helped save over 49.5 million acres of wildlands; 27 dams have either been stopped or removed; and the group helped preserve access to more than 17,000 miles of waterways and several climbing areas.

For complete information on the Conservation Alliance, see www.conservationalliance.com.
About The ConservationNEXT Backyard Collectives
ConservationNEXT, a program of The Conservation Alliance, announced the launch of the Backyard Collective in 2008. The initiatives goal is to connect individuals in the outdoor industry with the work of organizations that receive financial support from the Alliance through the online forum, www.ConservationNEXT.com. This initiative provides people with opportunities to take online action in support of conservation. The Backyard Collective moves that action to the field, and gives people a venue to get involved at the grassroots level and help further the conservation efforts within their communities.
In 2009, The Conservation Alliance hosted seven Backyard Collectives with their 22 participating grantees, 34 participating member companies, and more than 400 volunteers. These seven events allowed the volunteers to help clean up their communities’ recreational areas by removing trash, eradicating invasive species, restoring and building trails and re-planting marsh lands. Learn more about these initiatives by visiting www.ConservationNEXT.com and join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.